We Repaired A Worn Out 4230 John Deere Axle Shaft! 

Head to squarespace.com/jimsautomotive to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code jimsautomotive As you know, when you support our sponsors, it directly supports the channel and future videos! 😊

Those are called rack and pinion axles. There is a pinion gear in the wheel hub to assist in changing the the wheel position on the axle for various row crop conditions.

You’re pop is an awesome teacher. He is very specific about what he is doing and always explains why. I had a vocational teacher just like him and I absorbed everything that he said. Guys like your pop are few and far between and the knowledge of running a manual machine is a lost art that most newer machinists don’t know due to computers and the “throw it away and buy new” mentality that exists today. Thank you for taking the time to show and share your shop and knowledge, you are helping and teaching more people than you can imagine. Eddie wheels from NJ 😬🧑🏻‍🦽👍

Those gear rack teeth are for a hub bushing that wedges into the rim/hub when the bolts are tightened and keeps the tire assembly location

I really like you guys. To me you’re an example of down home Internet success. You’ve earned it. So entertaining to watch.

So nice to see people that can actually fix things in this throw away world today!!!

Abom 79 has done cool videos going spray welding on bearing surfaces on shafts before, pretty neat process!

Far smaller scale, but a friend’s zero-turn mower had an axle shaft bearing spinning loose for years and it cut a huge groove into the axle. There were no replacement axles on planet Earth so my local friendly machine shop welded it up and turned it back to specs. I used some red Loctite on it for re-assembly. Should last another 25 years. Great success!

Axle housing has a grease zerk to keep the outer bearing greased. This is what happens when you don't grease them. Granted there is hydraulic oil there but it has to pass thru the inner bearing to reach the outer bearing. If you run it low on hydraulic oil it doesn't lube the outer bearing. I make sure to grease it every 250 hours and don't run it low on hydraulic oil. There is a gear with a bolt head that runs thru the hub runs in those splines. It allows you to crank the wheel in and out easily.

once again nice work, i spent 20 years in grinding compressor crank shafts watching this reminds me of all the skill around me back then.

JD has a wedge system on the axle. Loosen three bolts then there are two smaller bolts than you drive in to "break" the wedge loose. Then, using the bolt that kind of sticks out at an angle you can move the wheel. It's like a rack and pinion. When you have the wheel where you want it just reverse the process. It seemed like we were always moving wheels! Potatoes were on 36" rows, corn and beets were 30" and we moved the wheels out as far as we could when we plowed.

Among the most informative and natural skill channels there is. Full respect to all engineers who can work to 1/10 of a banana tolerances. Businesses like yours are far more important in the coming times than any big fat corporations.

I really enjoyed watching this video. After having spent eight hours in front of the computer, it’s really great to see people actually making stuff. Good for you and your dad.

Excellent video. That cleaning guy does a great job 😂.

I have a strong desire to feel that journal with my thumb

Really enjoy seeing the cleaning guy doing more hands on work. It's also really cool to know he has some jazz hands. Man of many talents that one.

I just want to say how glad I am y’all are keeping these old machines going. My 66 Chevy every needs work like this, I hope to find a shop that cares this much.

We had a similar issue with our 4630. Outer bearing surface was worn down. Our local machine shop turned down the surface of the the outer bearing on the axle. Then machined a sleeve with the correct OD for the bearing, and the correct ID for the axle. Split the sleeve, slip it in the axle, welded back together, polished, and returned to original size. 10 years and 2,000 hours later, it's still good.

Great job guys. If your interested in watching some precission engineering where welding and building OD and ID surfaces up before refacing them again, there's a young Australian guy named Kurtis who has a RU-vid channel called Cutting Edge Engineering!. As an automotive enthusiast, I really love the content both channels share.

Great job. And you're not wrong on Dad's "Tik Tok Dance" moves ... love it !!!

It's awesome watching a professional work. You can always stress relief after welding.

Many years ago I visited an electric motor repair shop (upwards of 300 HP, water cooled) that sprayed powdered hot metal onto worn armature shafts. Spray gun had a large flame coming out of it. I’m guessing they preheated the armature shaft. Shaft was later machined back to desired diameter.

I see Kurtis (Cutting Edge Engineering, Gold Coast Aus.) use his tape measure all the time and he quite often works to interference fit (half a thou less) in his heavy machinery work. It's what you do when time and money are on the line.

Love how your father explained the process in fixing this axel. Your father is very knowledgeable person on all the machine work and other things he works on. No computer could ever replace him or his knowledge. Love your video’s you guy’s and thanks for sharing.☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️👍👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Very nice repair. We approach this type of repair a little differently. We use a diagonal gnurling tool on the lathe. This is fast and we use stock size OEM components. The gnurling wheel can be used for both OD & ID. It saves parts, time & money. We do this on pistons sometimes too as oil stays in the light grooves. Keep up the good work!

Your dad is a hellacious machinist.

I love watching you guys. In another life I would be a machinist.

Speaking of bent tractor axles, I've had 4 different tractors of my own and never once have I not had one with bent axles, closest I came was a low hour tractor I had about 10 years ago and it only slightly wobbled going down the road. My first one was a Belarus 250AS that felt more akin to riding on a bucking bronco than a tractor on the road.

Always a pleasure to see your craftsmanship and dedication to perfection as much as possible.well done ! ⭐

Great demonstration of the value that a skilled shop can bring.

Back in 2007 and 2008 I worked at two different machine shops running an engine lathe. The first one I worked at, we got farm equipment shafts in to repair journals where the bearing wore into the shaft. They had me knurl the shaft there and then file and polish it back down to size. Knurling increases the diameter. The second shop, I would turn .100" off the diameter, a welder guy would weld it back up, and I would turn it back down to size. Welding always bent the shafts a bit though from the heat.

The cleaning guy needs a big raise💰😂

So cool watching a master at his craft!!! Very nice!!

About what you said at 10:55 about subscribers: One interesting perspective I heard was that subscribers don't matter that much. Your videos clearly have a wide reach (especially your shorts!), and with the algorithm becoming more and more important in driving viewership, what matters more is the mix of impressions, CTR and viewership retention. But yes, I am subscribed, and it is nice to have an easy number tell you how good you're doing.

I love that this video is more tutorial. Instead of concentric, I was thinking axial runout.

Your dad reminds me of my dad when he explains stuff. I love listening to him. Amazing content.

You guys make very informative & weirdly relaxing videos. You should make a video talking about how a person can get into your line of work…….trade school, college, start as a grunt in a shop…..etc. Thanks & keep up the good work.

Thank you for doing all you do + helping anyone that wants to watch ! Love all the content and work you do keep up the bad ass work !

The 30 series and older tractors didn't use the lead ball method for setting the pre-load on the bearings. Without using a shim pack, the bearings would wear and loose pre-load. Once the pre-load was gone, the bearing would get loose and the seal would start leaking. If you use the lead ball method installing new bearings, axle bearings last almost forever.

At 3:58 Ain't that the thruth! Spot on!

I like being notified.... I have patience and look forward to the content 😎

2:42 Put that dance on a loop to music and release it as a short

You and your dad are awesome, great videos! Thank you! The information in these videos is amazing.

Great to see the conversation and humor between you 2! Awesome!

Dad is one awesome teacher ...Mike

Your Dad is old enough to remember when Made in Japan meant junk, likely made from car tag metal. These days NTN bearings from Japan are actually pretty good stuff. Enjoyed the video, thanks.

Wish I could hit the like button more than once. This is good stuff...

Thank you for this very precise and detailed explanation of how this is repaired.

I am grateful I lived during the wonderful era of inches and tenths of an inch and hundreds and thousands of an inch. The SR 71 blackbird was built with inches and without computers. Even in grade school 60+ years ago, they taught us metrics. But I’m glad it didn’t catch on.

Spray welding shafts like that is used for salvaging production shafts.

I use a flame spray torch and build-up metal powder to repair spun bearing shaft damage or wear. Most powders are nickel based and require no where near welding temperatures. I think the best is Castolin's Terodyn System 2000, but it's an expensive setup. I use a Victor's VPT-100 torch and Victor #22 Powder. Stoody makes an equivalent built-up powder. Both are easy to machine. Both the Terodyn System 2000 and the VPT-100 torch are great for applying carbide and Stellite hardfacing coatings as well.

I never saw a grinding chuck until randomly fed a vid of Dad the cleaning guy grinding all the journals on crank. At last I understood how chuck(s)can have that much throw. Other than that, I understand everything else you did cuz industrial repair work. It is amazing that some machinery performs its function as long as it does for all the wear it gets. Sometimes worn in two before they absolutely have to have a new replacement made. Lots of good guesswork to make a new shaft.

The cleaning guy nails it again!

Nice work! I have a lathe and a mill, but I am just learning.. this video is a great teaching tool. Thank you for your expertise.

Ah the back to the future reference was awesome! What a great guy! 17/10s i have nooooo idea 😅😅

These are great videos. I always learn something new.

That berco brings back memories I have done that type work for 35 years block, heads, rods,balancing. Our grinder was 260 on centers, always wanted to have chucks

In the late 80’s I ground a 5020 axle at a JD dealership. I used a tool post grinder on our big lathe, with a 4 jaw on both sides. I started at the seal ledge then moved to the inner edge of the edge of no more sparks, then start over again at 0.002” plunge, then move left. After 3 hours of grinding I was at finished size. If you look closely at the picture of the hub, there is a bolt head 90° to the split wedge bolts. That bolt has the pinion that engages in the rack on the axle. On JD’s jack up the wheel, turn the rack up, loosen the split wedge bolts, tighten the loosener bolts, turn the rack to adjust the wheel in or out, loosen the loosener bolts, tighten up the split wedge bolts. NEVER EVER PUT ANTISEIZE ON THE WEDGE!!!!! I got to work on that tractor also. It was someone expensive mistaken idea! Hello from north east Montana. 10 miles from the Canadian border.

As always....Excellent work & explanation!

I like to use imperial metric measurements: “Hey, could you pass me that 22 and 17/32 mm wrench?”

I love how smooth your camera is at 60fps! Some setups I see sacrifice frame rate for 4K quality and I can't stand it. Thank you!

Well done as always.

Another lovely job!

11:23 When the cleaning guy in the machine shop is more knowledgeable than the commenters criticizing him, I don't want to mess with whoever he learned this from. I mean, he's just a cleaning guy and has that level of machining shop wisdom?

Sweet!Thanks for sharing.

Hey man, I bitched about your ads before but good on you for actually having a good tie in! It ain't tools but hell it is a good step!

Cool video! I love the oddball stuff.

You might like to consider HVOF metal spray to reclaim worn surfaces.. Neat video of the setting up & grinding, thanks....

great job guys

I want a grinder like that! The Ridgidity of that machine is awesome.

@18:05. To move a tractor tire spacing, you set those teeth on the axle straight up. There is a gear on the inside of a John Deere wheel that has a bolt coming off of it outside of the wheel. If you set the axle straight up then you can use that gear in those teeth to move the wheel in or out.

Plasma spray weld build up then grind in areas you can't slide a undersized ID bearing . I just did one. Even ratty 6011 weld can be deposited and turned on a old lathe with carbide tool if on low budget. Nice work and channel 👍

Having a "Round to it" is awesome!

Interesting ! Thanks for sharing !

Thanks for the video

Your dad should really consider narrating audio books as a side hustle.

I follow a guy in Australia "Cutting Edge Engineering Australia". First thing that came to mind was the old Crocodile Dundee line “That’s not a knife! This is a knife!”. I'm subscribed here, so I'm not knocking you at all. That guy does similar work for stuff maybe 3-4 times in diameter on a lathe.

7:44 I had a Back to the Future III flashblack at this moment

Pending on the model, there's a planetary on the inside end of the shaft. Also, pending on the "wheel" style, JD, uses or used to used a wedge clamp style hub on where that keyway is and those slots are for the "rack and pinion" for wheel width adjustment. I was going to ask if it would be better to just spray weld to build up the area then turn/grind down to size but, you kinda answered my question. Great video, cheers :)

I just done two of these in my lathe a few days ago. I used a tool post grinder.

Nice work.

Fun to watch and learn

Nice work

Thanks for sharing 👍

I have done these in the lathe using CBN inserts too.

Please, please start the next craze!

Berco made in Italy Il numero 1 delle rettificatrici per alberi motore

Looking forward to start seeing the "Jamsi Dance" videos come out! 🤣👍

I do a lot of lathe work in my shop . So this job could have been turned . But I am interested in learning how to run a crank grinder . They seem to be about the same op so I think I can learn how to do it Thanks for the video

There is another tapered bearing on the other end. There is also a sleeve that presses onto the shaft where you left that step about 1/2" wide. The seal rides on that sleeve. Those axles are case hardened so welding would be iffy. I have welded hubs onto them for pulling tractors but I always machine them a little where I am going to weld to remove the case hardened layer before welding. The hardness is about 1/16" deep/

I have to subscribe (again) every video. RU-vid thinks your content is too dangerous!

You are correct it’s a piñon rack that helps move wheel in and out!

the cleaning guy is pretty smart. must have been listening for years!!

Oh, and the cleaning guy keeps the shop pretty nice looking

Man the cleaning guy doing the jazz hands dance lmao 🤣

That Deere design is similar to your allis Chalmers tractor. Deere uses the pinch clamp as well but the teeth are like a rack and pinion. You turn a nut outside the hub and the hub travels up and down the shaft.

A dairy farmer in New York, goes by the name of Farming Fixing & Fabricating on RU-vid, had an axle break on an 8120 due to heat applied to remove the outer bearing. He talks about the failure in a video titled "Tires cost per mile | Axle Explained and shop work". The axle part starts at 5:30, I don't know on the older tractors like this 4230 would have the same heat treating or not, but John Deere seems to say to not heat near the outer bearing so as to not mess with the heat treatment done to the axle. Just giving a heads up on what I've heard from another source. Again, don't know if it applies to this vintage of a Deere. The "rack" on the axle opposite the keyway is for a gear that is in one of the wedge halves to engage on to move the wheel in or out when the wedges are loose. Otherwise it is the same arrangement, 2 tapered wedges, one with key machined in it and other with the gear to move it, that tighten to lock wheel to axle. It's crazy to see such loose tolerances allowed on that axle runout for that undersize bearing, especially with how closely you two always are able to work to 0.

Foreigners 🤣🤣🤣I'm semi old school in the UK,started off engineering in the mid 80's on the imperial system,so know exactly what you're measurements mean,although I mainly use the foreign metric system now. Great video,looking forward to seeing more. 👍👍😎😎

It's nice they had enough step in the shaft to do that much better than building up or spray welding

The teeth on the shaft ack like a rack and pinion in concert with a rotating pinion in the hub. After you loosen the bolts in the hub and use the bolts to brake the wedge loose, you use the same socket on a 3/4 or 1" drive to adjust the hub in or out. You then back out the three bolts you used to loosen the wedge with and then tighten the bolts to draw the wedge lock back in.