Getting a B-80 Up and Running

[ET160 30]

I've been putting my B-80 back into service.  It's original to the family; I cut neighbors lawns with it in the '70s.

 

I put in a rectifier and ammeter and got the charging system going again; adjusted the carb, etc.  Painted the deck.

 

I had snugged up the bolts on the axles holding the woodruff keys the day before, and I thought all was well, but when I went for a test I ended up cracking a hub.  I pulled it apart, and to my chagrin, I also found the axle chipped out where the woodruff key sits.

 

Argh.

[Pullstart 67,100]

Welcome, @ET160!  Do you have fairly decent welding skills? Here is a recent thread from @Ed Kennell where he worked through a wallered our axle keyway.

 

 

[ET160 30]

pullstart,

 

My axle looks similar.  I can weld, but I don't have any equipment.  I'm going to go by a fabrication shop today. 

 

I have located another 5084 transaxle, but it's a six hour drive from me.

[KyBlue 655]

If you have better than basic mechanical skills, you can swap the axle easy enough.  Be a good time to put in new Axle seals while you have the hub off, that'd be a bad day if you get it all back together and use a few times only for it to start leaking. 

 

Good Luck!

 

[Pullstart 67,100]

@stevasaurus has plenty of videos relating transmission tear down, and there may be people selling what you need in the classifieds as well.

 

https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/forum/49-transmissions-and-transaxles/

 

https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/classifieds/

 

 

[ET160 30]

A-Z seems to have the parts I need. I can get the axle welded, but a new (used) axle will be cheaper.

 

I've rebuilt manual transmissions in cars before.  I should be able to do a unidrive.

 

Where is a good place to find axle seals? 

[pfrederi 18,721]

1" axle seals are CR SKF 9815  any auto parts store should be able to get them

[ebinmaine 73,042]

35 minutes ago, ET160 said:

A-Z seems to have the parts I need. I can get the axle welded, but a new (used) axle will be cheaper.

 

I've rebuilt manual transmissions in cars before.  I should be able to do a unidrive.

 

Where is a good place to find axle seals? 

Welcome to redsquare!

That B80 is probably my favorite type of tractor.

 

Axle seals can be had in many different places. Check out the transmission thread and you can find numbers to get them locally or you can also order them from our own vendor. Wheel Horse parts and more.

 

[ET160 30]

Super! I'm going to start taking things apart to see what I need.

[ebinmaine 73,042]

Order a 4-Piece seal kit from Wheel Horse parts and more. Also a transmission split case gasket. Also a shifter boot.

Check your wheel bearings. Little needle bearing. Often if the seals are bad it's because the bearings are getting worn and allowing too much up and down play at the axle.

 

While you've got that thing all apart another very very helpful thing is to change over to lug nuts and studs instead of the wheel bolts that are stock. Makes putting your wheels and tires back on much much easier.

 

I just got into one of those transmissions for the first time last year. If I can handle it, so can you!

[ET160 30]

ebinmaine,

 

Thanks for the tip.  I took off the second hub today to take a look.  There is some gouging in the woodruff key area.  I may need two new hubs.  I wish these axles had spines on the ends.

[ebinmaine 73,042]

13 minutes ago, ET160 said:

ebinmaine,

 

Thanks for the tip.  I took off the second hub today to take a look.  There is some gouging in the woodruff key area.  I may need two new hubs.  I wish these axles had spines on the ends.

You're welcome.

One of the best ways to prevent your damage from occurring is to create a second set screw hole 90° from the first one such as the later-model heavy duty hubs have. I've done it here with a good-sized drill press and basic tools.

Splines would be nice. I agree. That said, every chain has to have a weak Link in it. Perhaps if there were splines on the outside you would end up breaking something on the inside... Hard to say.

 

[Retired Wrencher 5,847]

ET160 I used to J.B. weld on them. Cheap fix.

[ET160 30]

I pulled my transaxle today.  It wasn't too bad.

 

I have it up on the bench.  I'm having trouble now getting the main drive pulley off.  Even with my gear puller, it won't budge. 

 

Can I put heat on it?

[ebinmaine 73,042]

Double check to make sure you have one or two set screws completely out. Once removed you can drop a little penetrating oil down into that hole.

Let that sit for 15 or 30 minutes or more and then go back and try to gently tap the pulley ON just a little bit to see if it will move.

 

Heat is okay as long as you plan on replacing the seal behind it, anyway.

[Pullstart 67,100]

Somewhere I read here recently... some of these parts took 60 or so years to rust in place.  Don’t expect miracles in minutes... be patient and it’ll come off 

[953 nut 60,409]

                          

[ET160 30]

I put some Liquid Wrench on it.  I'll let it sit until tomorrow.

[ebinmaine 73,042]

56 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

                          

Richard I've heard of a lot of bright things that Confucius said but I'm not sure if that's exactly one of them

 

 

 

1 minute ago, ET160 said:

Liquid Wrench

I've been having pretty good luck with that stuff lately

 

[953 nut 60,409]

[ET160 30]

Well... still stuck.

[ebinmaine 73,042]

Well, knowing you are going to split that case and clean things up and put new seals in ... you can use a torch to heat the pulley itself.

Get it good n hot in a circle around the outside of the shaft.

Spray-in more oil. A lot of it will burn or boil out but some of it will shrink in.

@953 nut Richard, uses paraffin wax.

 

Verify that you do actually only have one set screw. I had one here that was possibly a replacement pulley but it had 2 set screws.

 

I'm not sure how much hammering pressure you want to put on that shaft but a few good jars could break the beads of some of the rust that is holding that thing in place.

 

Patience. Heat. Patience. Heat. Penetrating oil.

 

[ET160 30]

Got it!  Slow and steady wins the race.

 

The woodruff key was a bear, too.

 

[ebinmaine 73,042]

AWESOME

[ebinmaine 73,042]

When you go to split the case in half, somebody else on here told me to use a fairly sharp wood chisel and just kind of make a dent in the gasket all the way around and keep doing that. Eventually they'll fall.

 

@stevasaurus has some awesome videos about what to do with those Transmissions.

The big thing is to make sure that when you split the cases, you have the correct side facing up.