School me on load shaft seals

[Dan in North Houston]

I've seen lots of posts on here about the problems with them on 4020's and others, and since I have a 4020, I figured I would have to do that fix sometime. As it turns out, I picked up a 3 cylinder 830 that needs new load shaft seals, so I guess the time has come to tackle that job. I've watched several videos showing people fixing them, it doesn't look too bad. Hydraulic oil and filters need changing, so it's a good time to take care of it.

But why does JD run the load shaft through the transmission housing in the first place? I thought maybe there was some linkages to the draft control, but I've reviewed the parts and service manual and that doesn't appear to be the case, at least for the 830. Is this just a JD thing? Having seals that are likely to need replacing several times over the working life of a tractor, in a place where they are going to dump gallons of hydraulic oil out whenever they fail doesn't seem like a good idea to me.
Any hints or cautions on the job are appreciated.

 

[Tx Jim]

L&D shaft has linkage that senses when L/D shaft flexes(bends) sufficiently when utilizing ground engagement equipment to alter control linkage to cause 3 pt to raise sufficiently to keep constant load on engine.

Before removing L/D shaft be sure to place L/D control lever in ""D"". When oil is drained would be an excellent time to check/clean suction screen.

IMHO lower link load sensing is much more accurate than upper link sensing which is the reason JD engineers chose to utilize lower link sensing that required seals in bottom of trans case. I admit the seals are of similar but different design BUT I've only had to replace L/D seals on my JD 4255 twice(2X) in 11,600+hrs of use since I purchased it in Feb. '93

This post was edited by Tx Jim on 12/16/2022 at 04:00 am.

 

[Dan in North Houston]

Tx Jim, I really appreciate all the good stuff you post. So it is the bending of the shaft that does the trick. Now it makes sense. Thanks

 

[tomstractorsandtoys]

You will like the 830. Dad had a new 820,830 and three 2040's. I still have the last 2040 he bought. They just sip fuel and are great chore tractors. Tom