wrecked transmission?

[857lover 291]

i have a 857 with a 3 speed gearbox and i was riding it and i got off and when i came back to the tractor to get back on 20 minutes later i hop on it and it moves maybe 2 inches then stops. and i can’t pull the tractor when it’s not in gear the wheels are locked up i drained the oil and it looks like there is metal in the oil what should i do can it be rebuilt am i missing something?

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

5 hours ago, 857lover said:

i have a 857 with a 3 speed gearbox and i was riding it and i got off and when i came back to the tractor to get back on 20 minutes later i hop on it and it moves maybe 2 inches then stops. and i can’t pull the tractor when it’s not in gear the wheels are locked up i drained the oil and it looks like there is metal in the oil what should i do can it be rebuilt am i missing something?

Metal in the oil and locked up wheels in neutral is bad. 

 

I would suggest opening up the tranny, probably a bearing went out. or worse.

 

[Ed Kennell 38,171]

Yeah, metal in the oil is not good.   Did you hear any noise or feel any jerking before it locked up?       @stevasaurus   is the gear drive Guru and has detailed videos on rebuilds.

[953 nut 55,228]

Will the rear wheels turn at all? If the rear wheels will turn about a quarter turn then the problem could be one of the bolts in the differential has broken or the nut came off and is striking the case preventing more movement. 

[Pullstart 62,867]

Is it stuck between two gears?  Is the shifter kind of sloppy now?

[Ed Kennell 38,171]

18 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

Is it stuck between two gears?  Is the shifter kind of sloppy now?

This was also my first thought Kev,   BUT,   metal in the oil is a bigger problem.

[Pullstart 62,867]

@857lover Is this the same transmission, and tractor that was mentioned earlier this week being regularity chained to another tractor for pull offs in the woods?

[857lover 291]

1 hour ago, Pullstart said:

@857lover Is this the same transmission, and tractor that was mentioned earlier this week being regularity chained to another tractor for pull offs in the woods?

yes sadly 🥲

[857lover 291]

2 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

Yeah, metal in the oil is not good.   Did you hear any noise or feel any jerking before it locked up?       @stevasaurus   is the gear drive Guru and has detailed videos on rebuilds.

no there was no noise at all no jerking it was running so smoothly 

[857lover 291]

2 hours ago, 953 nut said:

Will the rear wheels turn at all? If the rear wheels will turn about a quarter turn then the problem could be one of the bolts in the differential has broken or the nut came off and is striking the case preventing more movement. 

i’ll check it out

[857lover 291]

4 hours ago, Maxwell-8 said:

Metal in the oil and locked up wheels in neutral is bad. 

 

I would suggest opening up the tranny, probably a bearing went out. or worse.

 

yeah and it’s strange because the belt would engage and tighten up like it was going to go then stop 

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

11 minutes ago, 857lover said:

yeah and it’s strange because the belt would engage and tighten up like it was going to go then stop 

Did the tractor pulling had something to do with it? 

[pfrederi 17,739]

Bad bearing would probably have been noisy first.  Most likely broken differential bolt.  High shock loads like yanking on a chain are not good.  As my father would say "You broke it you fix it"

[stevasaurus 22,738]

Well, by the sound of it, you are going to pull the trans and open it up.  No matter what is wrong inside, it is fixable.  Whatever you do, do not force anything at this point.  One of the 4 differential bolts losing a nut is an excellent guess.  So is a stripped axle gear and/or pinion teeth.  Any of those would cause the symptoms you have.  Here is the thread you want to look at.  This is for the 4 speed, I explain the difference if the videos.

 

 

 

[tunahead72 2,412]

2 hours ago, Pullstart said:

@857lover Is this the same transmission, and tractor that was mentioned earlier this week being regularity chained to another tractor for pull offs in the woods?

 

And your symptoms started just after your most recent competition yesterday?  Rumor has it you "won"? 

 

[857lover 291]

7 minutes ago, tunahead72 said:

 

And your symptoms started just after your most recent competition yesterday?  Rumor has it you "won"? 

 

yeah i was pulling my buddy around…until this 

[857lover 291]

1 hour ago, Maxwell-8 said:

Did the tractor pulling had something to do with it? 

probably most likely but probably definitely 😉

[857lover 291]

5 hours ago, Pullstart said:

Is it stuck between two gears?  Is the shifter kind of sloppy now?

eh a little

[stevasaurus 22,738]

I doubt it is stuck between 2 gears, the 857 transmission had the improvements made to the shift rails.  Besides, the horse would not move at all if that was the case.   

   It really does not matter at this point.  The abuse of a beloved 857 (I have one) has caused it to be opened up.  It is fixable, and hopefully the abuse is not done again.  

  Sorry, I know it is your horse and you could burn it in the street if you wanted...but why do this to a 65 year old piece of Americana???  I just shake my head trying to figure out why some young people have to destroy what will still last them another 50 years if taken care of.  

[squonk 41,109]

If you feel the need to beat the snot out of a piece of equipment, Get an old MTD. They are plentiful and the junk yards are full of them for a spare part supply.

[pfrederi 17,739]

Do yourself and your Wheel Horse a favor after you get her fixed.  Find a local Garden tractor pulling club that has the right kind of pulling sled.  One like the big tractors and trucks use.  it increases the load after you start moving so you aren't yanking away to get it moving.

[oliver2-44 9,749]

I too suspect a differential bolt nut problem. I bought one that way and luckily nothing else was messed up. 
 

Watch Steves video a few times, print out the exploded transmission parts drawing and go get your hands dirty. There not hard to fix and lots of help here.  I really enjoy rebuilding these transmissions 

Edited March 6, 2022 by oliver2-44

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

1 hour ago, stevasaurus said:

why some young people have to destroy

And some try to fix, what was destroyed by others

 

 

[Pullstart 62,867]

@857lover I don’t mean to jab you while you’re down.  I too have a couple machines that I use for Horse Play.  I paid for ‘em, I fix ‘em when they break, there are worse things we could be doing with our lives.  

[857lover 291]

22 hours ago, Pullstart said:

@857lover I don’t mean to jab you while you’re down.  I too have a couple machines that I use for Horse Play.  I paid for ‘em, I fix ‘em when they break, there are worse things we could be doing with our lives.  

yeah but i’m just looking for help to source parts or to see if anyone knows of any places in pa that workss on theese transmissions