Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

Moving some skids around , nothing too heavy . There was a clunk and low range was not there . I have high range , just not low . There a few things that come to mind . And they all require pulling the rear transaxle assembly. . Now this is going to involve removing the loader , 10 min.s . Then the cab, 3 pt. hitch,rear fenders , gas tank, calipers, loaded rear tires lower track links , hydralic oil / motor lines and then the transaxle assembly . For all the heavy work he does this is the only time in 11 years I have had a break down like this . So can't complain . Just why now when I am so stupid busy
I will do my best to upload pics of the operation .

Well that's no fun at all...

Bolts holding the diff together? Haven't seen a post on that in a long time, but that's the symptom.

Toolslinger wrote: ↑Wed Jul 09, 2025 4:35 am Well that's no fun at all...

Bolts holding the diff together? Haven't seen a post on that in a long time, but that's the symptom.

Thats what I am thinking as well . I did change them during one of the early builds , but that was about 8 years of hard labour ago.

The only consolation I can see David is you had it all apart before, so it should come apart easier. Good luck in your repair project. Harry

That’s a bummer for sure. I’m interested in what you find when you get it opened up. Hopefully it won’t be too bad.

got a start on it yesterday afternoon going to put a couple of hours in on it before DR. apointment this morning . Then pull the A/C B-112 out and get ready to take it to Muskoka Pioneer Power Show . Allis Chalmers feature brand this year.

@DavidBarkey will you replace axle bushings and seals while it is open?

DavidBarkey wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 12:37 pm 20250710_061347.jpg20250710_071051.jpg

Dave,

Are you planning to upgrade to the newer design to eliminate the problem or just repair the old school differential and hope for another 8 years?

At least a broken piece didn't get under the bull gear and punch a hole in the bottom of the casting like usually happens.

Bob

@myerslawnandgarden Bob, what is the new design?

Spike188 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 3:42 pm @DavidBarkey will you replace axle bushings and seals while it is open?

No time . Need him back working right away . I did check the bushings and the play is minimal and seals are not leaking yet . I may have done them before , can't remember for sure . Sounds like winter project .

myerslawnandgarden wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 10:03 pm

DavidBarkey wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 12:37 pm 20250710_061347.jpg20250710_071051.jpg

Dave,

Are you planning to upgrade to the newer design to eliminate the problem or just repair the old school differential and hope for another 8 years?

At least a broken piece didn't get under the bull gear and punch a hole in the bottom of the casting like usually happens.

Bob

Yes I got lucky , just a little rubbing in the casting on the high gear side from heads of bolts. I had put a magnet in the bottom of the case and all the bits were stuck to it . Just putting it back the way it was but with loctite , crimped the nuts and burred the treads of the bolt afterwards . It appears that the nut backed off . I remember not being able to get grade 8 locking nuts at the time I changed the bolts so I used loctite . The thing is there is no sign of loctite on the bolts . So I either forgot to do it or it dissolved in the oil . Maybe put the oil in before loctite was cured .

Spike188 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 10:52 pm @myerslawnandgarden Bob, what is the new design?

Yes Bob , what new design ??

hear is what my frame looks like with the rear axle out . extra frame rails , axle tube supports and the caliper brackets .

DavidBarkey wrote: ↑Fri Jul 11, 2025 5:58 am

Spike188 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 10:52 pm @myerslawnandgarden Bob, what is the new design?

Yes Bob , what new design ??

There were two changes made through the years. First they tried threading the holes in the gear and using a flange head bolt rather than having the bolt pass through the gear being secured with the nut. The thought was that it would eliminate some of the shear action. The latest production had the two halves of the differential carrier dowel pinned together to further implement that solution. Some users are securing the halves with 4 small welds as it is a low cost improvement.

Dave, I should go back and read more carefully, did your nuts just unthread themselves or did the bolts break near the nut? If it was just a matter of the nuts coming loose, then none of these fixes would have prevented that.

Bob

Bob, Thank you for the info on joining the differential halves. This will be especially useful when going back together with the 646 backhoe.

myerslawnandgarden wrote: ↑Fri Jul 11, 2025 12:46 pm

DavidBarkey wrote: ↑Fri Jul 11, 2025 5:58 am

Spike188 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 10:52 pm @myerslawnandgarden Bob, what is the new design?

Yes Bob , what new design ??

There were two changes made through the years. First they tried threading the holes in the gear and using a flange head bolt rather than having the bolt pass through the gear being secured with the nut. The thought was that it would eliminate some of the shear action. The latest production had the two halves of the differential carrier dowel pinned together to further implement that solution. Some users are securing the halves with 4 small welds as it is a low cost improvement.

Dave, I should go back and read more carefully, did your nuts just unthread themselves or did the bolts break near the nut? If it was just a matter of the nuts coming loose, then none of these fixes would have prevented that.

Bob

I beleave the nuts loosened off and the sloop created the shearing at the nut end as all I ever use is low gear .

It's ALIVE . insert mad DR. evil laugh .

DavidBarkey wrote: ↑Fri Jul 11, 2025 4:32 pm 20250711_094256.jpg
It's ALIVE . insert mad DR. evil laugh .

Now hold on a minute. You got that fixed awfully fast. Are you sure you really broke it, or did you just find a picture off the internet of a broken rear end?

Seriously, great job tearing into it and getting it done!

I’m glad your back up and running.

^^^What he said... looks great
Weren't you building a second custom case ingersoll tractor a while back?

Thanks guys . The one morning I was up at 4am and in the shop at 5 . My back has a 30lbs weight limit , so with out him I am dead in the water . Plus I built him and rebuilt him a few times , so not seized bolts and I don't have to think much about the job just do which saves time . Plus I have a shop full of power tools , zip zip zip and apart it comes . I have the parts on hand to do the repair , so no time was lost there .
And yes I have been collecting parts to build another loader , but other things have got in the way . It will be a my version of a scratch built 7020 . I hope to get back to it this winter . Now that I have working with me this summer I have been able to take on work I normally wouldn't , but that makes me even busier .

Great work as usual David. You the man. I can’t wait to see your next loader project. Harry

The 4020PS with the under-seat PTO, which is my last, last tractor I am keeping, was in good shape for the bolts. However, the other tractor that was supposed to be my last one had evidence that someone had been in there. They installed the nuts and used the safety wire washers for the nuts. There were, I think, two loose nuts. Putting safety wire washers on the nuts cannot work when you do not use anything on the head of the bolt. Luckily, nothing bad happened. I caught it before it did.

I did weld some on the cage. It was hard to get a decent weld on it, though. No matter how much I tried to get all the oil out of where the two halves meet, the heat from the weld would pull oil into the weld I was trying to get on it. It may have just been me not doing something right. My welding history was shop class in 1978, and then getting a MIG welder years later, and then getting good enough welds on things with that welder.

I have to look at the shims on the carrier again because I have long wondered if the flanged axle bushing could be the cause of the issue if the shims turn against the flange on the bushings. The other reason that I think could be the reason is that sometimes a tractor would come through my hands that made quite a bit of slope noise when you wiggled the rear of the tractor side to side, and that means some have more slope than others. I am aware that the gap must be within a certain range, and adverse consequences can occur when it falls outside this range. So, if the gap is too big and the uneven torque is applied to one side of the tractor, I could imagine that the carrier twisting and getting bound up until something fails.

@ssmewing Steve, thanks for mentioning the oil contamination issue. It will be interesting to hear what advice @Harry might have.

Spike188 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:51 pm @ssmewing Steve, thanks for mentioning the oil contamination issue. It will be interesting to hear what advice @Harry might have.

The only way I know of to remove the oil from the halves is to dissemble it all and boil in soapy water ,dry , weld and re-oil parts . Metal has pores will hold oil or moisture. That is why important welds like pressure pipe are preheated to remove moisture before welding . Harry can elaborate more on this , but that much I know from working with pipe welders .

David is correct preheat to remove mostly moisture before welding. The heat if the flame probably would remove some oil contaminants from the base metal too. Were not talking about natural gas pipelines here so it doesn’t need to be pristine. Maybe a separate thread for this post Steve would be better than adding on Davids Frankie post. Just my opinion. Harry