Case 85XT Axle Broken Again

I have an early model 85XT, that has broken the right rear axle twice now since I purchased it 1.5 years ago. It is breaking between the hub assembly and the sprocket. The previous owner mentioned broken axles in the past but attributed it to solid wheels and the use of tracks. The axles on the left side appear to be original with the same cast numbers on the axle end.

I just use the machine around my property with only occasional heavy use to dig out cedar trees. It does not have tracks over the wheels now. Could the chain tension be an issue or is this a sign of something else? Any advice would be appreciated.

I would check and see, but I thought they had released an upgraded axle for the 85XT back when that was an issue when they came out. I had an 85XT, I think it was a '99. I didn't have any axle issues but I traded it on a 95XT rather quickly.

KSSS said:

I would check and see, but I thought they had released an upgraded axle for the 85XT back when that was an issue when they came out. I had an 85XT, I think it was a '99. I didn't have any axle issues but I traded it on a 95XT rather quickly.

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Thanks KSSS, that is what I understand. The one that has broken twice on me has the old style, I think, with the dust seal on the inside. I rebuilt it once already for around $500, but after breaking again a year later, I think I'll try to find the upgraded assembly. I just can't find anything new. It seems all are pulls from parted out machines and still fairly expensive.

+1 on updated axles

Service bulletin from case:
"85XT: A larger 6.35-cm (2.5-in) diameter axle replaces the original 5.08-cm (2.0-in) diameter axle.
The larger axle is identical to the axle installed on the 90XT and 95XT mentioned above
including the improved outboard seal. New drive line components including axle and drive motor sprockets have
been integrated as well. The improved axle and drive line were installed on units beginning with PIN
JAF0298062."

Check your serial number range. Axles only tend to break with the use of tracks over the wheels, or land clearing applications.

GaryHoff said:

+1 on updated axles

Service bulletin from case:
"85XT: A larger 6.35-cm (2.5-in) diameter axle replaces the original 5.08-cm (2.0-in) diameter axle.
The larger axle is identical to the axle installed on the 90XT and 95XT mentioned above
including the improved outboard seal. New drive line components including axle and drive motor sprockets have
been integrated as well. The improved axle and drive line were installed on units beginning with PIN
JAF0298062."

Check your serial number range. Axles only tend to break with the use of tracks over the wheels, or land clearing applications.

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I definitely have the 2" diameter axles and the serial number falls in the early group. I'm guessing I can't change out one axle and sprocket to the heavier 2.5". It's an all or none proposition. Is that correct?

Yes, it would be all axles. It would involve the drive motor sprocket, axle sprockets, axles and chains. There is a kit available (or was available)
386908A1 x1 (axle update kit)
233112A1 x4 (chains)

GaryHoff said:

Yes, it would be all axles. It would involve the drive motor sprocket, axle sprockets, axles and chains. There is a kit available (or was available)
386908A1 x1 (axle update kit)
233112A1 x4 (chains)

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Cha ching $! Thanks for confirming. I know it would make the machine more durable. I'm trying to decide if it would be worth a complete switch over or take my chances with the updated hub and 2" axle assembly and see how it holds up. I would be doing all of the work myself to save the labor cost.

How did this one resolve? I'm at a CASE dealer and I'm totally hitting a wall even locating parts to rebuild the 2" axle. All the 2" parts are now obsolete and getting scarce. Is there an aftermarket option?

Muffler Bearing said:

How did this one resolve? I'm at a CASE dealer and I'm totally hitting a wall even locating parts to rebuild the 2" axle. All the 2" parts are now obsolete and getting scarce. Is there an aftermarket option?

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Hey there Muffler Bearing,

Man it's a twisted tale but I'll try to summarize. There were three different axle hub assemblies that went on the 85XTs. Two had the same part number, 189989A2 (most of the parts diagrams show part number 189988A2 for some reason), and are interchangeable with your sprocket and chains. The original more prone to break version has a dust seal on the interior end where the sprocket slides on. Later versions, version 2, had the bearing exposed and moved outward where it touches the sprocket. This design is supposed to be more robust and what I ended up buying used on eBay here. The third and probably best axle was when they switched to the 2.5" 95XT axles, which requires you change out the drive motor sprockets. This requires removal of the drive motors and more than I wanted to take on at this point.

You can buy just the axle for around $400 online here and rebuild the hub assembly if you have version two of the original axle. I did this last year and my axle still ended up breaking between the sprocket and bearing. After comparing the aftermarket axle to the original OEM part I got here recently, the OEM looks like better steel and the sprocket retaining bolt hole was not drilled as deep. Theoretically, this will give the axle more strength at the point where they tend to twist off.

If this happens again, I'm going to consider pulling all axles, selling the three remaining good ones, and using that money to do a conversion to 95XT axles. I was told this only tended to happen when using tracks or land clearing applications. I'm doing the latter.

Wow! you just solved more in 6 minutes than my parts dept has been able to do in 6 weeks! Thank you very much!

Muffler Bearing said:

Wow! you just solved more in 6 minutes than my parts dept has been able to do in 6 weeks! Thank you very much!

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I hope this helps you. It's hard to pull all this information together. If you don't have someone at the Case dealer who has been around long enough to see this happening to their customers, I don't see how they would know either. The people who responded to me on this forum, and the guy I bought my hub assembly from on eBay, really helped me piece it all together.

I did figure out how to rebuild the version 1 hub assembly with a version 2 axle, but it ended up breaking a year later in the exact same spot. Both times we were pushing and digging out hackberry trees. I think the machine is too heavy and powerful for those 2" axles, which is why they later switched to 2.5" axles. It would probably be a beast after that conversion.

We are a CASE dealer and we ordered one from that AG parts store!

Just an update, This is miserable! Aftermarket axle arrived and it's REALLY close, but the spline length is different and the spacer that the seal rides on won't fit far enough down the axle to work. I could machine out the spacer, but then I can't be certain the sprocket will ride in the right place for chain alignment.It priced out at $9000 in parts just to convert one side to 2.5 axles!

Muffler Bearing said:

Just an update, This is miserable! Aftermarket axle arrived and it's REALLY close, but the spline length is different and the spacer that the seal rides on won't fit far enough down the axle to work. I could machine out the spacer, but then I can't be certain the sprocket will ride in the right place for chain alignment.It priced out at $9000 in parts just to convert one side to 2.5 axles!View attachment 179018

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This was a pain for me too, but I figured out how to make it work. You will need 3 things you don't have right now:

1. An assorted Arbor Shim kit from McMaster-Carr ID x OD 2 x 2 3/4. I needed 0.15" of spacers to keep the bearings tight on my machine. Part # 3088A943. Link
2. A Hyster Spacer part number 2031422. This will replace the existing spacer. I found them on eBay and other online sources. Link
3. A new dust seal for the 2 3/4 spacer. I don't remember the part number.

From the picture you provided, it looks like you need to take the old dust seal off. Put the new 2 3/4 seal on and slide the Hyster spacer down instead of the OEM one. You will then have to put the shims on last. The shims were necessary to keep the bearings tight. I added a photo of the axle mounted with the sprocket on for reference with a red arrow where the shims go. I had to put my assembly on the skid steer and drive it a couple of times with the sprocket tightened down, then take it back off and add more shims to get the bearing tightness correct. I'm pretty sure I ended up using 0.15" of shims on there before there was no wobble. The bolt that goes into the end of the axle has to be the shorter one.

I want to make sure it's understood that the axle the ag parts place is selling is for the second version of the axle assembly with part number 189989A2; the one that does not have a dust seal and has the bearing further out on the assembly. I made it work with what I did above. It lasted a year, but then sheared off just like the original one.

Wow, I appreciate all your info. This is a pretty hokey and complicated repair, I'm actually in the process of having a machinist open the ID of that spacer so it will fit over the axle and still work with the dust seal. Then I will deal with getting the allignment right on the sprocket. And after everything, it will probably only last a year like you found out!

Muffler Bearing said:

Wow, I appreciate all your info. This is a pretty hokey and complicated repair, I'm actually in the process of having a machinist open the ID of that spacer so it will fit over the axle and still work with the dust seal. Then I will deal with getting the allignment right on the sprocket. And after everything, it will probably only last a year like you found out!

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You bet it's hokey. I bought the axle thinking it was the right one based on the model number not knowing there were two versions of the same part number, couldn't return it and made the most of a bad situation. I'm sorry you are in the same boat. Maybe your fix will work better. I hope it does.

So this is my final resolution, I had a machine shop cut this spacer to a 2"ID and it slipped into place on the aftermarket axle PN#158605. The spacer sits in the stock location so I didn't need to mess with alignment.

Muffler Bearing said:

So this is my final resolution, I had a machine shop cut this spacer to a 2"ID and it slipped into place on the aftermarket axle PN#158605. The spacer sits in the stock location so I didn't need to mess with alignment.View attachment 179754 View attachment 179755

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I really like that fix. It's a better one than mine using a different spacer and bearing shims. Thanks for sharing and let us know how it holds up!

UPDATE! If any one is wondering how long an aftermarket axle might last, I'm going to say 6 months!
I just heard it was broken today. I'm not sure how this will play out.