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Why are my deere 644 rims breaking?

realdesertkickin

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https://photos.app.goo.gl/kpUufqnPpPZidKu2A

Hope the picture comes up!

This is the second front rim we have broken on the deere 644k...
The machine loads trucks all day, heavy, wet material (17k) buckets..

I've been beating on front end loaders my whole life and I have never seen the rims break on anything...

Are these rims supposed to be retorqued at certain intervals?
Could aggressive direction changes do it?
Or is it just cheap crappy workmanship and materials? (Which is what I think)

Any wisdom will be appreciated, Big Mike
 

Tenwheeler

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Last new Deere Ag tractor had a sticker inside of the windshield. Warranty void if wheels not retorqued at intervals. Something like 250 and 500 hours.
 

DevinJ

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I've been a HD tireman for a ton of years and I have never seen that and where I live people are hard on equipment. Our mill has a 996 loader with calcium in the rears for added weight and it has never had an issue. I would suspect a bed batch of wheels?
 

Welder Dave

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Even to weld it you need to completely remove the tire. I'm guessing the cracks originate at the bolt holes? Might be a good idea to look into the HD rims or modify the existing rims similar to the HD rims.
 

Welder Dave

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Would depend on if it was welded and repaired properly which may involve welding the holes shut and drilling new holes. Would have to see the bare rim without the ring on it. Alloy wheels for cars and aluminum rims for semi's are welded and repaired all the time and they go on the highway. Steel wheels for cars usually aren't too expensive but wheels for a loader could be fairly pricey.
 
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John C.

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Would you weld up a wheel on say a 988 wheel loader or a L90 Wagner stacker? Would an insurance company cover such a repair?
 

Nige

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Would you weld up a wheel on say a 988 wheel loader or a L90 Wagner stacker? Would an insurance company cover such a repair?
Simple answer. No they wouldn’t.

Cracked rims get cut up and junked. Too much risk doing anything else. There is documentation all over the system all saying “don’t weld cracked wheels”. Think of a wheel as something similar to a ROPS structure if you want - and you aren’t allowed to weld on those either.
 

Nige

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As a further commentary on this particular machine I would say that those rims have either been over-stressed, or not fully tight, or a combination of both. It would be interesting to see what the holes look like as to regarding being completely circular if the wheel was removed. My bet is on over-stressed though.

Maybe a clue is in the OP - "The machine loads trucks all day, heavy, wet material (17k) buckets.."
Could it have a bucket installed on it that is too large a capacity when considering the material density.?
 

Tenwheeler

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KIMG0111 (1).jpg In that application it makes since not to do wheel repairs. Done properly in some applications I have no problem with installing an overlay. They ended up being stronger than original? Maybe we just learned to retorque lugs any time a wheel has been off and on a schedule after that.
 

Tenwheeler

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Front wheels on farm tractors with loaders have a history of failures. Shoup ag parts has weld on wheel over lays in their catalog.
We were in a bind when someone pointed that out. These are the same center as a semi truck rim. We cut the center out of a truck rim. Welded it in a got back to business. The overlays we had custom made were much thicker and we never had a problem with them.
 

Welder Dave

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Have seen valve stem holes welded and new holes drilled in Alcoa rims by a specialty welding shop several years ago. Not sure if it's still allowed but was at the time. Passenger vehicle rims are repaired all the time. Apparently skidder rims are repaired fairly often. If a rim is considered like a pressure vessel and potentially repaired as if it were a pressure vessel, then I think repairing may be an option. It certainly wouldn't be as simple as just welding the cracks up by anybody who can strike an arc. Preheating, ultrasonic inspection, hardness testing, X-raying and stress relieving may all be required so it would require a very strict procedure from an engineer and a highly qualified welder. Under these circumstances I can see why it wouldn't be recommended. Could a wheel be successfully repaired (depending how bad it was) I'd say yes but it would require a pretty extensive procedure by highly qualified tradesmen especially if reinforcement was being added. If nuclear reactor boiler tubes can be repaired, I'm sure with the right procedure a wheel could be repaired. Would it be worth the trouble and expense may be the bigger question.
 
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Nige

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And by the time all the above has been done the repair would probably come out more expensive than buying a new rim.
Additionally there are so many potentially uncontrollable factors in the procedure you describe as to make it a potential minefield. Not saying it couldn't work but more "look at what could go wrong".

As a comment no passenger vehicle of mine would ever have a wheel repaired. I put a higher value on my life than to try to save a few bucks. Just my opinion.
 
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funwithfuel

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Are you running recommended air pressure for that tire/rim combination. Does the machine have boom suspension, if so, is it working properly? Is the linkage of the loader frame tight or is it plumb wore out? I doubt it's as simple as one thing wrong. How many hours of run time till the wheels started failing?
We've established repair is not an option, let's look for a cause.
 
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