"It's one of our most popular products," says Gene Wagaman of Parts Express about the company's new "beefed up" replacement wide front-end for Deere 3010, 3020, 4010, 4020, and 4320 tractors.

Parts Express consists of a group of 10 tractor and combine salvage yards around the country that band together to sell used and remanufactured "like new" parts. Wagaman manages one of the yards, Leesburg Tractor Parts, Leesburg, Ind. "The front axle is a weak point on these Deere tractors. Because they break so often there aren't many good used ones around so we came up with a replacement that's stronger than the original."

The new axle is simply a rebuilt wide-front axle off a 1370 Case tractor. The Case axle is fitted with the Deere mounting saddle and center steering arm so it installs with no modification to the tractor itself. One problem with the Deere axle, says Wagaman, is that the axle housing is cast iron. The Case axle housing is made of steel.

Another change is that the rebuilt axle has 8-bolt hubs instead of the original 6-bolt hubs. "The 6-bolt hubs often couldn't stand up to the strain of heavy loader work. Farmers would haul a round bale or other heavy load with the loader and while making a turn the hub would tear out of the wheel," says Wagaman, noting that the rebuilt axle "should last as long or longer than the rest of the tractor."