160 tractor draft seal repair

For anyone that has a 160 and its leaking hydraulic fluid at the draft sensing shaft, I recently repaired mine. The manual instructs to remove the 3 point lift housing, and disconnect the lever arm to the draft shaft. Quite a bit of work to do. But after reviewing the parts break down, I could not understand why this was needed unless you were replacing the entire shaft. There are 2 seals on each side that could cause the leak. One O-ring that goes around the shaft bushing that seals the bushing to the transmission housing. The other is a seal that surrounds the draft shaft. Lastly, a felt washer that keeps dust and dirt out. The 2 seals, 2 felt seals and 2 O-rings from Agco were a whopping $160!!!! Anyway, after removing the snap ring, crank arm, seal plate, washers, you can then see the outer seal. I drilled a 1/8th” hole in the metal ring of the seal, used a curved pick and drove it gently into the hole. A few taps of a small hammer and the seal turned inside the shaft bushing. A few taps and the seal came out. Next I tapped the draft shaft inward maybe a 1/2”, and then tapped it back from the other side. This drove the bushing out enough for me the grab it and gently pull it out until the O-ring was visible and could be removed. Installed the new O-ring, lubed the O-ring and gently drove it back in. Installed the new seal in the bushing, installed all the components back on that side. Repeated for the opposite side. It was a quite simple process. Filled the transmission back up with fluid, bled the system, and no more leaks. Spread 6 ton of fertilizer with our 3 point spreader over 2 afternoons and no leaks so I feel very confident that it has resolved the issue. Make sure that you put the crank arm back on the same splines as it is timed. I marked mine before I removed anything. Hope this helps someone in need of the same repair.

Edited by AC720Man - 23 Mar 2022 at 6:36pm

I do not have a record of the part #’s I used. I called Brenda at SLI, she pulled it up in AGCO books and shipped them to me. That was back when the parts book site was down. I can access parts books now and will update the post.

To get a good view of the parts breakdown and part numbers go to AGCO parts book. Once on the site click on Search by parts book. Type 160 tractor, scroll down to Hitch-Draft sensing linkage. You will see the parts list populate along with part numbers. Much easier to view on a laptop or computer.
21-seal 72072978
23-seal 72072977
24-bearing housing seal 72072976