Wheel Motor Repair in Iowa — Hydraulic Wheel Drives | Ames Hydraulics

A hydraulic wheel motor is the thing that turns the wheel or track on a skid steer, mower, combine, or industrial vehicle. When one fails, the machine drags a wheel, pulls to one side, or won’t drive. Ames Hydraulics does wheel motor repair in central Iowa on hydraulic wheel motors of every size — skid-steer, zero-turn mower, combine drive, and industrial equipment. Rebuilt in-house and pressure-tested. Free pickup within 60 miles of Ames.

How Wheel Motors Fail

Most wheel motor repair we do is on axial-piston or gerotor-style motors. Common failures: worn rotating groups (loss of torque and speed), leaking shaft seals (oil down the wheel, sometimes dangerous on a slope), scored valve plates, and worn bearings. Symptoms usually show as one side that pulls or drags, a machine that turns unevenly, or a wheel that won’t drive at all while the other side is fine. Rebuild starts with pulling the motor, inspecting the rotating group, and figuring out what’s actually worn.

What We Rebuild

• Axial-piston wheel motors — the common design on skid steers and heavier equipment
• Gerotor wheel motors on lighter equipment and mowers
• Radial-piston motors on heavy machinery
• Planetary drive gearboxes that most wheel motors bolt into
• Shaft seals, bearings, and case seals
• Brake packs built into many hydraulic wheel motors

Skid Steers, Mowers, and Combines

The bulk of our wheel motor repair customers are running skid steers (Bobcat, Case, Cat, John Deere, Kubota, and the rest), commercial zero-turn mowers where a wheel motor is the drive unit, and combines that use hydraulic wheel motors on the rear axle. All the same principles apply. Bring us the pulled motor or the whole machine.

Pressure-Tested Before It Goes Back

Every rebuilt wheel motor gets pressure- and flow-tested here before it leaves. That’s how we catch a marginal rebuild before it becomes a warranty problem in the field. A wheel motor rebuild that hasn’t been tested is a gamble; a tested one holds. Simple rule.

Free Pickup Within 60 Miles

Pull the motor and bring it, or bring the whole machine — we’ll come get it if you can’t move it, free within 60 miles of Ames. Text a photo of the motor and its tag to 515-292-2599 and we’ll tell you the same day what your wheel motor repair needs and roughly what it will cost.

Get Ground Drive Back

See our full hydraulic repair, welding & fabrication, and trailer repair services. Call or text 515-292-2599 or bring the machine to 210 Freel Dr in Ames. Open Monday through Friday, 7AM to 5PM.

Symptoms That Point at a Wheel Motor

A machine that pulls to one side under load, a wheel that spins backwards briefly when you release drive, one side that’s noticeably slower than the other, or oil dripping out of a wheel hub — all of those point at a wheel motor. Not every one of those symptoms is definitely a bad motor (some are pump or valve issues), which is why wheel motor repair starts with real diagnostics, not a parts-swap.

Track Machines Versus Wheeled Machines

Skid-steer track loaders and compact track loaders use the same style of hydraulic drive motor as their wheeled siblings, but the loading is different — the track pulls constantly and the motor sees a wider RPM range. We rebuild both wheel and track drive motors, and the pressure-test protocol is the same. Whether it’s a wheel motor or a track drive motor, wheel motor repair here starts with the same steps.

Cost Versus New OEM

A rebuilt wheel motor from us is typically a fraction of the OEM new-motor price, done in a week or so, and holds as long when the rotating group and housing are within limits. When they aren’t, we tell you honestly and point you at the right new part. Not every motor should be rebuilt; the good ones can be.