Grillo G85d PTO lever slipping out of gear

   / Grillo G85d PTO lever slipping out of gear #1  

texanjim

Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2013
Messages
29
Location
Wales
Tractor
McCormick CX105, McCormick CX95, Case 1494, Grillo G85D
Hi all,

I posted earlier in the year about my Grillo G85d not staying in forward or reverse gear. I solved with some help from here by replacing the missing spring that holds the lever in place.

I have been using the machine this season and found the only real problem I have with it now is that the PTO lever slips out of gear when tilling. After engaging it and travelling about 3 yards or so, the PTO disengages through the vibration of tilling. My 'Work around' is to simply hold it in the engaged position while tilling, so I can easily switch to reverse etc on the end of the beds I'm tilling. This isn't ideal though, as you can guess.

Does anyone have any experience of this? It seems to be an internal part that holds the PTO in gear in this case. If so, does anyone have any details.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
   / Grillo G85d PTO lever slipping out of gear #2  
I had the PTO kicking out on my 735 BCS, replaced the PTO coupling and the internal engagement arm, a few years later, it started disengaging again while tilling. I replaced the coupling again and got the three inch extension for the PTO. That fixed the problem since the splines on the tiller had worn some, with the extension, the tiller stays engaged in the extension and the PTO engagement coupling has a new shaft end in the extension. It helps to keep the splines clean and greased.
 
   / Grillo G85d PTO lever slipping out of gear #3  
Hi. My grillo 107d has the same problem with the pto as yours does. I managed to solve the problem for a few days by adding a shim under the spring that holds the pto engagement lever in or out, but soon enough it started popping out of engagement again. Lack of time forced me to simply rig up a bungee cord holding the lever in place rather than re-opening the tractor and adding more shims under the spring. It's now been with the bungee cord for 2 years, but I still plan on trying to "really" fix the problem some day this winter. It's a real pain-in-the-neck problem to deal with. I don't know if I recommend the bungee cord idea wholeheartedly, but at least it lets you get the rest of the job done. Just make sure it's not so tight so you can still safely use the reverse gear.
 
   / Grillo G85d PTO lever slipping out of gear #4  
That doesn't sound good, been reading a lot about these machines and haven't come across pto levers popping out before. Dealer set up? Wear item?
 
   / Grillo G85d PTO lever slipping out of gear #5  
A quick coupling would provide a new male end.
 
   / Grillo G85d PTO lever slipping out of gear
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Thanks all for your input.

Udder, sounds like you have the same problem I do. I have attached a page from the parts book for the G85, is the spring you refer to part 3037 on this page? I haven't taken the machine apart to have a look. You added a shim, but would replacing the spring or ball bearing solve the problem. Is the spring getting weak for example, or the ball bearing worn?

SageBrush, my machine is ex hire so has seen a lot of use. I would think it's a worn part that's causing my problem, and would doubt if it would be an issue with a new machine.

G85_Page_06.jpg
 
   / Grillo G85d PTO lever slipping out of gear #7  
Yes texanjim, that's the spring I referred to. I slipped a shim (supplied by Earthtools) underneath the spring. Joel also supplied me with a new spring and ball bearing so I changed those out too. The only other thing I can think of for my own problem is to insert another thin shim.
 
   / Grillo G85d PTO lever slipping out of gear #8  
You will need to clean out all the grease from the socket, which is a good idea to do yearly anyway. The grease is there to lubricate all the moving parts in the socket, but it is also to catch dirt and grit. If it doesn't get cleaned out, you end up with a grit suspension that's as bad or worse than a dry socket.

Once it's cleaned out, look at part 26204 and part 26043 for wear. The splines in the PTO coupler (26204) should be nice and sharp all the way out to the edge of the hole. If the splines taper in, it's worn and will jump out as you described.

The Slider (26043) can also wear on the side that pushes the coupler out. You can get a welder to put a bead on it and grind it down, or you can just get another one. I elected to put a bead on my BCS 715 when I had this problem. You gotta be careful to not have too much, though. If the coupler can't slide back far enough, the attachment will run engaged or disengaged.
 
   / Grillo G85d PTO lever slipping out of gear
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks both, that's really useful info.

I've also just found this PDF on Earthtools web site with a step by step for replacing the spring, ball and adding the shim. Having not taken the tiller off yet, it also gives me a really clear view of how things work down there. Which means I can see exactly what your getting at Farmerboybill.

http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/Grillo_PTO_Coupling-_Ball_and_Spring_Replacement.pdf

Next stage is to get the machine apart I think, and see what's going on.

Many thanks
 
   / Grillo G85d PTO lever slipping out of gear
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Just a quick update on this for anyone who's interested.

After giving the machine a full service last week, I've been tilling some beds today ready for some garlic. I'm pretty sure now the problem I had with the PTO jumping out has gone (hopefully never to return!), as I didn't need to hold the lever in at all.

I think the problem must have been the grease in the PTO coupling. I have no idea when it had last been changed, but it had almost solidified in there and was pretty dirty. After cleaning it all out to see how the mechanism worked, I could feel the ball and spring engaging solidly with the holes in the PTO sleeve, it all felt pretty good really.

So I simply filled it up with fresh grease, and put it back together. All now seems to be working well, and it's a lot easier to use the machine. I can actually concentrate in going in a straight line instead of making sure the PTO is engaged!
 
 
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