PTO shaft Length

[BCNU]

Could someone please explain to me the correct way to measure a PTO shaft to see if it needs to be cut off or not. How much travel in and out should it have when it is at its shortest length straight across? Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[greg_g]

How much travel in and out should it have when it is at its shortest length straight across?

Depends. Will the PTO shaft in question be dedicated one implement only? Or will you be using it on more than one?

Assuming dedicated, one inch at horizontal is sufficient. By horizontal, I mean when the implement is lifted by the TPH to a height where the tractor PTO spline is on a horizontal plane with the implements transmission input spline. This is when the PTO shaft will be compressed to its minimum length. You take a spline to spline measurement here. Adjust your actual cut by one inch (measurement +1").

This is a generic guideline. Your PTO shaft manufacturer should have included instructions on how to cut to fit. If not, some manufacturers also post the instructions on their websites.

//greg//

 

[blueberryman]

Here's a link that you can try . It will give you the general idea


New Page 60


good luck


Rick

 

[Jimmyp5]

The guys at Nothern Tools are great to deal with...they even call you instead of you calling them to make sure you have the right product for the application... unlike our TC clothing clerks they do know their business.

 

[JB4310]

To expand on pto shaft length, what is the minimum amount of over lap or insertion or what ever you call the amount of shaft that is still doubled when you slide the two splines on?

I have a PTO generator and I had to cut a lot off of the supplied shaft as the gen is mounted on a carrier and is pretty close, I only cut the minimum so one side could be slid on the spline and the other just clears the end of the other spline, then I have to pull it out the 4-5 inches to engage the spline. It only leaves about 6 or 8 inches of over lapped shaft, is that OK? This is the first pto implement I ever owned and now I think I should have left the shaft longer and connected it a different way.

 

[Jimmyp5]

I have been told to try and keep at least 6 inches in the overlap, that is why they tell you to cut both sides of the shaft. That said, it really depends on how much stress your putting on the shaft. I have seen some and ran them where the overlap was 3 inches max...

 

[Bird]

I'm not sure a link to a .pdf file will work, but maybe this link will work. If not, go to bushhog.com, then to the Bush Hog products and open the manual for their rotary tillers and on page 7 is the best instructions I've seen for cutting a PTO shaft to the proper length.

Yep, the link worked for me anyway to go directly to that page.

 

[greg_g]

To expand on pto shaft length, what is the minimum amount of over lap or insertion or what ever you call the amount of shaft that is still doubled when you slide the two splines on?

I never viewed the concept from the concept of "minimum ". The process I described leaves you with maximum overlap. The more double wall that remains when you're done cutting to fit, the more protection you leave yourself against bending the shaft during operation.

I want all my PTO shafts to have as much metal as possible left on them when I'm done cutting to fit - removing only the minimum amount necessary to prevent binding when the tractor output spline is horizontally aligned with the implement input shaft. That is when the PTO shaft will be the shortest it will ever be throughout the entire range of motion of the three point hitch. Raising/lowering the TPH from that point, necessarily makes the PTO shaft longer.

//greg//

 

[Bird]

Greg, I agree, in that I would want as much overlap as possible, but as a practical matter, I can understand the question as to the minimum safe amount of overlap. And in the link I provided, Bush Hog says:

F. Hold driveline sections parallel to each other
and check for minimum 6 inches (15cm) overlap.
(Figure 2-2) If driveline has been marked for cutting,
overlap will be the distance between two marks. If​

driveline has less than minimum overlap, do not use.

Both the question and the answer make sense to me.

 

[CFHartman]

BCNU
A word of CAUTION before you cut anything. Hook up the tractor end of the PTO do not hook up or else unhook the implement end. Hook the implement to the TPH and raise and CK at Level And on up. I have a JD 2210 and just bought a Herd M96 spreader. Wile checking it for the I-Match descovered that the shortest distance was when it was raised all the way up.