Is this safe? (PTO shaft/rotary cutter)

[bill333]

Yeah, pull things apart. Get a cheap set like (Harbor Freight sells) digital calipers so's you can measure the yoke cap/bearing bore and the inside the yoke ear to ear distance and 'bout the length to the tractor pto shaft when it's hook up to the mower so you know the median length of the driveline. Call Agri-Supply and tell them what you're doing, they'll probably ask for some of those measurements. Go back with regular six spline 1-3/8" for the tractor end (I'm thinkin' small utility tractor here) and probably smooth bore (you know the size of shaft by now) with bolt hole for shear bolt. Get the low hardness bolts (no marks on the head) to use for shear bolts. The slip clutchs are nice but kinda spendy. The new 5' Bush Hog I bought had shear bolts in it right from the factory. Oh yeah check the grease or oil in the gear head and grease the pto joints. It probably wouldn't hurt to roll the thing up on one side so's you can check things out underneath that something isn't about come apart and the blades swing freely and maybe touch the blades up with a 4" angle grinder (again Harbor Freight tool). I think you'll be happy with the results. Field mowers generally get beat up pretty much so, having new dent free mower isn't the fad. Narly patched up with different paint schemes gives you the Rambo look, much more desireable. Go spend the saved money on the significant other a nice dinner. bjr

Thanks for the detailed info, this is really helpful for someone like me.
Another poster mentioned an ezhitch that doesn't add any length -- that might solve my problem. I still need to determine of my current slip clutch works. I do know the mower works, I've used it a few times.

I have a 4 inch grinder and I touched up the blades; I don't want them too sharp since this is for a horse pasture. (finely cut grass isn't good for horses!).
I agree totally -- I don't care what it looks like, as long as it works!

On yours, is the shear bolt in the shaft itself, or on the mower? I couldn't find any PTO shafts with bolts at TSC.

 

[kthompson]

Two recommendations: if you call Agrisupply and have your specs they will tell you if they have one and the price. They are great in support. But think you may be better off to forget the $50 or $250 you may save buying there in this case and take it all off and go to local tractor shop that does such repairs. Don't think all dealerships are same for such repairs.

 

[greg_g]

Is there any way to tell if the slip clutch is working without finding out the hard way that it isn't? In other words without running the tractor?

No. As I said; disassemble/clean/reassemble/adjust/test. The test part means mow with it. Short of having instructions on how to adjust it properly, some folks just use trial and error. They put it back together purposefully loose, so that they know it's going to slip. Then - mowing of course - they progressively tighten it until it doesn't slip under normal mowing conditions.

descriptions of the products are really only useful if you know the terminology.

Yeah, the catalogs occasionally aren't really detailed enough for me either. But the spline thing is easy, count'em. Go to the back of your tractor - count the "teeth" on the PTO output shaft. On the mower end, look at the transmission input shaft. It should be quite evident if it's got splines. If it does, count'em. If it doesn't, it's smooth. If it's smooth, put a caliper on it and measure the diameter.

The example you posted is AgriSupply stock number 8651054 (a Eurocardan TX1 1110 PTO shaft, complete). Going to the page specific to that stock number, you would have seen

• made by Eurocardan
• pto shaft TX1 1110 - 43.7" from cross to cross
• 1 3/8x6 spline on the tractor end - implement end is a 1 1/4" round w/a 3/8" set screw

Translation: the tractor end is 1-3/8" diameter and splined, it's 43.7" between the U-joint centers, the mower end is 1-1/4" and round (smooth) with a 3/8" diameter hole in it for a fastener bolt or a shear pin.

But I understand your frustration. Quite often I have to call AgriSupply and talk to them personally, because their not all their catalog items list all the specs I might require. In your case, I think the suggestions to call them with your questions were sound.

If you end up getting the slip clutch to work, you won't need a shear pin. If you don't get it to work, the decision is then whether to replace it with another slip clutch type - or to go with a straight shaft and shear pin.

//greg//

 

[bill333]

greg -- thanks for your detailed reply (and for your service to our country!).
Your explanation was great.
I could not get to the 'more info' page on Agrisupply which had that additional info; just figured out why -- it uses java script to pull up that page, which I try to always turn off (slow, lots of viruses...)

Last question, I hope. When you say it 'slips' when mowing, is this something I would feel? What I wanted to avoid was mowing with a bad slip clutch and finding out it didn't work by my tractor gear box getting wrecked. Am I wrong about this? If the slip clutch is frozen or not working, would the blades simply not rotate?

real newbie, as you can tell!

 

[greg_g]

You'll not likely feel slippage from the operator seat. And depending upon how loud your tractor is, you may not hear it either. The usual indication is smoke coming off the slip clutch. It will probably be squealing too, but you may not hear that.

Don't gamble that "it might work", this is the sort of thing where you need to expect the worst. That's why I'm keep emphasizing that you disassemble/clean/adjust/test. If the slip clutch is frozen or not working, you simply have no protection for the tractor transmission. If/when you hit something stout enough to stop the blades - even momentarily - a tremendous shock load gets transferred through the PTO driveshaft and into the tractor transmission. This is where a properly operating slip clutch comes in. It slips, stopping that shock load right there - preventing it from continuing onward to the tractor tranny. When a slip clutch is frozen - usually because of simple neglect - it can lead to some unanticipated and expensive tractor transmission repairs. Mower damage is just a secondary consideration, comparatively much easier and cheaper to fix.

//greg//

 

[Soundguy]

if a slip clutch is frozen.. it won't slip.. thus no driveline protection.. so when you hit burried treasure.. something gives.. hopefully not something expensive like a tractor tranny.

soundguy

 

[aczlan]

Last question, I hope. When you say it 'slips' when mowing, is this something I would feel? What I wanted to avoid was mowing with a bad slip clutch and finding out it didn't work by my tractor gear box getting wrecked. Am I wrong about this? If the slip clutch is frozen or not working, would the blades simply not rotate?!

A slip clutch is supposed to slip before something breaks in your driveline (ie: one side spins and the other side stays still).

Can you pull the 4 bolts that hold the yoke assy on and take some pictures from directly in front, on the side and behind the disk that is left? That shouldn't be a big deal to do (as long as you dont mind snapping/cutting a few bolts) and let us see if it is a slip clutch and if so, how it should be removed. You will not be able to install a new (shearpin protected) shaft until you get that shaft off.

Aaron Z

 

[bill333]

I'm certainly willing to take it apart for pictures/testing (getting it back together is always my concern!)

This may sound stupid but -- couldn't I test it by (off the tractor of course): blocking the blades (to replicate the blades being 'stopped') and then manually turning the PTO shaft by hand? If the PTO shaft will turn freely without the blades turning, wouldn't that mean that the slip clutch is working correctly? Or am I missing something?

 

[aczlan]

I'm certainly willing to take it apart for pictures/testing (getting it back together is always my concern!)

This may sound stupid but -- couldn't I test it by (off the tractor of course): blocking the blades (to replicate the blades being 'stopped') and then manually turning the PTO shaft by hand? If the PTO shaft will turn freely without the blades turning, wouldn't that mean that the slip clutch is working correctly? Or am I missing something?

If you were able to mow with it you will not be able to get the clutch to slip by hand (unless your strength is more than that of your tractors PTO), think of it as trying to get a car to stand still and burn rubber by standing in front of it.

I would take off the 4 bolts (they shouldn't be a huge deal to replace if need be. However, it might be worthwhile to mark one side with a light colored crayon so that you can get it back together in the same orientation) and look at the bolts that are on the front of the disc (behind the yoke), those look (from your picture) to be where the tension would be adjusted.

Do you know a make and model for this machine?

Aaron Z

 

[bill333]

okay. I think I get it.

The cutter is a Hardee E60.

I already tried contacting the company to see if they have a maintenance manual, but have received no response.