Snowblower John Deere 47" Snowblower PTO shaft vibration

   / John Deere 47" Snowblower PTO shaft vibration #1  

xmineman

New member
Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
2
Tractor
johndeere 2305 & 47" snowblower
I purchased my 2305 two winters ago, specifically to blow snow. I live in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan where the snow average is 250" per year. The dealer delivered the machine ran it for 30 seconds and had to bring it back to the shop to reinstall a part or parts he had earlier robbed. From day one the blower has been noisey. At 100 hours the chaindrive went to pieces. The dealer would not honor the warranty. He said I was blowing too much snow and abusing the machine. I ordered new sprokets and chain. On disassembly I discovered the carrier for the small sprocket that the PTO shaft attaches to had a cold weld on one side. You can only see this upon complete disassembly of the chain drive. I showed the cold weld on the part and the dealer grudgenly agreed to repair it at no cost to me. The blower was returned to me and it ran well but was still noisey. During this time I was breaking an excessive amount of shearpins for the auger.
Jump to this year. I determined that I was breaking AUGER shearpins due to sides flexing, which would cause stress on shearpins. After fabricating two 1/4" sideplates and attaching, no more broken auger shearpins. Come to find out, If I had ordered the next larger tractor John Deere would have come with identical side plates for reenforcement.
This year ONLY 10 hours operating time after the dealers warranty repair, the Large sprocket fell off the shaft on the snowblower. Again the dealer said he would not cover the failure. He did tell me that John Deere used to use a #50 chain and sprockets instead of the current #40 size chain. I ordered the #50 chain and sprocket. Apon delivery the dealer's employee contacted J>D> and it was determined that there was a bad batch of sprockets and they would cover the parts. I installed the new larger sprockets and chain. I have to tighten weekly as the vibration from the pto drive shaft is beating the machine to death.
I have been looking at how to make a pto shaft that has a constant velocity joint and U joint to connect Blower to tractor. I learned today that John Deere has such an item! It is John Deere Part number AM138128 UNIVERSAL DRIVESHAFT. It seems John Deere is very aware of this problem. I brought this information to the dealer and told him I wanted it provided to me under warranty and I wanted the blown carrier bearings and shaft replaced also. I further told him I wanted the bolts holding the chain sprocket carrier replaced as they would not keep tension on the chain. The dealer agreed. I will believe it when I see it. I was given a rather nebulos time next week, maybe for the repair.
I really like John Deere, however this dealer is killing me. I should not have had to become a driveline expert to get this fixed. The dealer has been either unable or unwilling to support me. I do know John Deere does testing and research in real life conditions and is American made. That is why I bought it.
In summary, 2305 owners with snowblower driveline issues have an option AM138128 is for the pto shaft from the blower to tractor. There is a long shaft that goes from mid pto shaft splint to the front carrier bearings. It also has a constant velocity Joint in the assembly. I will post that part number a bit later. I sure hope this helps somebody.
 
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   / John Deere 47" Snowblower PTO shaft vibration #2  
xmineman sorry for all the bad luck with blower and dealer....

Dealers like that you don't need... seems like someone in his shop had no clue what they were doing or just didn't pay attention or both...
I think I was told when I bought mine used 2 yrs ago it was then 4 yrs old...Used it just a little over 100 hrs that winter. My fault I didn't check it very well before using it last winter and I sheared the key and lost a set screw last winter...besides that no major issues.

Good luck on his future repairs for you.
 
   / John Deere 47" Snowblower PTO shaft vibration #3  
Hi x,

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Sometimes these things happen. Those new CV joint shafts have been around a while now. Search the forums and you'll find a lot of happier owners having them.

My 2008 2305 had the old style of PTO shaft like yours does but I never had any big problems with it. My 47 blower is as dependable as they come.

I hope your dealer turns your opinion around but don't count on it. They deal with lots of people and lots of problems in a given day and most likely just do the best they can knowing some folks aren't going to end up satisfied.
 
   / John Deere 47" Snowblower PTO shaft vibration #4  
dont forget that the ujoints all have to be in "phase" or the shaft will vibrate. this simple step is very often overlooked even by the guys at the dealer.
 
   / John Deere 47" Snowblower PTO shaft vibration
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Ensoll,
My dealer has clearly stated that he would prefer to have only customers that put 100 hours on a machine in 10 years, not each year as I do. He runs a 1 1/2 man shop and simply feels that all customers have too many demands. Every body wants it now. He is overly argumentitive and the customer is mostly wrong. This is a rural area and I question how he manages to stay in business. That is too bad. I will end up upgrading to a larger tractor, but it will not be with this dealer.
Searching this site it was apparent that I was not alone in this problem (of the pto vibration). It was clear to me and I was aware of the rear long shaft having a CV joint. ( I have that modification) What was not clear to me was the fact that there was a solution for the short pto shaft that attatches to the blower. That is why I posted that part number. 7" of snow comming tonight!
 
   / John Deere 47" Snowblower PTO shaft vibration #6  
Sorry bud, I thought you were referring to the main PTO shaft. Thats good info.

And with regard to dealers, I definitely promote shopping around to find the best overall establishment for your needs. You can learn a lot in the process too.
 
   / John Deere 47" Snowblower PTO shaft vibration #7  
I have a new 47" snowblower with zero hours on it due to zero snow. I think it's noisy. Can anyone tell me how to tell if a joint is a universal joint or a CV joint by looking at it?

Also I noted that the chain gets loose then tight when rotating by hand - apparently the sprockets aren't centered on the shaft. Can anyone tell me how much variance is considered "normal"?
 
 
 
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