KAMA PTO selector issue

[Paddy]

Last year I had a rope get caught around my PTO selector and the handle broke off. The selector is High speed PTO, Neutral and Low speed PTO Basically there is a shaft on the rear left that a simple collar with a roll pin held it all on. The weld broke during the incident but the collar remained. So today I decide to take the roll pin out so I can take the collar off and weld the handle back on.

Got the roll pin out and worked the collar off. As soon as the collar was off, the shaft shot in! As in spring loaded. Now all I can think to do is drill a 10-24 tap hole in the end of the shaft to pull in back out to get the repaired collar back on.

Anyone ever see this?

 

[Rich Waugh]

Haven't had that happen to me (yet), but I think I'd start with a neodymium magnet on a stick to see if I could pull the shaft back that way before trying to drill and tap it. Hard to control where those shavings go when you drill. If you get a magnet almost as big as the shaft it should have pretty good pull - those neodymium magnets are strong!

 

[Brad_Blazer]

That's in the "good to know" category!

I wish I had a good suggestion. If the shaft is pretty much flush with the case your drill and tap idea sounds reasonable. You may have to pull with some considerable force to get the handle collar back on. I would recommend fine threads as they are a little easier to cut and the screw will be stronger.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Paddy]

Rich/Brad,

Good news. When I got a better look at the end using a mirror, I could see there was already a threaded hole in the end of the shaft. I did not have a metric screw that small. The shaft is still with in the bushing, not flush but no exposure to the inside.

Clearly, the factory used the threaded hole as I thought I had to do to over come the spring.

I will update.

Thanks Gents,

Patrick T

 

[Paddy]

I got the shaft pulled back out by using a screw and pulling. Quite a trick to hold the screw and get the PTO selector handle back on. But the issue is, something is not right. The handle is just floppy. does not go from the three positions; High speed- N-Low speed. The shaft did rotate during the screw install. So maybe If I'm lucky, it's just flip the shaft 180 deg. The problem is the shaft has a pretty powerful spring. I will basically have to take the handle off again to get it to rotate. Real bummer because it was a pain to get it back on. I also fear that to get the dog to line up it maybe require some sort of pulling it out half way rotate and such. Just can't see whats going on in there.

If all fails, I will need to pull the 3PH housing to see what the heck is there. Lucky for me, the PTO shift shaft is at the very top after the 3PH housing is off. I'm betting the housing is quite heavy and full of Hydro oil.

At this point I do not want to start the tractor for fear some thing might be in a position to cause major damage.

Patrick T

 

[Paddy]

Don't know if anyone is still following this but, I did pull the 3PH housing. It's a big chunk of cast iron but as predicted, I could see the works. I used a come-along from the ROP to lift it. The shift dog was not going to go in with out a bit of wiggle and force. At the same time the spring was wanting to yank it back. I wedged a stick of wood to hold in place as I got the roll pin back.

What a pain but it was much better than trying to to get it in other wise. Have a bit more re-assemble but it looks like I'm back.

As a side note, I'm surprised how low the gear oil is relative to the main bearing. Per Tommy at Affordable tractor, I over filled to get rid of the "high pitched squeal". Hard to imagine another one inch lower. In fact, I'm thinking of adding another inch of gear oil!

If anyone wants to see photos, let me know

Patrick T

 

[cleat]

On the gear boxes I work on at the plant the recommended oil level is just to the top of the bottom ball of the highest bearing. The bearing pulls the oil up as it rotates. More oil is not an issue though as some of the lower bearings will be completely submerged.

Cleat

 

[greg_g]

Also - on that tractor - don't check fluid levels with the dipsticks screwed all the way in. This includes hydraulics and engine. Unscrew the dipstick, wipe, reinsert without rotating, remove, check level, top up as necessary.

//greg//

 

[Diamondpilot]

Glad you got it back up and going.

Chris

 

[greg_g]

I should have added a tip about the hydraulic fluid dipstick. The one on my KM454 only had one line on it. Through trial and error I concluded it was the FULL mark. I subsequently never added fluid until the dipstick - after being removed/wiped/placed back on the hole - came out dry. And regarding the problem with clean hydraulic fluid being hard to see on the dipstick; open the wiping rag or cloth flat in the palm of one hand, lay the tip of the dipstick on the cloth with the other hand. The fluid will transfer from the stick to the cloth, giving you a good impression of the fluid level on the stick.

//greg//