PTO shaft stuck/jammed on tractor

[Bartcephus]

Well, I got it unstuck. Ended up pulling the "lock collar" back, removing the retaining ring and tapping the collar toward the tractor. Rotated the shaft so the retaining balls dropped out. Then using the gear puller, the coupler slid right off with little effort. Need a new coupler though....:ashamed:

 

[IslandTractor]

Congratulations. I had an easier time of it but what you did was basically next on my list of solutions.

Was the coupler damaged by being jammed on or by your disassembly? Seems if all you did was remove the retaining ring that you might be able to collect the ball bearings and reassemble it.

 

[Bartcephus]

The coupler was damaged. The balls were pitted and rusted and I am certain that was the "hang up." They would not drop out of place and actually I had to tap the coupler with a 3 lbs. sledge to get the balls to drop out... one at a time. The holes where the cross on the u-joint go were knocked out of round too. I had some over zealous help. A new coupler which uses a spring loaded pin was purchased at TSC for about $40 and a new cross for $23 put the experience factor at $63 plus tax and of course the incidentals that had to be purchased "while I was there" were another $10 - $12

 

[jda1961]

i had the same thing happen to me, hooked a 1960s bushhog without a slipclutch hooked up to my 2007 kioti dk55, to much torque for the bushhog to handle when mowing down saplings, twisted the pto shaft on the mower three times without breaking it. did'nt know anything was wrong til i went to unhook it, took a long time to get that thing off too. it took me a lot of hammering with a punch to get the peices out so it would slip off, watch and don't hit the shaft on the tractor. the coupler on mine was toast so i could'nt hurt it any more than it was. replaced the whole mower driveline with a slipclutch. i think i got one from messicks for 130 bucks or so made for a bushhog.

 

[vrman]

I'll be honest...I haven't touched the two PTO shafts I have other then grease and such.
Since I added a Pat's Easy Change, I'm actually more concerned they may be too short (not enough overlap) then too long.

Exactly what happened to my pto shaft with my tiller. I bought the tiller with the tractor, and then added Pat's system after. Dealer had already shortened the pto shafts. I didn't realized the difference, and the end of the shaft finally gave out (tractor side). I'm trying to figure out how to get the shaft out of the universal joint. The pin came out easy, but I had to resort to google, which brought me here!!

I think I have a come along laying around somewhere, so I think I will try that before disassembling the universal joint.

 

[Oldmechanic]

Couple things to think about, be careful on using a slide-hammer as you can damage the PTO shaft and/or the bearing or housing. DW 40 or better yet Liquid Wrench. if you have to use heat you might damage the seal, have someone run water just were the shaft goes in the tractor. Go a little at a time. Best way I have found is to spay penetrating oil and tap on the side but not hard enough to damage the coupler and then spray it again you could do this over and over it might get it off if not spray it again then let it set over night and try again. To prevent this spray with penetrating oil let dry then spay with white lithium grease I use the little red tube that is taped to the side of the can, Spray around the slide and tilt the coupler up pull back on the lock so the balls detent in and spray in the holes. The more the better. More so if in wet area. If it sits alot out side tape a plastic bag over it when not in use. But of all don't leave it connected to the tractor!

 

[Dead Horse]

It bears repeating, because it worked, when nothing else did.


Come along, C clamp and a BFH tapping on the pto shaft as you increase tension on the come along.


Easy does it.


Once you have it off, derss the input shaft with a file or if necessary, a precision grinder. the deformatons wil be obvous.


GO EASY and it will not cost you a bunch of cash.

 

[Omega Woods]

I want to resurrect this thread and describe what happened to me this morning and what I did about it.

My tractor (Branson 4530) has release and drop down, spring loaded ends on the three-point arms, which allows them to be extended about six inches when connecting implements. I hooked up my bush hog type mower yesterday and didn't get one of the ends latched back in properly. When my wife started the PTO, the geometry was wrong and the shaft came apart at the end. I saw the three point issue, reconnected the shaft and aligned the three point properly. She started up the mower and everything was fine.

This morning, I hopped on the tractor and raised the mower full up. The PTO shaft bent and it drove the PTO shaft coupling all the way to the end of the input shaft, much like the original poster described here. Mine, however was the standard spring-loaded, pushbutton kind. Like this one.



So, I naturally came to TBN to find out what to do. I was intending to get a gear puller from the local auto parts place when it dawned on me that the remainder of the shaft was hanging straight down and touching the end of the drawbar, like a lever.

So, I took my three pound deadblow and started gently striking the side of the input shaft below the drawbar. As I smacked it, the collar began to work forward. After a couple minutes of more vigorous pounding, the collar was back to the normal engage position and I was able to drive the button down (which was impossible up until this point) and slide the shaft out like normal.

Anyway, I wanted to document my method and thank those here who helped me solve today's problem ten years ago!

OW

 

[IslandTractor]

As the OP, I'm happy you were able to resolve your jam. I'm also happy to add that in the past ten years, it has never happened again to me. Odds are good you'll have a trouble free decade!!

 

[Omega Woods]

Odds are good you'll have a trouble free decade!!

I'll drink to that!!