Here's how I get the two sections of a PTO shaft unstuck...

[kebo]

Yeah, it's probably oberkill but when it's all you got, it works for me lol. The shaft was one that I bought along with a Cosmo 3pt spreader (in another craigslist thread I had) and it had apparently sat out in the weather all its life. The yoke ends are rusted up some, and the two sections of the shaft had froze up, with them fully compressed. Three pieces of chain, and a couple minutes later it was freed up. This is probably the third time I've used this technique.

 

[yelbike]

Carefully you don't rip your shed down.

 

[jenkinsph]

Carefully you don't rip your shed down.

That is what I was thinking too.

 

[kebo]

That is what I was thinking too.

Ha, the previous two times I attached the shaft to a tree, but got pretty lazy this time because the post was more convenient. That thought did come to my mind though, but it came apart pretty easy. It was just stuck tighter than I could undo with my hands. Thanks for pointing it out though.

 

[hslogger]

I leave the pto attached to the implement and then use a come along to pull it apart. slower but safer.

 

[Utopia Texas]

Get in the habit of greasing the shaft every 20 years or so and it won't get stuck together.

 

[kebo]

Get in the habit of greasing the shaft every 20 years or so and it won't get stuck together.

I hear ya, but a couple times the issue was that the two shafts got jammed together in one way or another. Sometimes when that happens, there will be burrs on the ends from the welds, or one of the sections will be deformed from the heat during welding, and it will bind up no matter how much grease it has on it.

 

[jenkinsph]

I keep the tractor side half of my pto shafts in my shed and clean them up before using. Saves me a lot of grief.

 

[BHD]

Just take them apart when done using the implement, and slip them back together when wanting to use them again, on a lot of my stuff I have welded a tube like a exhaust pipe tube for a holder for the tractor end to store them when apart.

 

[Utopia Texas]

I hear ya, but a couple times the issue was that the two shafts got jammed together in one way or another. Sometimes when that happens, there will be burrs on the ends from the welds, or one of the sections will be deformed from the heat during welding, and it will bind up no matter how much grease it has on it.

After I cut any PTO shafts to length I check for burrs and gently grind smooth. Then I take the grinder and make matching marks on each shaft so I can easily match them together easily....