2555 PTO clicking…

[Sarge338]

Hey Folks!

Has anyone run into this issue before? We were brush hogging the pasture, and all of a sudden we started hearing a strange noise. After shutting everything down, and starting to troubleshoot, we found that if we manually turn the PTO, we hear a distinct CLICK about every 90 degrees of rotation. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this and/or know how bad it could be?? I checked the fluid level of the transmission, and it was clean and full. This is my first tractor, so I don’t have a wealth of experience to fall back on.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[Sarge338]

Hey Folks!

Has anyone run into this issue before? We were brush hogging the pasture, and all of a sudden we started hearing a strange noise. After shutting everything down, and starting to troubleshoot, we found that if we manually turn the PTO, we hear a distinct CLICK about every 90 degrees of rotation. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this and/or know how bad it could be?? I checked the fluid level of the transmission, and it was clean and full. This is my first tractor, so I don’t have a wealth of experience to fall back on.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

When I say “manually turn the PTO”, I am referring to the spline shaft out of the back of the machine. We disconnected the brush hog to ensure it wasn’t part of the problem. I have a little video of it, but so far, I haven’t been able to upload it.

 

[duffer]

If the click is very audible, it might be coming from a bearing on the outside of the PTO shaft housing.
If the click is somewhat muffled, it could be a gear inside the tranny.
When you were troubleshooting, did you disconnect the brush hog first? If not, the sound might be coming from a bad U-joint on the brush hog driveshaft.

Or something else.

 

[Sarge338]

Hey Duffer,

The click is very audible, and you can feel the click when you’re turning it by hand.

Yes, we disconnected the brush hog after hearing the noise, and then we discovered the source of the click.

The tractor is still under warranty, but my local shop closed down. Looks like nearest shop is now 50 miles away.

Thanks for the info!!

 

[Sarge338]

So… went to load the tractor on a rollback today to have it hauled to a shop, and somehow… the clicking is gone!! Checked the PTO the same way I did the last time (turning the shaft by hand), but now the clicking is gone.

Does anyone with more knowledge than me (which would be most people) have any idea how a tactile click in the PTO shaft just appears and disappears with no intervention?? I’m not one to believe a mechanical problem just goes away, so now I’m even more curious as to what the problem could be.

 

[s219]

Why don't you look at the parts diagrams for the PTO system? I know on my Kubota, the parts diagrams clearly show the PTO mechanism, dog clutch, etc, and it's easy to understand how it all works.

I am betting it was either a dog clutch not fully engaged/disengaged, or part of an overrunning clutch (they work like a ratchet).

 

[Sarge338]

S219,

Finding the diagram(s) has been a challenge. My father-in-law and I have searched and searched looking for an exploded view of the transmission and PTO, but we haven’t been able to find anything yet. I’m kind of surprised that “the world’s #1 selling tractor” doesn’t have more info like that available online.