JD 430 Lawn Tractor, PTO thing slipping off

[JohnDeereLady]

Hello John Deere owners:

I am having an issue with my JD 430 lawn tractor and I was hoping someone might know the solution. I'm female so I might not call these parts right but here goes. There is a stick (I think it's a PTO) that fits over the drive shaft (grooved stick that appears to be coming from the engine) that connects to the mower deck. This thing keeps falling off and I cannot mow the lawn. This piece has a sleeve that I think should be able to be pulled back and slid over the grooved shaft. It also has little ball bearings. Anyway, I just don't seem to have the strength to pull this thing over the grooved thing that turns and makes the mower deck or whatever attachment work. I'm no mechanic (obviously) but I'm wondering if something needs replacement here or oiled or something, Sorry if I don't make any sense. My email address is: fastframebelair@yahoo.com or I guess you can just contact me here if you are willing to give me a tip. My husband isn't here a lot to fix this but, frankly, I think something is awry because it keeps coming off when I am mowing the lawn. I want a more permanent fix than slipping it back on. Thanks and hope to hear from you soon. Debbie

 

[whbrittain]

I've got a 2305, but it is the same setup. It's a real pain to reach under and up to slide the female part over the male part so the little ball bearings slip into the groove in the male part. What I usually do is to get the PTO from the mower deck lined up with the PTO output shaft before I hook up the lift arms. Usually a quick rearward yank on the mower deck will seat the PTO arm all the way onto the shaft.
Good luck!!

 

[zzvyb6]

Your description of the problem is very well stated. The thing that keeps coming off is the PTO shaft. There is a collar on it which retracts the 3 balls when you rotate it. Then you slip it on a few inches and rotate the collar back to its home positionm which locks it in place. If dirt or grime gets into the are where the balls are, then they won't retract all the way. The end of the pto goes on an inch or so, but not all the way to locked position. The pto shaft also slides along its length and if properly greased or oiled, extends easily. If it is too tight from lack of lubrication, extending it, putting it over the output shaft and working the collar is very difficult to accomplish. Some tiny strong hands are helpful as in a teen neighbor. A can of WD40 works pretty well to wash the dirt off the collar and balls and to lubricate the attachment shaft. The extension part of the shaft usually has a grease fitting that needs to be greased periodically along with pedals, steering parts and mower deck spindles.