L5740HSTC mid-PTO stuck?

[bubbas45]

Howdy, folks. My wife recently traded in my L3130 on a used L5740HSTC with an L2195A snow thrower so I can clear the driveways at our new place in comfort.

I started the tractor up the other day and read the manual while I checked out every control and display. I could not get the mid-PTO for the snow thrower engaged. I have never used a mid-PTO, but I had the operator's manual in hand while I tried. It worked when we viewed the tractor on the dealer lot.

The tractor had been sitting in the open for a couple of weeks, and not started in that interval. (It's on a property where we are building a house.)
At the time I attempted the mid-PTO, the tractor was thoroughly warmed up, probably 30 minutes.
The rear PTO was not engaged when I tried the mid-PTO. (I did check that it _would_ engage, no problems).

I could not get the mid-PTO lever to move, not a bit. The lever seems to be higher than I would have expected for the disengaged position, but I don't really know where it is supposed to be. I've tried to attach a pic to show what I mean.


I talked to the shop service department. He suggested that perhaps the rear PTO gear was not exactly aligned, and that operating that might enable the mid to engage later. I had already tried that, so no joy there.

Advice greatly appreciated.

thanks, bws

 

[sandyc]

My 3350 mid pto acted the same way. I followed the rods to the hst and sprayed the heck out of everything. No go. I looked at the parts list on merricks and noticed that the hst connection terminated on the outside of the other side of the hst. Confusing? The rod was held in place by a circle clip. Sprayed that and all is well. Guess what I'm saying is follow the linkage and maybe you'll find out where it is binding up. Yours might be different but it might have the same problem. No pics to share. Sorry

 

[bubbas45]

Thanks. I'll take a look at this.

I was right about the lever appearing too high to be disengaged. We had snow a couple of days ago. I went up today to try the penetrating oil. After warming the tractor and confirming the mid lever was immobilized, I turned on the rear PTO and snow came flying out of the chute. So the mid is stuck in the engaged position. I'm not happy about that, but at least I can move snow.

 

[Grandad4]

Agree with Sandy's recommendation. These tractors all have mechanical linkages beneath the floor and seat area that are prone to binding up if they aren't used often, lubed and kept reasonably free of dirt. Of course, that's exactly where everything likes to accumulate... grass, grit, dust, you name it. And, of course, it's also got electrical connections and other parts you don't want to blast with the pressure washer, so regular use of the air hose plus some careful cleaning/washing/lubing every once in a while will keep things working.

 

[bubbas45]

Belated update on the issue: Stuck linkage, as y'all said. I'll start taking care of it better than the PO. I was unable to free it myself, but before I got to the disassembly stage, the tractor developed an even more fun problem: stuck in reverse. Made it kind of tough to use the front-mounted snow thrower. I got the mechanic out to take care of both issues. The stuck-in-reverse problem was a bad solenoid.

thanks for your advice, bws