John Joseph McVeigh
Gold Member
Re: PTO Pushrod Pops Out Every Now and Again
This happened to me this morning when I was about to try to squeeze some mowing in before the rains came. I brought the engine revs up to about 2100 rpm and pulled the yellow button to activate the Power Take-Off. The PTO engaged. The mower-deck blades began to turn. Then I brought the throttle to the fully open position. The mower deck's blades stopped spinning after perhaps a second or two. I leaned to the right and saw that the pushrod that one uses when attaching or detaching an attachment... the pushrod that moves the pulley on which the attachment's drive belt turns.... had popped out. I engaged the parking brake, reduced the engine rpm, depressed the yellow PTO button, got off the tractor, made sure that the mower deck's drive belt was still on the pulley, and pushed the pushrod back into the belt-engaged position. Then I got back on the tractor, adjusted the rpm, and pulled out the yellow button to engage the PTO as I leaned to the right. I wanted to see if the pushrod would pop back out again. The PTO clutch engaged, and I gradually increased the engine rpm. The belt-pulley pushrod moved out and in a bit, but it did not pop all of the way out. With the engine throttle wide open, I started to mow the grass. The pushrod did not pop out again.
(I got about three-quarters done when a light rain started to fall but I kept mowing because the grass is really growing quickly at this time of year and we are in for a couple of days of rain.)
This business of the pushrod popping out soon after engagement of the PTO has happened maybe four or five times previously during the past several weeks, always when the mower deck is attached. The mower deck grease points have been properly greased per the recommended schedule. The blades turn freely, as do the belt which directly drives the three blade spindles and the various pulleys on the deck. There is no predicting when this popping-out will occur, but it seems to be when I am first starting a mowing session. The popping-out has not occurred more than once in a given operating session, but it is otherwise completely intermittent.
When I was done mowing and was sipping a cup of hot tea and wearing a dry sweater, I popped the hood on the tractor and took a look at the pushrod arrangement. It is spring-biased, but I see no means of adjusting the biasing force (e.g., no adjusting screw).
The only theory that I have come up with so far (with the able assistance of a knowledgable fellow Model 4500 owner) is that the biasing spring may have weakened, and that I should ask my dealer to ship a replacement spring, then install the replacement spring upon its arrival, and see if there is any difference in the pushrod's behavior. The tractor is coming up on two and a half years old, and is still under warranty.
Before I contact my dealer about this issue, I thought that I would pose the question here: have any of you experienced something similar, and if so, and if you have rectified it, how did you rectify this behavior?
Thank you very much in advance for any replies.
This happened to me this morning when I was about to try to squeeze some mowing in before the rains came. I brought the engine revs up to about 2100 rpm and pulled the yellow button to activate the Power Take-Off. The PTO engaged. The mower-deck blades began to turn. Then I brought the throttle to the fully open position. The mower deck's blades stopped spinning after perhaps a second or two. I leaned to the right and saw that the pushrod that one uses when attaching or detaching an attachment... the pushrod that moves the pulley on which the attachment's drive belt turns.... had popped out. I engaged the parking brake, reduced the engine rpm, depressed the yellow PTO button, got off the tractor, made sure that the mower deck's drive belt was still on the pulley, and pushed the pushrod back into the belt-engaged position. Then I got back on the tractor, adjusted the rpm, and pulled out the yellow button to engage the PTO as I leaned to the right. I wanted to see if the pushrod would pop back out again. The PTO clutch engaged, and I gradually increased the engine rpm. The belt-pulley pushrod moved out and in a bit, but it did not pop all of the way out. With the engine throttle wide open, I started to mow the grass. The pushrod did not pop out again.
(I got about three-quarters done when a light rain started to fall but I kept mowing because the grass is really growing quickly at this time of year and we are in for a couple of days of rain.)
This business of the pushrod popping out soon after engagement of the PTO has happened maybe four or five times previously during the past several weeks, always when the mower deck is attached. The mower deck grease points have been properly greased per the recommended schedule. The blades turn freely, as do the belt which directly drives the three blade spindles and the various pulleys on the deck. There is no predicting when this popping-out will occur, but it seems to be when I am first starting a mowing session. The popping-out has not occurred more than once in a given operating session, but it is otherwise completely intermittent.
When I was done mowing and was sipping a cup of hot tea and wearing a dry sweater, I popped the hood on the tractor and took a look at the pushrod arrangement. It is spring-biased, but I see no means of adjusting the biasing force (e.g., no adjusting screw).
The only theory that I have come up with so far (with the able assistance of a knowledgable fellow Model 4500 owner) is that the biasing spring may have weakened, and that I should ask my dealer to ship a replacement spring, then install the replacement spring upon its arrival, and see if there is any difference in the pushrod's behavior. The tractor is coming up on two and a half years old, and is still under warranty.
Before I contact my dealer about this issue, I thought that I would pose the question here: have any of you experienced something similar, and if so, and if you have rectified it, how did you rectify this behavior?
Thank you very much in advance for any replies.
