Snowblower Just got my Woodmaxx snowblower and I need some advice

[KanakaRick]

I bought the American Made PTO driveshafts for it and when I try to hook it up the blower PTO shaft slides onto the tractor PTO Spline until it gets to the ball detent. Then will all my might I pull back the sleeve that releases the locking "balls" and try to push the pto shaft from the blower further onto the tractor spline. It seems to be a 3 man job. I need someone to hold the collar back while I take a hammer and piece of block and tap the U Joint yoke further onto the shaft. Eventually it slides on and it is connected. And taking it off, I just pull the collar back and it slides right off.

Any clues what is wrong? I have the Woodmaxx SB82 and a 2004 Kioti DK 50 Tractor. I tried calliing Woodmaxx and it is just an answering machine telling me they will get back to me in 24-48 hours. I'd like to resolve this before the next snowstorm.

 

[bkrgi]

Align the splines first without pulling the collar back...it will slide onto the pto up to the detent balls as you say. Once you get the initial alignment pull the collar and it should slide right on...once the shaft begins to slide enough to hold the detent balls you should not need to hold the collar back, just push the shaft till the balls engage on the detent on the pto shaft. Considering it all slides off easily it is just a matter of getting the technique right to slide it on

 

[KanakaRick]

Yeah, I do all that, but once the balls hit the detent, forward motion stops- even with the collar pulled back. It needs some persuasion to move further along. On another tractor the pto was very easy to put on. On this one it is a bear.... Maybe time to pull out the toothbrush and clean everything sparklling clean to try again.

 

[TractorNH]

Yeah, I do all that, but once the balls hit the detent, forward motion stops- even with the collar pulled back. It needs some persuasion to move further along. On another tractor the pto was very easy to put on. On this one it is a bear.... Maybe time to pull out the toothbrush and clean everything sparklling clean to try again.

My two guesses would be the detent balls aren't lubricated enough but you say it goes onto another tractor fine so my second guess would be to look at the PTO shaft on the tractor. It should have a bevel on the end of it. Perhaps it is beveled too steep so it is not pushing the detent balls in easily. A longer taper would allow them to glide more easily. Can you post a pic of the tractor PTO shaft?

 

[wassup8687]

Yeah, I do all that, but once the balls hit the detent, forward motion stops- even with the collar pulled back. It needs some persuasion to move further along. On another tractor the pto was very easy to put on. On this one it is a bear.... Maybe time to pull out the toothbrush and clean everything sparklling clean to try again.

If it goes on another tractor fine I think your cleaning and greasing will help get it on easier.

 

[TimP]

I usually give a quick spray of WD40 on the locking collar/mechanism and it operates a lot easier. Messy, but easier.....

 

[KanakaRick]

My two guesses would be the detent balls aren't lubricated enough but you say it goes onto another tractor fine so my second guess would be to look at the PTO shaft on the tractor. It should have a bevel on the end of it. Perhaps it is beveled too steep so it is not pushing the detent balls in easily. A longer taper would allow them to glide more easily. Can you post a pic of the tractor PTO shaft?

Picture not coming until the snow stops. It is such a pain in the butt to put it on that I plan on leaving it on until I need to take it off.

 

[leonz]

Hello Rick,

Did you grease the female half of the PTO shaft?

It is always best to connect a PTO shaft of any implement and the PTO stub on the mule when they are level as it allows the connection to stay level to allow the proper alignment of both halves.

SO, if you have to take it off be sure to have a bunch of wooden blocking handy to set it on so the snow blower PTO shaft will be level with the PTO stub on the mule.






The paint will hold a lot of hidden dust and a small parts cleaning brush and alcohol will help to clean the PTO stub shaft of dirt and dust and the female half of the PTO shaft.

If you can wash it out with very hot water and dawn dish soap after using the alcohol it will help you a lot when using the smallest steel parts cleaning scrub brush.

After you have cleaned both halves you can use some fluid film to coat the male and female splines and also spray a lot of it on the locking ring
to keep the retaining balls in the locking ring lubricated.

 

[KanakaRick]

Another question about my woodmaxx blower. It's an 82inch and the u-joint is attached to the gear box by a grade 2 bolt. Right now I am dealing with really light powder and I have already broken two of the bolts. I am not hitting anything or breaking up ice, it literally runs for about 5 minutes and the bolt breaks. I am thinking of replacing it with a grade 5, does anyone see an issue with this?

 

[kco]

My most common problem is not having the shafts aligned properly as Leonz mentions. I have a flail mower, finishing mower and snow blower, and find I need to align the PTO shaft as close as possible tractor's shaft--up/down, side to side, and adjusting the angle with the top link to get the alignment as straight as possible. Even a slight angle makes it much more difficult to connect the shaft on all three implements. The up/down is fairly easy to fix with the 3 point height. However, I sometimes find I need to lift the implement with the PTO not fully connected and put the tractor on a very slight incline so I can wiggle it to get the side to side alignment correct.

Is your snow blower an SB84? There is an inconsistency in the manual which shows a grade 2 bolt and the marketing PTO-shaft-comparison.pdf document which shows a grade 5 shear bolt. Your experience seems to suggest a grade 5 may be the correct bolt since the Grade 2 does not seem to handle the torque. The brochure says your premium shaft is a T5 and the standard shaft is a T4, which refer to torque ratings. It might be best to keep trying to contact Woodmax to clarify it. It does seem like the grade 2 is too weak. Here is the link and file:

PTO-Shaft-Comparison.pdf - Google Drive

View attachment 590994

One thing that may make it easier to slide the PTO shaft on the tractor is to hold the shaft with two hands and both thumbs on the PTO shaft, pull the collar back with your fingers(i.e. squeeze the fingers to slide the collar back), and slide the shaft on with your arms. Perhaps you already use this method. It took me a while to figure out that pushing the collar back with one hand while trying to push the shaft in the opposite direction to get it on the tractor was not the easiest way.