Adding a 2-speed pto

emery · Feb 5, 2002

Sure looks like a rugged unit. But don't the wheels pack down the snow causing the blower to tend to 'ride up' leaving too much snow behind?

Anonymous Poster · Feb 5, 2002

I did'nt notice in your earlier pictures of your project, but in the last one with the snow blower has your rops been lowered? Does this have anything to do with the backhoe attachment? It sure does look alot more convient and just as safe as the tall ones, was this another mod ? or is this factory or a picture allusion. Tim

rbargeron · Feb 5, 2002

Barry - There's a story behind this snowblower. 20 years ago, there was a JD dealer in the neighborhood who got two of these machines in from a manufacturer in the midwest somewhere. I remember looking at them and thinking those foolish flatlanders were designing for dry midwest powder, not New England snow that packs like iron if you drive on it !!

But the tractor doesn't pack it as tight as a car does, and the plow edges do a decent job of getting under it. I bought one of the original 2, wore it out, and tracked down the other one (the one in the picture) which had an easy life up to then. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

rbargeron · Feb 6, 2002

Tim - good eye ! Yeah, this is a mod but not a public one (until now) /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

The rops is from my L4150 - I shortened it 9" so it would go into my buildings. When I got the L5450 I swapped the rops, selling the tall one with the L4150.

It is enough above head height so it's not in the way. At this height it is somewhat less effective at stopping a roll - but it's sure better than not having one. It's not in the way for the backhoe at all. The bh seat is higher - bar is about hat level. (not expecting a rollover while digging) /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Anonymous Poster · Feb 8, 2002

what kind of snowblower is it and how much do they cost?

rbargeron · Feb 8, 2002

I don't know who made it - there's a faded decal but no nameplate, and the dealer is long gone. Maybe somebody else knows - John Miller III ? I don't think they are available any more - at least not in any places I've been. A good fab shop might be able to make one - its pretty simple. Does your rig have 750 or 1000 pto available?

emery · Feb 8, 2002

I image with the tread pattern on your tractor you don't flatten as much as a car or with turf tires. Are you using it on gravel or paved surface?

rbargeron · Feb 8, 2002

My place is mostly paved. The blower's plow edges lift and scrape the snow pretty well - so it does the job.

rbargeron · Feb 15, 2002

Emery and DonL and others have asked about the pull-type snowblower. A Canadian company Normand makes a few pull models - they show some pics & specs <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.cienormand.com/soufnina.htm> HERE </A> - (thanks to Paul Benvenuti in Quebec) I'm pretty sure my blue one is not a Normand.

bjmsam · Feb 8, 2014

What an intriguing old thread! Are these parts available for an L3710? It sure would be nice to spin a 540 PTO generator at a slower engine speed...

Baby Grand · Feb 8, 2014

Brought this thread back from over the river Styx, eh?

bjmsam · Feb 8, 2014

Yes. I prefer to search and follow up to an existing thread that offers relevant info rather than starting a new one to rehash what has already been discussed.

Baby Grand · Feb 8, 2014

Well you're right to bring it back to life as being able to get a factory made 2 speed PTO would be sweet!
Just out of curiosity, I checked on pricing of the Hub City 390 increaser that somebody mentioned as an option for those of us who don't have a model with the factory option. Holy cow! They are pricey - like over $2000 pricey.

bjmsam · Feb 8, 2014

The Hub City Model 390 PTO Speed Changer looks really stout but is more expensive than the generator itself!

Further research suggests that this may not be such a good idea for my application anyway; a factsheet published by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food titled Tractor-Driven Generators: Producing Quality Power states, "Operating a tractor with a 1000 rpm PTO at approximately one-half its rated engine rpm to deliver 540 rpm to the generator is not a recommended practice - do not operate your tractor with 1000 rpm PTO and half engine speed." Oh, well.

rbargeron · May 20, 2016

Hi - Original poster here to follow up. The 2-speed pto has performed perfectly for 14 years (better than its owner!) and is going strong. I bought a second L5450 and did the same upgrade on that one.

Re bjmsam's post above, high-rpm pto's are sometimes not well-suited to pto generators. If the engine is running at low rpm the governor may not respond well enough when load increases. The L5450 has about 50 pto hp so it has plenty of margin and works fine.

ekster · Jan 29, 2019

please forgive if i missed it but did you post the parts list or where to find the parts list. also what you spent on them? i am interested in doing this to my l5450.
another question i have is that it is hard to ease into motion, the ever clutch wants to grab instead of being smooth. is this something you have delt with?

rbargeron · Jan 30, 2019

Hi - I didn't post the part numbers - at the time I had a Kubota printed parts list for the L5450 which included columns that identified variation by country (US, CAN, NZ, AU). It was clear what new parts were needed. I had no idea if a US dealer could get AU or NZ parts - but the order went thru ok. At the time the cost was $350 +/-. On the second one I converted I was able to find used gears from an earlier US model for less. The US versions of the L3350, L3750 and L4150 had the same 2-speed pto's.

I've not had a grabby Ever Clutch. Could be related to the valving or the clutches. Is it grabby in forward and reverse? If both its more likely a valve issue.

Does the machine tend to creep either forward or backward when idling in neutral? If so the F or R clutch pack may have warped disks. Before diving deep, replacing the hydraulic fluid might help if its age is unknown. Take care, Dick B.

ekster · Feb 3, 2019

rbargeron said:
Hi - I didn't post the part numbers - at the time I had a Kubota printed parts list for the L5450 which included columns that identified variation by country (US, CAN, NZ, AU). It was clear what new parts were needed. I had no idea if a US dealer could get AU or NZ parts - but the order went thru ok. At the time the cost was $350 +/-. On the second one I converted I was able to find used gears from an earlier US model for less. The US versions of the L3350, L3750 and L4150 had the same 2-speed pto's.

I've not had a grabby Ever Clutch. Could be related to the valving or the clutches. Is it grabby in forward and reverse? If both its more likely a valve issue.

Does the machine tend to creep either forward or backward when idling in neutral? If so the F or R clutch pack may have warped disks. Before diving deep, replacing the hydraulic fluid might help if its age is unknown. Take care, Dick B.

thanks for the reply Dick. forward and reverse are both kinda grabby so i think i need to mess with the valving. as far as the pto upgrade, i tried to get on the kubota australia site and it wouldnt let me access from the states. the $350 +/- sounds fair. any suggestion on where i can get my hands on the parts list you had with the 4 countries?

rbargeron · Feb 5, 2019

ekster: I went through my records and found my notes from the original conversion and the second one I converted a few years later. In the first I bought all new gears and paid around $670. But for the second one I found a used part source that had the parts I needed for less. Check your private messages - I think you'll be happy. Dick B

rbargeron · Feb 13, 2019

In what can only be called crazy luck, eBay happened to have the exact parts needed. Price for everything was around 1/4 of new. Condition appeared very good. I sent the eBay links to ekster - hope he snapped them up (items now show as ended).

The L5450 works well with the 2-speed pto. I use the higher (750) pto speed with an Erskine front blower. The engine runs near its peak torque around 1800 rpm.