Adding a 2-speed pto

ekster · Jul 28, 2021

rbargeron said:
My L4150 had a 2-speed pto, 540 and 750, which was very handy - often I could save fuel, noise and engine wear by running the higher pto speed but with the engine at around 1800. Also, I could run my snowblower up a little to get better throw distance.

My L5450 only has single-speed 540 pto. So I run the engine at 2300 rpm or even higher, but would like a faster pto gear like I had before.

In going over the 5450 parts list, it shows that the tractors in this series made for Australia and New Zealand have 2-speed pto. I've compared the lists and by replacing 2 parts and adding three new ones, my rig will have both 540 and 900 (approx) pto speeds. The parts show as available so they were ordered today. We'll see if this works out.

Anyone have any experience with this? Kubmech?

1-21-02 update - the NZ gears give 900 rpm, and the Aussie gears give 750 (same as my 4150 had) so I'm going Aussie.

im doing the same thing. i have the gears and shafts from a parts tractor. when you say add 3 new parts i am wondering if i need one more part. can you describe the 3 parts please

rbargeron · Jul 29, 2021

ekster said:
im doing the same thing. i have the gears and shafts from a parts tractor. when you say add 3 new parts i am wondering if i need one more part. can you describe the 3 parts please?

Hi Ekster,

Looking at post #19 (page 2) the two being REPLACED are the original upper pinion gear shaft and the dummy spacer on the lower shaft. The 3 ADDED parts in post #18 are the new upper pinion shaft, with its removable second pinion, and its mating large gear.

Post #1 focused on the gearing needed for the conversion and didn't include details like the new inner bearing sleeve 32530-25223, new thrust washer 36280-41150 and the gasket. See AU/NZ parts page below - this is what yours should have in it when converted.

Hope this answers your question - take care, Dick

Brambleberry · Jun 1, 2022

Okay, reviving this thread once again!

I'm wondering about doing this mod to my ’97 L4850 EverClutch. The thing I use the most and expect to for the rest of the tractor or my life

is a 62” Ibex flail mower, to shred brush and tree prunings. Its required HP is way lower than my tractor puts out, but I wanted a mower that would stay within the wheelbase so I don't get caught driving between trees etc. Also wanted to be able to potentially use it as a front implement on my bobcat 743, with a 3pt SSQA reciever+hydraulic 540rpm motor.

So my thinking is that with the conversion and running the engine at lower rpms to get the 540 rpm @ implement, my diesel consumption would be much less over time.

The big question is: is this appropriate for tractor and implement? I don't know enough details about engine/pto physics to decipher whether this approach would wear badly on the tractor or implement.

Also, do you think the parts are still readily available for the conversion? I'm not in a rush, so am happy to wait and find used parts for cheap if possible.

TIA

ROUSTABOUT · Jun 1, 2022

rbargeron said:
My L4150 had a 2-speed pto, 540 and 750, which was very handy - often I could save fuel, noise and engine wear by running the higher pto speed but with the engine at around 1800. Also, I could run my snowblower up a little to get better throw distance.

My L5450 only has single-speed 540 pto. So I run the engine at 2300 rpm or even higher, but would like a faster pto gear like I had before.

In going over the 5450 parts list, it shows that the tractors in this series made for Australia and New Zealand have 2-speed pto. I've compared the lists and by replacing 2 parts and adding three new ones, my rig will have both 540 and 900 (approx) pto speeds. The parts show as available so they were ordered today. We'll see if this works out.

Anyone have any experience with this? Kubmech?

1-21-02 update - the NZ gears give 900 rpm, and the Aussie gears give 750 (same as my 4150 had) so I'm going Aussie.

They must use metric minutes over there.

rbargeron · Jun 1, 2022

Brambleberry said:
Okay, reviving this thread once again!

I'm wondering about doing this mod to my ’97 L4850 EverClutch. The thing I use the most and expect to for the rest of the tractor or my life is a 62” Ibex flail mower, to shred brush and tree prunings. Its required HP is way lower than my tractor puts out, but I wanted a mower that would stay within the wheelbase so I don't get caught driving between trees etc. Also wanted to be able to potentially use it as a front implement on my bobcat 743, with a 3pt SSQA reciever+hydraulic 540rpm motor.

So my thinking is that with the conversion and running the engine at lower rpms to get the 540 rpm @ implement, my diesel consumption would be much less over time.

The big question is: is this appropriate for tractor and implement? I don't know enough details about engine/pto physics to decipher whether this approach would wear badly on the tractor or implement.

Also, do you think the parts are still readily available for the conversion? I'm not in a rush, so am happy to wait and find used parts for cheap if possible.

TIA

New parts may be available - try googling a part number to see.

But used parts will be way cheaper. And as time goes on, more of the older L3 machines with 2-spd pto will appear in salvage yards.

I wanted the higher pto speed for snow blowing and running a generator at lower (quieter) engine speed. Fuel usage is actually not that different because the actual work being done at the implement is the same. Dick B

Brambleberry · Jun 2, 2022

rbargeron said:
New parts may be available - try googling a part number to see.

But used parts will be way cheaper. And as time goes on, more of the older L3 machines with 2-spd pto will appear in salvage yards.

I wanted the higher pto speed for snow blowing and running a generator at lower (quieter) engine speed. Fuel usage is actually not that different because the actual work being done at the implement is the same. Dick B

That's interesting, I always assumed higher engine rpms meant higher fuel consumption, despite the physical demand from work being done.

So if I were to use, say, a sicklebar mower that takes very little HP to run, on my oversized (for the implement) tractor, it wouldn't use significantly less fuel whether I'm running it at 2300 engine rpms with the current 540 PTO gearing, or at (ballpark guess) 1600 engine rpms on the 720 PTO setting?

My flail mower would definitely pull more power out of the tractor than a sicklebar, but being that it's undersized for my tractor HP, I was thinking that it might be able to handle the flail at lower engine rpms and use less fuel. But if it's not going to use significantly less, then I probably don't want to invest the time and energy into the PTO conversion, unless I get into using a sicklebar mower a lot. ..

Thanks!

rbargeron · Jun 2, 2022

Out of curiosity I priced the 5 parts needed - they still show as available but the current total is $1724. The 42T gear alone is over $900. No longer makes sense unless used L3350, L3750 or L4150 pto parts can be found.

Sawyer Rob · Jun 2, 2022

Unless a tractor has a lot more hp than you need on a pto generator to make the power needed, it just doesn't work very well to run one at a lower engine rpm, than would normally be needed to make 540 on the pto.

SR

rbargeron · Sep 8, 2022

rbargeron said:
Out of curiosity I priced the 5 parts needed - they still show as available but the current total is $1724. The 42T gear alone is over $900. No longer makes sense unless used L3350, L3750 or L4150 pto parts can be found.

9/8/22 - just noticed online an available complete pto gearbox from a L3750. Whole box, easy bolt-on 2-speed pto conversion for later-model L4350, L4850 or L5450. (notified Brambleberry by pm)