Bush hog shaft frozen

[Fallon]

Well I unhooked it from the tractor, and tried chaining it to the tractor, and pulling with my truck at the other end. No go. Got to thinking this wasn't the smartest setup. Might rip something off the tractor before this thing comes apart.

The chains were wrapped around the shaft right against the yoke. I moved the mower over in front of a 40" oak tree, and chained one end of the shaft to the tree, and let the shaft hang down. Just about emptied the can of penetrating oil into it, and tomorrow will give it another go, with the truck pulling against the tree this time.

The truck is my 3/4 ton diesel, so if it is going to come apart, this SHOULD do it.

I'd use the tractor. Its primary design criteria is pulling things. If you attach to the drawbar & pull smoothly there is no way you'll break the tractor.

As long as you pull smoothly & have the 3pt lowered youd be fine pulling on the 3pt. If the hitch point was above the axles or in a dynamic situation pulling on the 3pt could get ugly. But a mower chained to a tree isnt going to cause the high center of gravity issues that can cause problems.

I'd be a lot more worried pulling with a truck. If you pull to well on a really stuck shaft you are going to destroy the mower deck or gearbox.

 

[handirifle]

I had it hooked to a bar through the drawbar pin hole. I just don't feel comfortable pulling it there. Ripping a bolt out of the rear axle would ruin my tractor. That trusk has over 800 lbs torque just above idle. I was having trouble keeping traction, as well, so I moved it to a better location.

 

[SPYDERLK]

They can be a real bear to break loose, I had one that I fought with that took a week, working on it for 15-30 minutes a day.

It would help if you could some tension on it with something like a cable winch. Chain the bush hog to a tree or something secure, run a small chain through the tractor end of the shaft so that it's pulling against the yoke, not a U joint.
Put some tension on the shaft, through some heat to it, wet it penetrating fluid, tap it with a hammer or use an air chisel for vibration. Let it sit, then repeat the next day.
Eventually it should come apart, but there's a chance it'll never come apart.

The quick and dirty way to do it is just get new shaft. If you've got the time and patience, you'll free this one up more than likely.

Just be sure to use these tricks ^ ^ Tension, vibration/impact, penetrant, light heating, patience. It will move.

Well I unhooked it from the tractor, and tried chaining it to the tractor, and pulling with my truck at the other end. No go. Got to thinking this wasn't the smartest setup. Might rip something off the tractor before this thing comes apart.

The chains were wrapped around the shaft right against the yoke. I moved the mower over in front of a 40" oak tree, and chained one end of the shaft to the tree, and let the shaft hang down. Just about emptied the can of penetrating oil into it, and tomorrow will give it another go, with the truck pulling against the tree this time.

The truck is my 3/4 ton diesel, so if it is going to come apart, this SHOULD do it.

 

[silvertramp]

I ended up buying a 3 sided shaft from either HF or TS. I had to order it, but it was short $$. It's held up to the pounding that I give to my 5' Howse.

 

[jmc]

Before I knew much about fixing stuff, or had any tools, I freed up a frozen emergency brake cable that was very stubborn. Hung the housing from a tree limb and clamped a heavy vise on the cable's end. Since the cable was flexible, I could lift the vise and drop it to develop some pretty high tension force. After a few days of oiling and dropping, it eventually came loose.

 

[jmc]

NOT recommending this as described below but you might be able to improvise something to make it safe, depending on what you have around to anchor the bush hog:

Just hooking the bush hog up to the tractor pto and letting it run for awhile will stress the frozen interface with every revolution.

 

[jaxs]

Just about emptied the can of penetrating oil into it, and tomorrow will give it another go, with the truck pulling against the tree this time.

The truck is my 3/4 ton diesel, so if it is going to come apart, this SHOULD do it.

Be forewarned,wrapping chain around a tree can girdle bark and kill the tree. I'd find something less important than the 40' Oak as an anchor point.

 

[handirifle]

It was a 40" (dia) oak tree. Thanks for the heads up. I will put boards between the chain to keep it from hurting the tree.

 

[handirifle]

Spyderlk
That is exactly what I was doing yesterday. It is amazing how stuck this thing is. From the sounds when I tap with the hammer, there only seems to be about 4-5" where they are joined.

 

[jaxs]

Pardon the pun but let's not get hung up and let this go down the "Rounded off drain plug" path.:banghead: If need be,let's send a coalition to pick up the shaft and a six pack and go to Sawyer Rob's. We will either get it separated or make it longer.:laughing: