Can you manually turn the pto hookup on the back of the tractor?

[rScotty]

I wouldn’t think about attaching a pto driveshaft when the tractor is running.

Neither would I. I'm surprised anyone would.

 

[number two]

That PTO wrench looks pretty cool.
The tool junkies will want one!
Don't ask me how I know!

 

[SmallChange]

I wouldn’t think about attaching a pto driveshaft when the tractor is running.

Oooo... it never occurred to me that this is hazardous, but I see it now! Thanks for mentioning it!

I checked in the manual and sure enough they give a serious warning about this:

"WARNING
Entanglement hazard!
Before attaching or detaching equipment or changing the Power Take-Off (PTO) shaft: 1) Apply the parking brake. 2) Move all controls to neutral and PTO control knob to the disengaged position. 3) Stop the engine and remove the key. 4) Wait for the PTO shaft to stop turning before leaving the cab. Failure to comply could result in death or serious injury."

I read the entire manual years ago, but obviously didn't absorb it 100%.

FWIW, on both my old Kubota and my new NH, I've never found the PTO shaft difficult to turn by hand. I think this has been true with the engine running and the engine off (not sure I noticed though).

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I have a PTO neutral position... So yeah

 

[Indian Territory]

The ability to turn the pto by hand depends on the tractor.
Tractors with live PTO's and Transmission PTO's you can turn by hand when they are disengaged but not when they are engaged. The exception is transmission PTO's with an integral overrunning clutch you can turn one way but the not the other with the PTO engaged.
Most Independent PTO's you can turn the PTO with the engine off regardless if the PTO is engaged or not.

Tractors with a PTO brake such as the Powerstar 75 you cannot turn by hand, nor with the tool. Most of the folks here have compacts and pto brakes are rare on them so the majority of the responses reflect that.


You could put a 60" pipe wrench on the pto shaft and if the pto brake is adjusted right even jumping on it will not make it turn.

I forgot to note that the Bondioli Pavesi SFT series PTO drive line allow a few degrees of slop to allow alignment. They are common on large balers and other equipment were the implement shaft cannot be rotated.

This is great information, and the reason I come here. Thanks.

 

[chim]

I NEVER get near the PTO with the engine running. I do connect and disconnect non-PTO implements with the engine running, such as scraper blade, landscape rake, etc.

 

[ptsg]

I have a PTO neutral position... So yeah

Same and it stays in that position unless I'm running a PTO implement.

Looking at some of the posts, this may shock some of you, but I've always hooked PTO shafts with the engine running. The people around me, know better to not touch any of the controls on the tractor when anyone is handling the PTO shaft.

 

[Gregster613]

Same and it stays in that position unless I'm running a PTO implement.

Looking at some of the posts, this may shock some of you, but I've always hooked PTO shafts with the engine running. The people around me, know better to not touch any of the controls on the tractor when anyone is handling the PTO shaft.

I agree ptsg, I've always hooked up the pto while the tractor was running also - as long as the pto is not engaged the shaft is not turning and there is no danger. Once it's turning though yeah stay far away from it!

 

[seville009]

My MF 1540 HST lets me put the pto in neutral, which allows me to turn it freely to line it up. Makes hooking up much easier.

 

[grsthegreat]

my tractor has a toggle switch to engage pto. no way i trust that. i shut tractor down when messing with pto.

 

[5030]

I can turn mine by hand.

I can on both my Kubota's so long as the motor is off and the PTO lever is engaged but I always wear a glove as mine is always greasy. I switch implements constantly. When I'm not using them, I have a plastic cover that slips over it and I put grease in it to lube the splines.

 

[sixdogs]

I do that all of the time... Including 3 hours ago when hooking up the mower. I also keep both parts lubed with 00 grease so that it goes together better. My tractor won't start with the PTO engaged and while I do leave the engine running while hooking up the 3pth, I shut it off before hooking up the PTO.
Call me paranoid if you want... You'd probably be right.

Wise advice.
Having read of enough PTO accidents and incidents, I never leave my tractor running while hooking up. Tractors aren't Swiss watches and infrequently used and not always lubed parts stick and fail all the time. Catch your hair or a sleeve or pant leg and even after body parts are ripped off it still keeps turning at the same RPM.

I'm a calculated risk taker but when the little voice in my head says "don't do it", I don't do it.

 

[tjandrews]

I wouldn’t think about attaching a pto driveshaft when the tractor is running.

On the 72-year-old Case SC that I grew up with, you can't. The PTO spline will "coast" whenever the tractor is running, if not connected to anything. If you adjust the PTO clutch so that it doesn't, it slips too much to run even the lightest of equipment. Shut the engine off, and you can turn the shaft by hand easily. (Well, *I* can turn it easily...)
As an added "feature," you climb onto and off of that tractor from the back - where that rotating PTO shaft would be if still engaged...

 

[Pecosbill7]

While we’re on the PTO-implement subject, my standard practice when I remove an implement from the PTO shaft is to elevate it off the ground by using a loop of chain. This keeps the insides of the shaft from getting dirt and corrosion in it while it is sitting, as that dirt, etc. makes hookup more difficult. I started doing this years ago when I noticed that several times when I wanted to hook up an implement that hadn’t been used for a while that the coupling had become a favorite habitat for black widow spiders. I also spray the insides of the coupling liberally with WD40 so the little lock-balls or rollers will move as they should.

 

[Striker70]

On the Kubota L3901 you CAN free spin the PTO shaft if it is not engaged...but with the shroud around the shaft this is difficult to do and still attach the implement. What I have done with implements with "short PTO shafts" is to either use an engine hoist from behind and lift the tiller or use an over head lift with a come along in the yard. I keep my tiller off the ground on cement capstone blocks and you can use your foot to turn the PTO shaft but you are still very close to the PTO shaft when hooking up. With the lift I can have it back away for a small distance and telescope the shaft on and then move it up and have ability to hook up the 3 point hitch too. Hooking the top link is easy too if you lower it. I never have the engine running when I am behind the tractor.....I am retired from the Medical Field and have seen a few tractors that ran over people "for no reason" !

 

[Alan46]

On my LS MT573 the PTO shifter on the left hand side has the option to change from 540rpm, 1,000rpm or neutral. When I place it in neutral, the shaft will spin freely.

Just a thought since you have a New Holland 75

We have a Kioti ck25 HST we always have the tractor off and the pto in neutral! I took tractor Mikes advice and mark the coupling with a paint pen, makes it so much easier to hookup!

 

[Lavender Valley]

Same and it stays in that position unless I'm running a PTO implement.

Looking at some of the posts, this may shock some of you, but I've always hooked PTO shafts with the engine running. The people around me, know better to not touch any of the controls on the tractor when anyone is handling the PTO shaft.

A boy at my school took his dad's PTO out of gear and while looking behind draped his arm over the back of the seat, he hadn't fully disengaged it and it started again wrapping his sleeve, it ripped off most of his arm and it wasn't able to be re-attached. Don't go anywhere near a PTO when the engine is going.

 

[TreePointer]

On my JD 4600 (HST), the PTO shaft acts like a steering wheel on an automobile. When the tractor is off you can hand-turn it a little bit left and right, but if you go a little too far it will lock and then you can't turn it at all. Restart the tractor and then turn it off to unlock the shaft.

 

[ptsg]

A boy at my school took his dad's PTO out of gear and while looking behind draped his arm over the back of the seat, he hadn't fully disengaged it and it started again wrapping his sleeve, it ripped off most of his arm and it wasn't able to be re-attached. Don't go anywhere near a PTO when the engine is going.

And that's why I said: "The people around me, know better to not touch any of the controls on the tractor when anyone is handling the PTO shaft."

On my Branson, it wouldn't be an issue. The PTO only turns On after you flip the switch on the dash. So it's either On or Off, no inbetween. Then the lever sits to the left of the seat but also slightly to the rear and a lot lower. Almost impossible to accidentally hit it, you would really have to try.

On the Agria, this is an old tractor and the PTO lever is fairly exposed. I want to make a guard for it that will also serve as handrail. Then again, people around me know not touch any of that stuff when someone is around the PTO.

Regardless, I've been around lathes, milling machines, and other shop tools capable of killing you for a long time, so you learn how to behave around those machines and what you wear/use around those. Longs sleeves are a no no and so are gloves. Exactly the stuff that can pull you and wrap around the shaft. At on point or another, you have to touch the chuck while spinning either to use some emery paper or just chamfer an edge with the file, etc.

 

[sixdogs]

While we’re on the PTO-implement subject, my standard practice when I remove an implement from the PTO shaft is to elevate it off the ground by using a loop of chain. This keeps the insides of the shaft from getting dirt and corrosion in it while it is sitting, as that dirt, etc. makes hookup more difficult. I started doing this years ago when I noticed that several times when I wanted to hook up an implement that hadn’t been used for a while that the coupling had become a favorite habitat for black widow spiders. I also spray the insides of the coupling liberally with WD40 so the little lock-balls or rollers will move as they should.

You can also bend a 1/4" rod of steel into an "S" bend and use it to hook into the u-joint and on one end then up to some point on the implement. It's quick and easy and what many European lighter implements now come with as standard OEM equipment. PTO shaft then stays up and out of the way.