/ F-Series Metal Clanking Sound with Deck Raised? Stop. Your Deck Gearbox U-Joint is About to Explode!
#1
Last weekend I heard a metal clanking noise when I raised the deck on my F3060 while the PTO was engaged. I didn't think anything of it because I occasionally mow over some nasty stuff when I cut down areas outside my main yard and I end up with one of the blades 'ticking' part of my well worn deck. This was different though because it only happened when the deck was raised, not lowered. I should have just stopped and inspected, but I just wanted to get the miserable job of mowing over. Well, about 20 minutes later the front U-joint that attaches the PTO drive shaft to the deck gear box grenaded.
Lesson learned: When you hear an out-of-the-ordinary noise - stop immediately and inspect.
Anyhow, the U-joint must have lost one of the internal clips and shaken loose. In the process, whenever I raised the deck it allowed the yoke to contact the deck cover, which is the metal clanking noise I heard and was also the process of the yoke getting bashed and damaged. I probably could have saved the yoke if I had stopped immediately.
As we all know, Kubota parts are made of diamond encrusted platinum that age like fine wine (in price). I needed two parts to fix this:
1. U-Joint - "ASSY JOINT, CROSS" K561-31180, $72 from Messicks
2. Yoke - "YOKE PTO" K5671-31130, $200 off eBay, this was the only yoke that I could find...these are now apparently rare, so don't do what I did!
Has anybody found an alternative U-joint that works for this application? The actual manufacturer is the Japanese company Hikari Seiko. The part is stamped "HKR". It is a '3R' style U-joint, which means that it has internal grooves for internal C-clips to hold the caps in place, versus external. It also has a zerk grease fitting in the center of the body. I believe it is HKR part number 6, with internal part number US225570. The cap diameter (D) is 22.5mm (0.886"), the length of the joint from cap face to cap face (L) is 57mm (2.244"), and length between snap ring grooves (L') is 35.2mm (1.386"). I couldn't find a comparable parts store U-joint. If anybody with better Google-fu abilities knows if there is an alternative U-joint that would work, please post it here.
I may be able to save my old yoke. I will need to turn some aluminum round bar to the proper diameter and use that as a guide to bend the yoke ear back into place, then weld up the crack. Its a cast part, so it will be a little tricky to properly weld.
Hopefully this helps out somebody in the future.
Esox
p.s. - As I was teaching my son how to press in U-joints, I explained how sometimes a needle roller can drop down into cap and you will be perplexed as to why the cap won't press all the way in. Sure enough, this happened.
Lesson learned: When you hear an out-of-the-ordinary noise - stop immediately and inspect.
Anyhow, the U-joint must have lost one of the internal clips and shaken loose. In the process, whenever I raised the deck it allowed the yoke to contact the deck cover, which is the metal clanking noise I heard and was also the process of the yoke getting bashed and damaged. I probably could have saved the yoke if I had stopped immediately.
As we all know, Kubota parts are made of diamond encrusted platinum that age like fine wine (in price). I needed two parts to fix this:
1. U-Joint - "ASSY JOINT, CROSS" K561-31180, $72 from Messicks
2. Yoke - "YOKE PTO" K5671-31130, $200 off eBay, this was the only yoke that I could find...these are now apparently rare, so don't do what I did!
Has anybody found an alternative U-joint that works for this application? The actual manufacturer is the Japanese company Hikari Seiko. The part is stamped "HKR". It is a '3R' style U-joint, which means that it has internal grooves for internal C-clips to hold the caps in place, versus external. It also has a zerk grease fitting in the center of the body. I believe it is HKR part number 6, with internal part number US225570. The cap diameter (D) is 22.5mm (0.886"), the length of the joint from cap face to cap face (L) is 57mm (2.244"), and length between snap ring grooves (L') is 35.2mm (1.386"). I couldn't find a comparable parts store U-joint. If anybody with better Google-fu abilities knows if there is an alternative U-joint that would work, please post it here.
I may be able to save my old yoke. I will need to turn some aluminum round bar to the proper diameter and use that as a guide to bend the yoke ear back into place, then weld up the crack. Its a cast part, so it will be a little tricky to properly weld.
Hopefully this helps out somebody in the future.
Esox
p.s. - As I was teaching my son how to press in U-joints, I explained how sometimes a needle roller can drop down into cap and you will be perplexed as to why the cap won't press all the way in. Sure enough, this happened.
