Hey, my balls are frozen!

[PaulB]

Went to hook up the manure spreader last night, and the 3 balls on the inside of the pto shaft (the end that hooks up to the tractor pto) were frozen in place, so I could not slide the pto shaft on to the pto drive. I had to get a hot air gun and defrost the pto collar, then everything slid on just fine. How can I prevent this? I do not want to leave the tractor hooked up to the spreader all winter, because the tractor stays inside the garage. I could take the tractor side of the pto shaft into the house after every use, but if I get grease all over I will be in big doodoo with you know who. Is there a cover that is made to protect the end of the shaft?

 

[Rch]

Spray a methanol brake cleaner on you balls; it is good also for cleaning the shaft and splines!

RCH

 

[MarkV]

Boy Paul, the title of your post sure opens the door. Guess for the betterment of the forum I'll just keep my mouth shut. Sure is tempting though./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Thomas]

Paul,
Maybe you should.....never mine. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

Clean the area well spray lube,sound like dirt plus the cold weather just tighten the unit up.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[mdbarb]

Thank you for a reminder about why I moved from Nebraska to California.

 

[GeorgeH]

Pehaps spraying the unit with WD-40 and then covering it with an empty bread sack or plastic bag tied on with twine would help keep the moisture out.

George

 

[PaulB]

RCH - the methanol brake cleaner, do you mean as a preventative to freezing (have already tried WD-40 and silicone spray to no avail, still ices over), or to actually break up the ice once it has formed? If it will dissolve the ice, that would be a heck of a lot easier than hauling out the hot air gun and extension cord.

 

[WVBill]

Paul:

If you're looking to disolve the ice, have you tried windshield de-icer? It comes in both aerosol cans and spray bottles. My guess, though is that the de-icer would also remove any lubricant so you would want to re-grease after melting the ice.

WVBill

 

[Rch]

PaulB, for established thin coatings of ice, methanol works well be it windshield ice remover,fuel additive('dry gas'). As a preventive it would just evaporate away and not help. Methanol brake cleaner comes in a handy aerosol with a 5" snout and I'll bet you end using less by being able to direct the spray. Once freed up, a little a WD-40 may not be in order. Like carbuerator linkage lubrication attracts dirt and can subsequently gum things up,especially along the grooves of the spline and in and around those spring loaded balls. Rust too can make those things sieze - maybe a little of both to keep gum build-up under control.
RCH<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Rch on 12/20/00 10:04 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[TomWAiken]

I must admit, it was the message subject that attracted me. It does present a question about all year round lubrication of the PTO spline etc. I grease the splines as well as the shaft and often have difficulty getting them on from my mowers. What is the preferred method of lubrication all year round? Maybe a light grease? or just WD 40?

By the way Paul, that was one of my concerns with buying either a ground drive manure spreader or a PTO drive. Putting that PTO shaft on everyday can be difficult for the girls to deal with after cleaning the stalls regardless of the weather.