HOOKING UP BUSHHOG

[VA Rebel]

You'll have to make your call on the length of your pto shaft, but dont make it too short. Before you cut it, take it totally in half and grease both male and female halves. Put it back together and see if it has any extra clearance. Also grease the coupler and spline on the tractor.

On my John Deere, I move the pto selector lever to the mid pto position. This allows the rear pto to spin freely for easy hook ups between pto implements. Try this on your TC40.

 

[RalphVa]

I've all my implements on dollies, except for the back blade. It sits on 3 boards and is fairly light and will scoot easily on the boards.

The brush hog is on a couple castors mounted on a 1 by that extends underneath the front of the skid. I've elbow brackets near the ends to sit the skids between these.

For putting the PTO shaft on, I find the best thing is to disengage it. My tractor has a front PTO as well; so, I put the PTO selector in the front position. This allows me to turn the PTO shaft by hand while I hold the PTO from the brush hog up against it. AFTER it slides onto the shaft, THEN I pull back the locking collar and slide it further on. THEN I give it a tug back, just to make sure it locked. I usually also have a tension cord around the PTO from the brush hog or at least a chain (the chain I use for the top connection) supporting it. After putting the shaft in place, I remove the chain or tension cord.

The chipper/shredder has a pin that locks and unlocks the collar. I still slide it on, turning the PTO shaft by hand until I get spline meshing, before pushing the pin.

Ralph

 

[F=ma]

To follow-up on Ralph's post. were you able to turn the PTO shaft freely in order to line up the splines? Dunno about the TC40, but my 'Bota's shaft is only freed by depressing the clutch and holding it in place with a little catch rod that's mounted near the floorboard.

 

[woodchuckie]

I couldn't seem to align the splines, retract the lock collar and push the coupler onto the PTO shaft simultaneously.

I just noticed on mine the other day that the indentions for the lock collar are a little ways up on the shaft. So I can slide it onto the shaft and then retract the collar. It slides right on.

 

[Slamfire]

Before I got my quick hitch, I used to park mine so the stump jumper centered an old trailer tire and wheel. Made it real easy to get the lower links hooked up. Then I shorted my shaft so I could back up a short slope without binding.
After I got the Harbor Freight quick hitch I had to find a pto extention, so the shaft wasn't too short. Your implements will be about 4" further to the rear, with that wonderful quick hitch.

 

[JerryG]

Like Brian said in post #9 , it shouldn't take but 5 minutes tops. Practice is what it takes as well as some basics.
Brian was right on how to hook them up, but I would like to add a bit. When you go to connect the lower arms, connect the arm that is non-adjustable first then the adjustable arm. That way you are using the lift to align the non-adjustable arm, then you can use the adjustable arm to get that side hooked up. If you follow these suggestions, it won't be not time until you are changing implements in just a few minutes.

 

[RoyJackson]

Before I got my quick hitch, I used to park mine so the stump jumper centered an old trailer tire and wheel. Made it real easy to get the lower links hooked up.

That's an interesting idea!

 

[scott_vt]

That's an interesting idea!

Mornin Roy,
Actually that is an interesting idea ! A little "rock and roll" might do the trick !

 

[bjr]

The one suggestion I haven't seen is: Why not connect the PTO up first, then back up a smidge more and connect the draft arms? A little bit long may be a blessing here. If I can I hook the PTO shaft up first then the draft arms. Just makes sense to me. Clean the tractor out put shaft real good with some PB Blaster and a wire brush and do the same with female drive line and use one of them smaller tooth brush size wire brushes that you can get from a welding supply house, clean, clean and oil up then it will slid on when you want it to. bjr

 

[flINTLOCK]

When determining how much to shorten the shafts, I guess I should check the amount of overlap with HTL extended. That position should require the most shaft length. How much overlap is recommended?? 4 inches or so.

 

[sandman2234]

Seems like 1/3 comes to mind, but I am guessing. I think cutting it off would be to the maximum you need, not the minimun you can get away with. More is always better, as long as it is short enough not to compress itself into the rear of the tractor. Take small bites, not one large one.
David from jax

 

[RoyJackson]

When determining how much to shorten the shafts, I guess I should check the amount of overlap with HTL extended. That position should require the most shaft length. How much overlap is recommended?? 4 inches or so.

See Post #34 below and thanks to rbargeon for the correction!.
So, I thought I'd post this for you:New Page 61 which discusses cutting PTO shafts to length

 

[rbargeron]

Wow, only 2" ?? Seems like the shaft would wobble a lot with that little engagement. Maybe I'm not understanding this right. I have read recently in a Eurocardan pto shaft manual that 1/3 overlap is recommended.

 

[RoyJackson]

Wow, only 2" ?? Seems like the shaft would wobble a lot with that little engagement. Maybe I'm not understanding this right. I have read recently in a Eurocardan pto shaft manual that 1/3 overlap is recommended.

My PTO shafts are both Eurocardan and I could definitely be wrong on this. Do you have a link to the specs?
BTW, mine were both trimmed to length by the dealer...all I did was check them. I'm pretty sure it wasn't 33% of length...but I think you may be thinking of collapsed length overlap

I found the link...it's right here and 1/3rd is correct.
Note the "Overlap" at lower right on this site

 

[rbargeron]

Glad you found it - I was looking but couldn't remember where it was.

You are right they say to overlap 1/3 of the individual shaft length (the collapsed length), not the extended length. I've always thought it was 1/3 of the in-service length that should overlap, but it's really just 20% of the total.

BTW - they show a sketch of what happens with too much torque - and I can say their shaft doesn't look that nice afterward

 

[flINTLOCK]

I am assuming that I want to shorten the smaller shaft that attaches to the tractor, rather and take some off of both shafts??

 

[hill]

I am assuming that I want to shorten the smaller shaft that attaches to the tractor, rather and take some off of both shafts??

If you're going to shorten it you'll need to take equal amounts from each side or it won't be able to slide together much farther than it does now.

I don't think the formula calling for 1/3 of remaining shaft as overlap is a good idea. It'd be fine for a long shaft but if the shaft is short, say less than 24" overall using that formula wouldn't leave a safe engagement length. A better idea, IMO, is to maintain a minimum of 3" overlap regardless the overall length. Less than that - buy a shorter shaft.

But back to installation technique for a minute - it took me awhile to discover that the implement end of a shaft is open at the inner end of the splined area. This allows the shaft lockpin to be slid right on past it's lock groove on the driven implement PTO shaft which in turn has the result of effectively shortening the shaft for hookup to the tractor PTO. Once the tractor end is correctly engaged, slid on, and pinlocked in place I go back to the implement end and slide the shaft end FORWARD until it engages the pin lock and clicks into engagement. For me this simple discovery was a revelation that ended some nightmarish episodes trying to hook up my brush cutter, which uses the shortest shaft I own.

 

[Chuck_Lind]

Your TC40's PTO shaft doesn't turn when the tractor is in neutral? My 790's does...

I tell ya...the frustration of hooking the cutter up is why I bought Pat's Easy Change system. It definitely saves time and cursing!

Curse??? Has ANYONE cursed at mounting a bushhog???

Nah...never happened?? Oh...maybe once!!

 

[flINTLOCK]

Thanks for your help. I don't think my PTO shaft has a lock pin where the shafts slide together. What limits the overlap of the shafts as they telescope?
I cannot check it right now, since tractor is at camp and unfortunately, I'm not. Does the actual contour of the overlapping ends change to round from keyed to provide the end point??

 

[john_bud]

Thanks for your help. I don't think my PTO shaft has a lock pin where the shafts slide together. What limits the overlap of the shafts as they telescope?
I cannot check it right now, since tractor is at camp and unfortunately, I'm not. Does the actual contour of the overlapping ends change to round from keyed to provide the end point??

There is no "end point" on the pto shafts. THey just slide into each other. There should be a grease zerk on the outer shaft to keep them sliding freely. If you have trouble sliding them, make sure they are greased up good. Maybe take it apart, clean, grease and reassemble is the best thing if you haven't been greasing.

To avoid the issues, buy a 5 or 6' long pry bar. I only back up enough to get real close -- not perfect. Then use the long bar to finesse the atttachment into place and to press the arms onto the pins (should they be tough). I also cheat and stand up facing backward to position the tractor. Easy with the HST - impossible without.

jb