I Have a Twisted PTO Shaft On a Woods Rotary Cutter what should I do now ?

[DeutzTractor]

Hi folks,

We have a bit of a problem. Someone used a bolt that wasn't made to shear . The end result is that the whole shaft arm on our 5 foot rotary cutter twisted horribly .

What is the best way to fix this ? What should I do ?

Thank you so much !

 

[leonz]

The only thing you can do is replace the entire PTO shaft. Is your Duetz mule an air cooled unit?

 

[ruffdog]

It looks like it made heavy contact with the top front of the mower deck at some point from lifting too high. Also, you have to watch contacting the drawbar when all the way down. The shear pin will not protect it from those types of impacts to the pto shaft.

 

[GaryM]

Yep, time for a new shaft. This time get one with shields.

 

[pmsmechanic]

If you are at all handy you can just go to a farm supply store and buy the replacement part. There is no need to replace the entire shaft as all the pieces are available individually. It might be cheaper to buy a whole shaft than parts though. Do some measuring. Surplus Center has shafts for reasonable prices.

 

[Cord]

You'll have to dig a bit, but these guys will have the parts necessary to repair your shaft. I've built them before and it's not hard. At 540rpm balance isn't critical.

https://www.baumhydraulics.com/home.php?cat=1

 

[LD1]

Surpluscenter.com and haytools.com have some of the best prices on PTO shafts. It will be cheaper to just replace the whole thing. Maybe $100-$150 will buy a complete one.

And make sure to get one long enough. Or even too long and cut it to size.

And I really think you need a bigger cutter. That looks like and old woods MD160. 600lbs maybe and likely a 60hp gearbox. Not enough machine for the 90HP you are feeding it. You need something with a little more substantial gearbox and driveline combo.

 

[kebo]

Surpluscenter.com and haytools.com have some of the best prices on PTO shafts. It will be cheaper to just replace the whole thing. Maybe $100-$150 will buy a complete one.

And make sure to get one long enough. Or even too long and cut it to size.

And I really think you need a bigger cutter. That looks like and old woods MD160. 600lbs maybe and likely a 60hp gearbox. Not enough machine for the 90HP you are feeding it. You need something with a little more substantial gearbox and driveline combo.

Was thinking the same thing!! That tractor looks big enough to handle a 6 to 8 ft mower pretty easily.

 

[DeutzTractor]

Hi guys,
Thanks so much for the responses. The Deutz is air cooled . You are right the tractor is way too much for this five foot rotary cutter. The tractor itself measures 7 feet wide.

I will only be cutting a very small area . I will be very careful until I find the right size rotary cutter .

How do I make sure that I get the right size shaft? Any particular PTO shafts that are a better buys?

If anyone can post a link to one that would fit I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you

 

[JimRB]

PTO Shaft, PTO Parts, PTO Adapter, PTO Power Take Off | Agri Supply Just measure what length you need. A hacksaw will shorten one too long but a hacksaw does not help if the shaft is too short.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

The FIRST thing I would do is replace that shear bolt with a proper one. Somebody probably used a Grade 8 bolt in it.

Just be glad the PTO shaft twisted instead of the PTO inside your tractor taking a big dump. The cost of splitting your tractor in half and fixing that would make a PTO shaft look downright cheap.

 

[newbury]

Hi guys,
Thanks so much for the responses. The Deutz is air cooled . You are right the tractor is way too much for this five foot rotary cutter. The tractor itself measures 7 feet wide.

I will only be cutting a very small area . I will be very careful until I find the right size rotary cutter .

How do I make sure that I get the right size shaft? Any particular PTO shafts that are a better buys?

If anyone can post a link to one that would fit I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you

The FIRST thing I would do is replace that shear bolt with a proper one. Somebody probably used a Grade 8 bolt in it.

Just be glad the PTO shaft twisted instead of the PTO inside your tractor taking a big dump. The cost of splitting your tractor in half and fixing that would make a PTO shaft look downright cheap.

PTO assemblies are rated by "series" or "classes" you probably could use a series 5.

The following chart gives you the industry standard for PTO driveline horepower ratings. Please keep in mind these are rated horsepower at the PTO, not engine horsepower. Many times the difference between engine horsepower and PTO horsepower can vary as much as 10%. These values give the maximum recommended horsepower that can be transferred through the drivelive from the tractor to the implement.

Series Rating @ 540rpm Rating @ 1000rpm
1 16 24
2 21 32
3 30 47
4 35 54
5 47 72
6 62 98
7 74 114
8 91 145
9 141 225

chart doesn't carry across correctly but Horsepower Rating and Length

 

[RoyJackson]

Yep, replace the shaft...
Could have been worse though...although PTO drive shafts aren't cheap, they're a lot cheaper then the other components (gear box, tractor PTO) that could have been damaged.

 

[zing]

Hi folks,

We have a bit of a problem. Someone used a bolt that wasn't made to shear . The end result is that the whole shaft arm on our 5 foot rotary cutter twisted horribly .

What is the best way to fix this ? What should I do ?

Thank you so much !

That looks almost identical to my 5 foot Woods M5.

If it is you shouold be able to get the bent part from your Woods dealer. You need item 4 from the image below taken from my manual.

If you have a different model than the M5, you can get a manual from the Woods website here
Rotary Cutters

If you don't see your model listed (mine wasn't) you can ask them with their manual request form and they will email you a copy.
Manual Request Form