Identifying PTO driveshaft type and u-joints

[SammyNole]

Hello all. I bought a well-used three point PTO driven broadcast spreader this morning at an estate sale, and it came with a bad u-joint on the tractor side of the PTO shaft. I have everything disassembled and ready for rebuild, I am just curious now how to go about identifying the type of PTO driveshaft I have and what u-joint I need for it. I thought this would be easy enough of a quest, but so far all I have found is that there are different series driveshafts out there, with no real explanation of measurements, etc. What other information do I need, other than the cross width with caps and cap diameter? I am planning on going to TSC to get this u-joint, as they are by far the closest supply to me, with the next option being ordering online, so basically no good parts assistance will be available in my quest. Thanks in advance for the knowledge.

 

[pmsmechanic]

"What other information do I need, other than the cross width with caps and cap diameter?"

This is all the information you need. Take the old u-joint with two cups along and you should be able to get matched up.

 

[SammyNole]

That's what i assumed, but tsc, agri-supply, etc. made it seem much more difficult. I guess i'll see tomorrow at TSC. Thanks for the reply.

 

[RickB]

It's best to also understand whether you are looking for a "domestic style" (Weasler, Neapco, Rockwelll), or metric (Comer, EG, Bondioli & Pavese, Walterscheid). That way you can eliminate half the choices right off the bat. The first group generally uses a square or rectangular male telescoping shaft profile, often with a female torque tube and welded female sleeve with the matching profile. Metric shafting is most commonly tri lobe or lemon shaped and is a consistent shape for the full length. Most implement PTO shafts built in the last 25 years for implements requiring less than 80 PTO HP are metric.

 

[Oldtink]

Start here. View attachment 486934

 

[RickB]

Start here. View attachment 486934

That will cover 90% of what members here will own or use.

 

[SammyNole]

Start here. View attachment 486934

Thanks RickB and Oldtink. I found that chart after I posted this to the forum. I have a lemon shaped driveshaft, so I got my digital calipers out and set them to metric, and I measured it out to be ~55.15 mm across and the caps to be 22.05 mm in diameter, so I suppose that puts me pretty close to the 2100 series. I didn't get a chance to make it to the store today, but will be there tomorrow morning. But that information is pretty much exactly what I was looking for, just took me way longer to find it than I thought.