King kutter tiller loud banging

[Wd2424]

recently purchased king kutter tiller. Put oil in and grease tiller as well as pto shaft. Had to cut down pto shaft by 2.75” to fit tractor. When pto in engaged all is well but once tiller touches the ground it make a loud banging sound. Any idea what the problem could be?

 

[old and tired]

Very possible you did not cut enough off of the pto shaft... If this is the case, you could be doing serious damage to your tractor's PTO driveline.

Remove the PTO shaft from the tractor side, remove it from the other shaft that is connect to the tiller. Drop the tiller onto the ground. Without putting the PTO together, reconnect the tractor side PTO shaft and line it up NEXT to the tiller's PTO shaft, you should have a few more inches before they bottom out (since the tiller will dig more into the soil, thus making the shaft shorter). How much overlap do you have?

Is the tiller new?

 

[CH4Ohio]

Assume you've looked up under the tiller to be sure there's nothing loose on the tine shaft? Everything should be tight and solid. Look at the tines as someone sets it down slowly to the ground -- (without it running) -- to be sure it's solid.

There may be some witness marks from whatever is hitting / banging if you lift it up so you can see under it.

 

[Wd2424]

Very possible you did not cut enough off of the pto shaft... If this is the case, you could be doing serious damage to your tractor's PTO driveline.

Remove the PTO shaft from the tractor side, remove it from the other shaft that is connect to the tiller. Drop the tiller onto the ground. Without putting the PTO together, reconnect the tractor side PTO shaft and line it up NEXT to the tiller's PTO shaft, you should have a few more inches before they bottom out (since the tiller will dig more into the soil, thus making the shaft shorter). How much overlap do you have?

Is the tiller new?

I will try that when I get a chance this weekend. When I measured to cut shaft, I cut according to the length when tiller was fully raised because that was the shortest distance from tractor pto to implement pto. If the problem were the pto shaft being too long from not cutting enough, would it not continue to make noise and/or get worse when raised since that shortens pto length?(hope that makes since) Or is it possible that once tiller is in ground that the pto to pto distance is even shorter then?
Yes tiller is brand new

 

[CH4Ohio]

recently purchased king kutter tiller. Put oil in and grease tiller as well as pto shaft. Had to cut down pto shaft by 2.75” to fit tractor. When pto in engaged all is well but once tiller touches the ground it make a loud banging sound. Any idea what the problem could be?

Dumb question -- You're not very specific here. Does it make a continuous banging noise that matches the RPM of the tine shaft? Or just one single bang when it touches the ground? Where does it sound like the "bang" is coming from? Is the wide hinged leveling gate on the back of the tiller getting trapped underneath or bound up somehow?
Do you have the tiller shoes pretty much level with the ground?

 

[Wd2424]

Dumb question -- You're not very specific here. Does it make a continuous banging noise that matches the RPM of the tine shaft? Or just one single bang when it touches the ground? Where does it sound like the "bang" is coming from? Is the wide hinged leveling gate on the back of the tiller getting trapped underneath or bound up somehow?
Do you have the tiller shoes pretty much level with the ground?

it’s more of a continuous noise, not just a single bang.. as soon as tiller is raised off the ground the noise stops. I didn’t listen for too long bc I knew it wasn’t normal so just shut it down. Almost certain leveling gate isn’t having issues but will make sure when I check it again. Yes shoes are level with ground

 

[CH4Ohio]

it’s more of a continuous noise, not just a single bang.. as soon as tiller is raised off the ground the noise stops. I didn’t listen for too long bc I knew it wasn’t normal so just shut it down. Almost certain leveling gate isn’t having issues but will make sure when I check it again. Yes shoes are level with ground

Is your tiller gear-driven or chain-driven. Could the tiller shaft bearing mount on one end be loose enough to let it move and let the tines hit the top of the enclosure when it's on the ground?

These are pretty simple machines. I'm sure you'll be able to troubleshoot it by watching and listening as you lower and raise it.

 

[Wd2424]

Is your tiller gear-driven or chain-driven. Could the tiller shaft bearing mount on one end be loose enough to let it move and let the tines hit the top of the enclosure when it's on the ground?

These are pretty simple machines. I'm sure you'll be able to troubleshoot it by watching and listening as you lower and raise it.

That’s a possibility. I’ll look at it a littler closer this weekend. It is gear driven

 

[ruffdog]

Is the pto shaft hitting your draw bar or hitch ball in the draw bar when all the way lowered?

 

[Wd2424]

Is the pto shaft hitting your draw bar or hitch ball in the draw bar when all the way lowered?

No pto shaft is clear from hitting it.

 

[ruffdog]

The two KK tillers I have run were silent. A person has to wonder if there is a missing tooth in the right angle box or the side gear box. With it off the ground and pto shaft disconnected, rotate the tines while putting slight drag on the pto shaft with other hand. You would feel a missing tooth.

 

[oldballs]

If your 3-point has a Cat 2 Quick Hitch and your Tiller is Cat 1, you may need some bushings to take up the slack. Otherwise the tiller will rattle around ....especially on untilled ground.

 

[bigtiller]

This is an interesting problem...
My first guess would be the tailgate may be folding inside rather than outside and is being hit by the tines as they rotate when you set the tiller down.

 

[ruffdog]

This is an interesting problem...
My first guess would be the tailgate may be folding inside rather than outside and is being hit by the tines as they rotate when you set the tiller down.

The OP should tighten up the tailgate chain so it keeps it positioned out behind the tiller.

 

[5030]

It's new so take it back as it's guaranteed. In lieu of that, run it until it pukes and then take it back and get a new one. Guarantee applies.

 

[Wd2424]

It’s def not an issue with the gate. No signs of it being hit. I’m leaning towards it being a pto shaft issue but still uncertain. Will update once I get a better look at it

 

[lej]

My tiller will do the same thing when I have the tilt wrong.

 

[hodge]

You said in post #4 that you judged the shaft cut at the shortest length- that's not accurate. Changing the top link length can also change the shaft length. You need to cut the shaft marginally shorter than the shortest length that you've judged.

 

[MHarryE]

I had a KK gear driven tiller for many years until I finally upsized tractors to where I had too much power risking tearing it up. I remember noise when lowered because my ground is not loose soil and it needed to rip up my clay. I had to switch my pins to Cat 2 because I used mine on a L5740, then L6060, both of which are Cat 2 but you have a Cat 1 size so your pins should be right. Once my soil was tilled the first time subsequent passes had less noise and bouncing but my noise was caused by packed soil, and the occasional small stone.

 

[Dennis Mohn]

recently purchased king kutter tiller. Put oil in and grease tiller as well as pto shaft. Had to cut down pto shaft by 2.75” to fit tractor. When pto in engaged all is well but once tiller touches the ground it make a loud banging sound. Any idea what the problem could be?

Have you any photos of the PTO after cutting down. What are the chances the alignment is off enough that the universals are binding when down to tilling depth.