L3400 PTO question

[ccsial]

I just got a new L3400 4WD HST. I have a 60 inch brush cutter on it. I depress the clutch and engage the PTO, then release the clutch. When I depress the clutch to disengage the PTO it makes a grinding sound. I think the mower is over running the PTO during it's coast down. To eliminate this I disengage the PTO without using the clutch. Is this normal? My dealer seems to think so but I did not get a feeling of certainty from him. I have been using the tractor and I really love it.

 

[clenhart]

I have a new L2800 HST and have the same results when depressing the clutch with my finish mower running. It was very un-nerving the first time because I did not know what to expect with an over-running clutch, but I just disengage the PTO quickly after depressing the clutch and the racket is kept to a minimum...

 

[ccsial]

Hi Clenhart, Have you asked your dealer if this is normal? My dealer came out and looked at the tractor. He suggested to idle the engine and then disengage the PTO without using the clutch. I read a post, on a different forum, about a clutch problem on a L3400 and there is supposed to be a fix. Something about an over-running clutch mis-match. I hope if we operate these in a way that does not make any noise then no damage will occur.

 

[wushaw]

I was told the same thing by my dealer on my L2800 that it is not suppose to hurt a thing. I also disengage the PTO without using the clutch.

 

[8226hamer]

My L2800 was doing the same thing also. I ask the dealer about this and they said it was normal. Last week I was using a roto tiller and it was doing a great job, but about halfway through the job the PTO started grinding and the tiller quit. The PTO would not turn, just grind. I took it back and they said they would have to tear into it and see what the problem is. They still had my old 2910, so I have it now until they repair the L2800. The tractor has 9 hours on it. I am not to happy so far with the L2800. Between the 3 point lift shudder and now this, I'm starting to think about a new B3030.

 

[familyman]

I'd really like to hear the update on this! Please tell us as soon as you know! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[ccsial]

I'm guessing for some reason they put an over-run clutch in the PTO circuit. It sounds like this is a ratcheting type clutch. I suspect this clutch is now the weak link in the PTO. I'd bet the manual transmission does not have this clutch. For some reason they seem to be concerned about over driving the PTO. To my thinking, noise equals wear, I don't want to be hearing that clutch.

 

[Goog]

My new L3400HST makes the overunning clutch noise also. The first time I heard it I thought I broke the tractor. I had a chipper running on the pto and when I slowed the engine rpm down to an idle after running at pto speed the inertia from the cutter head made the overunning clutch go crazy. Now I depress the clutch and then disengage the pto and let it slow down on its own. Plus
I also have the jerky 3pt. On another thread someone said to raise it completely and then lower to your desired location everytime. That is great but with a box scraper you might want to raise it a little while moving and I do not think you should have to stop and raise it fully and then lower to a slightly higher position. Seems like a pain. In the mail I got the Kubota questioner to fill out on how I like my tractor. So far I have not filled it out. Need to visit the dealer first. Brian

 

[ccsial]

My dealer showed me the service manual which states that there is a one-way clutch to protect the engine and transmission from PTO overspeeds. It uses slant cams that ratchet (noisy) when overspeed occurs. I am glad to know this is a normal thing.

As far as the jerky 3PT hitch, I did notice that it goes up too fast. For me this is not an issue but I could see the problem with a box scraper. Maybe there is a way to adjust the flow control for up. Maybe the draft control option would help.