Newb questions on PTO type and operation

Soldier415 · Sep 20, 2016

Been a tractor owner for about 3 weeks now and have already got a lot done around the property. So far it has all been with the FEL, box blade and grader blade. Headed to my brother in law's house to rototill a garden patch and have some questions I haven't been able to find the answer too despiute searching and reading a LOT in the forums.

Tractor is a 2001 Kubota L3010 30HP. I picked it up used.

1. How can I tell if I have an independent PTO? I remember reading something about if you can turn your PTO shaft by hand with the tractor off and in neutral it means XXXX type, but I can't remember what XXXX is. I have a lever to engage/disengage both the rear and mid PTO if that helps with identifying.

2. Unsure about putting the tiller attachment into operation. When I push the clutch in on the tractor the power to the tiller stops. I read in the manual that when using a PTO driven implement you engage the PTO at idle speed and then throttle up to the 540 RPM PTO indicator on the tach. Do I do that with the clutch in and then release it at high RPM to start motion of the tractor? Or do I do it with the clutch out while the tractor is in motion?

Reading the manual it says to reduce RPMs when engaging the PTO, so does that mean every time I need to stop the tractor I have to then bring it back down to idle before engaging the PTO again?

Just trying to get a feel for the mechanics of this. As in my mind it would make more sense to position the tractor and attachment where I intend to start tilling, get it up to 540 RPM and lower the tiller to start engaging and THEN start forward movement.

Any help appreciated.

Grandad4 · Sep 20, 2016

With the Glide-Shift Transmission (GST), your L3010 has what Kubota calls "live-continuous running" PTO, meaning that the PTO will remain running while changing travel speed or direction. You probably already know that you don't need to use the clutch to shift gears or go from forward to reverse with the GST transmission. That's because, in addition to the pedal operated clutch, there is a separate clutch pack internal to the GST that operates to allow these shift-on-the-go actions. Likewise, you also do not need to put in the clutch to stop the tractor... you use either the "N" position on the shift lever or the forward/neutral/reverse shuttle. That way you stop the tractor but the implement continues to run. So the old-fashioned foot clutch is really useful only for starting the engine and when you engage the PTO.

My tractor (also one of the Lxx10 models), works similarly, although it's an HST model instead of GST. With PTO implements, I press in the clutch, engage the PTO, and gently release the clutch, all with the engine at idle. The implement will start operating and I'll then wind up the engine to the desired RPM. Since the clutch is in, the tractor is stopped while the implement is being put in action.

With your GST, put the F/N/R shuttle in Neutral while you get the PTO running. Let out the foot clutch, choose your ground speed, lower the implement and move the shuttle to Forward.

With a tiller, I seldom wanted or needed to wind it all the way up to full 540 PTO speed. That's something you judge by how the implement operates as you go... don't be hesitant to adjust it based on what seems right for your ground and your tractor.

Hope this helps. The L3010 is a good, hard-working tractor.

mddorange · Sep 20, 2016

:welcome:
To the TBN Forum Soldier. Glad you joined us here.

!. As per TractorData.com you have a Live PTO in the rear and semi-independent PTO in the middle. Hope this helps.

2. Yes, with the clutch IN you use the lever to engage the PTO and when you let off the clutch the PTO will be spinning, then you rev-up to the 540 PTO speed.

3. What the manual is talking about is when you use the lever to engage the PTO. After that you would drive normally until you are finished and push the lever back down.

Soldier415 · Sep 20, 2016

Grandad4 said:
With the Glide-Shift Transmission (GST), your L3010 has what Kubota calls "live-continuous running" PTO, meaning that the PTO will remain running while changing travel speed or direction. You probably already know that you don't need to use the clutch to shift gears or go from forward to reverse with the GST transmission. That's because, in addition to the pedal operated clutch, there is a separate clutch pack internal to the GST that operates to allow these shift-on-the-go actions. Likewise, you also do not need to put in the clutch to stop the tractor... you use either the "N" position on the shift lever or the forward/neutral/reverse shuttle. That way you stop the tractor but the implement continues to run. So the old-fashioned foot clutch is really useful only for starting the engine and when you engage the PTO.

My tractor (also one of the Lxx10 models), works similarly, although it's an HST model instead of GST. With PTO implements, I press in the clutch, engage the PTO, and gently release the clutch, all with the engine at idle. The implement will start operating and I'll then wind up the engine to the desired RPM. Since the clutch is in, the tractor is stopped while the implement is being put in action.

With your GST, put the F/N/R shuttle in Neutral while you get the PTO running. Let out the foot clutch, choose your ground speed, lower the implement and move the shuttle to Forward.

With a tiller, I seldom wanted or needed to wind it all the way up to full 540 PTO speed. That's something you judge by how the implement operates as you go... don't be hesitant to adjust it based on what seems right for your ground and your tractor.

Hope this helps. The L3010 is a good, hard-working tractor.

Excellent info. Thank you. So I don't need to be worried about damaging the transmission shifting the shuttle lever from neutral to forward while the engine is at 2300 RPM?

I ask because the manual says to only shift the shuttle lever at low RPM

Grandad4 · Sep 20, 2016

I would back off the rpm's when using the shuttle to change direction, per the manual. You'd want to do that anyways so you're not having neck-jerking starts and stops, particularly in taller gears. I don't have much experience with the GST setup, so don't take my advice as the last word on the subject. The few times I've used one, it seemed like a really nice setup. The HST drive system always seemed more idiot-proof than the GST - there's an awful lot of stuff that has to work just right inside a GST gearbox - so your taking the time to figure out how to best use it seems like a good plan to me.