Overstressing PTO U-joints?

[Rock knocker]

Snohomish had it in stock, so I can't explain the price difference unless there is a stocking fee on all purchases, and that is built in to items in stock at the store you (I) visited.

Or else they saw me jump off the turnip truck on Bickford Ave.

 

[DieselBound]

Measured max and min distances (tractor PTO to bush hog PTO) as 58 1/2" and 53 1/2" respectively. Minimum isn't including any extra slack that could be taken up by the bush hog's floating top link swinging back (if tail of bush hog were jammed forward); I'd think this couldn't be more than say 4", so absolute minimum would be 49 1/2".

Bare Co. lists the SB6105 as having a "closed" length of 39" and an "open" length of 65".

I figure It would be fine for the collapsed. I'm not sure, however, of the extended/open length. I'm guessing that when they say open length is 65" that that includes a safe overlap. if this is the case then this ought to be fine.

 

[marchanna]

I bought mine from these guys:

aftermarket.farm

Their eBay store:

Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectibles, Coupons and More | eBay

 

[DieselBound]

Rock knocker, do you recall/know what your overlap is at full extension?

My Bush Hog manual states overlap should be a minimum of 6" (series 4). This seems pretty low to me, especially when, as in my case, one is looking at a total operating length of 60"!

 

[DieselBound]

Ordered the SB6501 Bare Co PTO shaft from Mount Vernon Washington Tractor.

I got a response back from Bare about what their overlap is at their stated 65" extension and they said it was 15" (apparently their shaft sections are longer than the 39" collapsed- I'd calc'd based on 39" and got 13" as the overlap). Since I'll be operating at 60" (max) that would mean I'll be running with a 20" overlap. So, WAY better overlap, series 6 (beefier) and NEW should keep me from reporting on any more PTO shaft issues!

 

[DieselBound]

Picked up the Bare Co PTO shaft today. A BIG thank you to Rock knocker for mentioning these! Being that it's a series 6 it's a bit heavy. But, the collar releases makes it a LOT easier to connect up:

 

[Rock knocker]

Those are sweet, aren't they? Since they're 60hp rated and I'm using them on a 27 PTO hp machine I've loosened the bolts quite a bit and scribe them with a sharpie before each use, and then examine for slip. I think I want to see a tiny bit after each use, because better safe than sorry.