PTO shaft won't catch

[RobiBX2230]

So, I'm putting my 60" MMM back on the BX2230 after a winter of snowblowing and I'm having issues. I cannot seem to get the mid PTO shaft of the mower to latch to the mid PTO on the tractor. I slide it on, pull back the collar but for the life of me (and 2 hours of trying laying on the floor and on the mower) get the shaft to slide far enough to engage the ball bearings that lock the PTO shaft onto the mid PTO of the machine... Suggestions?

I ran out of time tonight, but I plan to try to take the MMM out from under the tractor and attempt to get the shaft on with nothing under the tractor so I have more room to work, but that would just be a test to see if something is messed up...

Thanks for everyone's help

 

[ModMech]

Before I connect my MMM I "clean" the PTO connections with WD-40 and a tooth brush then wipe clean and apply a light coating of CLEAN grease to the male end.

It's my experience that even a small amount of grit or a leaf will prevent the collar on the female connector from locking on. A clean union is a happy union.

 

[klrobert]

That connection can be a bear at times. Like ModMech said, keep it clean. Mine was also very tight when it was new, but after some use and disconnecting and re-connecting, it gets easier.

 

[Chilly807]

It's likely that the detent ball is stuck in the female end, and won't drop into the cutout in the PTO shaft. You can soak it in WD 40 or another solvent to loosen the ball, then spray Fluid Film or LPS into the female part of the spline. Heavy grease makes the problem worse next time as it hardens in there. Even a dry graphite lube works well. As long as you don't have metal on metal abrasion, it's fine.

Chilly

 

[Big Bri]

i don't have a mmm but i had trouble putting on a bush hog shaft, same thing couldn't get to lock in place. after many hrs of fighting, spraying wd and scrubbing the shaft it turned out to be a little dirt on the inside of the shaft that kept it from sliding far enough to catch. I used some picks (look like dental tools) to scrape out the dirt. . . went on like new.
hope it helps

 

[RobiBX2230]

The detent balls move, they aren't stuck but they aren't necessarily loose either... I've cleaned them off pretty well. I've finished mounting the mower so I can play with the angle of the shaft but no help... I remember taking it off was tough but much easier because the mower wasn't in the way and the snowblower shaft wasn't much of a joy either, but there wasn't much in the way then either. Going to borrow some WD40 from a neighbor and give it a shot...

 

[RobiBX2230]

Tried using lube and it made a big difference, I was able to get the shaft on much further than before....... HOWEVER, not far enough and now I cannot get it on OR off to clean more or lock into place... I started the machine and took a risk and turned the PTO on to see if it would jar it loose a bit just enough but no such luck and I don't want to risk running it too much and loosing something due to damage... Any ideas now? This is really getting to me, I've been trying this 1 step for almost 4 hours and my hands, arms and whole body is getting beat up trying

 

[Chilly807]

Sounds like it's getting to be a pain in the azz... Well, it's got to come off before it can go on at this point. You have to find a way to knock it off there, which from what you say is going to be hard because of limited space. You can gear up a sort of slide hammer to enable you to get the hammer force behind the shaft.
Wrapping a piece of cable or small chain around the shaft, then attaching the end of the chain to a small sledgehammer may work. When you swing the hammer, the chain or cable comes tight and applies the hammer force to the shaft, pulling it off. Sometimes it works , sometimes it doesn't. You're probably going to end up taking the mower off, separating the two halves of the driveshaft, then jacking the tractor up to get room to work under it with a vengeance.

You may also be able to clamp a big set of visegrips on the coupling to give you something to hammer on.

Or, a cable come-along with one end wrapped around the clamped visegrips, and the other end attached to something solid (maybe front axle?) Put a good strain on it, then tap on the side of the coupling with a hammer. It'll come.

Chilly

 

[RobiBX2230]

So I figured I'd try again tonight for my sanity because this was driving me insane... I unhooked the mower from the lifter arms and rolled it forward so the PTO shaft wasn't connected to the mower to give me some room to hit it with a rubber mallet... I was pulling on it trying to get it off and whacking at it with the mallet and before I knew it some how the mallet got it to slide onto and lock into place on the PTO of the tractor... Don't ask me how when I was trying to pull it off it slid on... Either way, I then had to do the one thing I didn't want to do and try to reconnect the PTO shafts (they have a key way) but with a little help from the wife rolling the mower deck back and me trying to get the shafts together... DONE!

Ready to mow, hopefully the new blades I put on don't vibrate too much... The factory blades fit snug, the blades I put on had holes a little bigger than the posts they go on, but I centered them best I could... Now I should be able to mulch, just have to come up with some sort of chute plug when I want to mulch... I have the PTO driven bagger for when I want to bag

 

[Usta]

It will get easier with use but on a new tractor the problem with tight shafts is mainly because the spline is painted.
What I would do, (when you get the shaft off) is take sandpaper and sand off the paint on the spline on the tractor and then oil it.