PTO Shield Removal

Anonymous Poster · Apr 24, 2003

Well, it's time for that stupid question that I've not asked. Being a utter and complete novice to tractoring and 3pt hitch implements, I've been learning a lot from all the posts here. There's a lot of great info available. With that said, though, I can't seem to find any posts that discuss how to remove the shield, specifically the bell & collar, from a PTO shaft.

I have a First Choice tiller where the collar just below the bell (that covers the u-joint) has broken. I need to replace it but can't seem to figure out how to remove the blasted thing. The bell has a stamp on it that says Lock-Unlock, with arrows pointing in the respective directions, but when I twist the bell in the Unlock direction, it stops just shy of where the plastic tabs under the collar would fit into slots around the collar allowing removal. There must be something that needs to be positioned/adjusted/pushed (whatever) to allow the bell and collar to continue to rotate to where the tabs will make it to the slots.

Can anyone offer any suggestions on what it is that needs to be done to get things to continue to rotate into the proper removal position? I realize that not all shields are created equal, but maybe someone recognizes what I'm trying to do/describe.

I'm hoping that my description here is sufficient for some help, but I'll try to get a close-up picture I can post, if needed. Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

(P.S. - I can fix F-4 and F-16 fighter jets, just not tractor implements /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

Bird · Apr 24, 2003

If I understand your description right, forget about twisting the collar. You just push those plastic tabs all the way over and pull them out, one at a time, and then it'll come right off.

markie61 · Apr 24, 2003

I was doing the same thing yesterday: trying to remove the shaft shield to short the metal part. I couldn't figure it out, either.... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

On my finish mower, there was one small set screw. When that was removed, I could rotate the bell, line up the arrows, then remove it.

Mark

BB_TX · Apr 24, 2003

I share your frustration. I was installing the shaft on my PHD and I messed with the twist/lock/unlock thing for about 10 minutes before I finally gave up and just worked thru the hole provided for greasing and stuck my wrenches under the front edge of the bell to tighten the bolt. Probably something simple, but I could not figure it out. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

JimMc · Apr 24, 2003

If it is a Eurocardan shaft, there will be a small, slotted, "D" shaped peg which should be rotated to align with its receiver and pulled out. Then the collar can be fully rotated and retracted for access to U-joints and service. To reinstall, reverse the proceedure.

Soundguy · Apr 24, 2003

If it is like my KK shaft.. .. and sounds like it is.. they stick a little.. and need just a little more umph to get the tabs to line up.. once lined up, the bell can go back exposing the knuckle, etc.

Soundguy

BillG_in_TX · Apr 24, 2003

I second what JimMc said. When I recently purchased my KK rotary cutter from TSC, we could not figure out how to remove the bell housing to attach the shaft to the gearbox. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Finally ended up going back to TSC, where the "tractor expert" was out on a delivery. We called King Kutter from the store and they explained it just like JimMc said. Apparently, it is a regular query according to the technician I talked to.

Call First Choice (or King Kutter) and they can walk you through it if this doesn't make sense. You'd think they would include better directions.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 24, 2003

Thanks for all the quick and helpful responses! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I'll try them out tonight or tomorrow. BillGnTX-Directions? What directions? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif If nothing else works, I'll give First Choice a call. Thanks again.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 25, 2003

Success! Thanks all for your help. JimMc had it right...just a little D-shaped thingy (that's a technical term /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif) that when aligned properly, can be popped out with a screwdriver...and then the bell turns, the tabs line up, and everything slips down the shaft.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If it is a Eurocardan shaft, there will be a small, slotted, "D" shaped peg which should be rotated to align with its receiver and pulled out. Then the collar can be fully rotated and retracted for access to U-joints and service. To reinstall, reverse the proceedure.

Jim McCuan
Midwest Equipment )</font>

Thanks again everyone. I'll certainly make sure I keep visiting here and learning so much stuff about my power toys (uh, tools) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif