Shear Bolt Broke On New Deck. PTO Shaft & Gear Box Holes Don't Align.

   / Shear Bolt Broke On New Deck. PTO Shaft & Gear Box Holes Don't Align. #51  
From the photos, it looks like the inner or outer might have moved longitudinally. I assume you tried tapping one or the other in or out to line them up. If it didn't work, some torsional damage to the shaft is likely. $100 to pick it up? A bit steep in my opinion; I'd haul it myself if it became necessary. A grade 8 bolt seems a bit much unless there is indeed a slip clutch that needs loosening a bit.
 
   / Shear Bolt Broke On New Deck. PTO Shaft & Gear Box Holes Don't Align.
  • Thread Starter
#52  
<-------- OP is not a "dude".

I've owned my tractor, Jane Deere, since 2011, second owner. I have maintained & mowed multiple pieces of acreage since. Cleared my most recent property (the flat pasture that busted the bolt) using it to mow down 10 years of over grown brush (with OLD rotary cutter) and move limbs and trunks from 64 trees I cut down, dumping them in construction roll offs. I mainly used Jane for putting hay rolls out and mowing pasture. On a few occasions Jane has also moved a fair amount of dirt and pulled out vehicles that get stuck when the ground becomes a sponge. While I don't necessarily understand every thing I know about tractors and accessories... I assure you I am very thoughtful about how I operate her to minimize the necessity of having to go to the only local shop who works on these size tractors. There is no glut of shops in my area. I'd go to the Kubota dealer but they don't want to touch JD. MY boyfriend is a City Boy, so no help there. So I try to employ work smart not hard.

Ya'll may not have had the pleasure of being treated like a dummy who couldn't possibly understand "machines" or someone who's bill can be padded with extra stuff because it won't be obvious that fluff has been added. I have and it never makes me a favorite customer. That's why I joined this forum so that I could hopefully get advice to help myself where possible. My mower is new. I incorrectly assumed that it should function as intended and not have a failure so soon. Because it's new, I don't want to do anything that would void any warranty, if there is one. In the industry I work in I see many situations where a consumer attempt to remedy a situation is a perfect excuse for the contractor/manufacturer to automatically claim a warranty void - even if the consumer's attempt was benign.

The original mow deck that came with Jane (2004 - 2020) saw alot of use before I bought it and after, with minimal maintenance. Never had any failure, ever. Maybe sharpen the blades. The only reason why I replaced it was because the top of the deck rusted out and there were big holes. No weld shops willing or able to repair. It still works and I am damn tempted to hook it up tomorrow and try to get ahead of the growth we are having after all this rain. But it does throw up alot of stuff and probably isn't very safe. You think?

- No manual. I have a drawer full of nothing but manuals. I am a manual hoarder. I will look under deck tomorrow.
- I don't engage PTO at high RPMs. Isn't this a common sense thing?
- I don't mow at full speed through high grass. Again, common sense for so many reasons. I also don't mow at full throttle in C/3 through short grass. Once I am done mowing I have to work. I like plodding along.
- The bolt did not break elsewhere and then just eventually become dislodged. I have both pieces, the head and then the majority of the shaft, threads and nut (Pictures of both in my original post...), right there on the deck.
- No Clip. That I can see. What does this clip look like so I know what to look for?
 
   / Shear Bolt Broke On New Deck. PTO Shaft & Gear Box Holes Don't Align.
  • Thread Starter
#53  
From the photos, it looks like the inner or outer might have moved longitudinally. I assume you tried tapping one or the other in or out to line them up. If it didn't work, some torsional damage to the shaft is likely. $100 to pick it up? A bit steep in my opinion; I'd haul it myself if it became necessary. A grade 8 bolt seems a bit much unless there is indeed a slip clutch that needs loosening a bit.
Thank you for seeing what I "thought" I was seeing. I have used a "spike" to try to get some adjustment. I did get some movement but I really need the appropriate tool. Maybe I'll check Lowes Depot or Ace tomorrow. I will already be on the hunt to try to locate a bolt as well because the JD dealer didn't have one, had to order it, still isn't in, can't find a tracking number and... if you want a job done right...

Yeah, I am not paying someone to haul it. Jane Deere has her own personal flatbed trailer and a chauffeur.
 
   / Shear Bolt Broke On New Deck. PTO Shaft & Gear Box Holes Don't Align. #54  
Don't be turned off by some of the responses...80% of the people here are very helpful and sharing knowledge. Sometimes it's hard to gauge the level of experience of the person asking for help so the answers assume a newbie to use equipment might be asking. Used an old rusty brush cutter for years with a bag of grade 2 shear bolts. Installed a slip clutch on my newer cutter due to electric pto shearing bolts on engagement even at idle. Once your clutch is unstuck and adjusted properly you will love it! I have not changed my grade 8 shaft bolt for 8 years since slip clutch was installed. Welcome to the forum and please let us know how it turns out for you. That's how we all keep learning.
 
   / Shear Bolt Broke On New Deck. PTO Shaft & Gear Box Holes Don't Align. #55  
Good luck with the JD dealer in SW Florida. Unless you’re commercial , it takes minimum of 6 weeks to fix my JD 430 during the mowing season (summer). Need to mow every 6 days, the grass grows so fast. Finally had to by a back up mower…
 
   / Shear Bolt Broke On New Deck. PTO Shaft & Gear Box Holes Don't Align. #56  
<-------- OP is not a "dude".
Apologies.

- No manual. I have a drawer full of nothing but manuals. I am a manual hoarder. I will look under deck tomorrow.
- No Clip. That I can see. What does this clip look like so I know what to look for?
See page 23 of the manual for the Snap Ring (aka clip) on the gear box shaft. It retains the PTO shaft on the gear box shaft in case of failure, otherwise that end of the shaft would fling about and do serious damage or bodily harm. Since it seems it did it's job and retained the shaft, chances are that it was damaged as well so needs looking at, if not replacing.

Manual (which should have been in a plastic tube mounted on the mower, as shown on the cover): http://pdfstream.manualsonline.com/5/594f7ac2-b50e-4098-9c9f-49423b4a9845.pdf
 
   / Shear Bolt Broke On New Deck. PTO Shaft & Gear Box Holes Don't Align. #57  
Let us know what the dealership concluded.
 
   / Shear Bolt Broke On New Deck. PTO Shaft & Gear Box Holes Don't Align. #58  
   / Shear Bolt Broke On New Deck. PTO Shaft & Gear Box Holes Don't Align. #59  
I subscribe to the philosophy of "the bigger the machine the bigger the hammer needed to fix it" ! lol Don't use a baby hammer when a 2lb sledge is needed.
 
   / Shear Bolt Broke On New Deck. PTO Shaft & Gear Box Holes Don't Align. #60  
I read all pages because I'm always interested in learning something I've never seen happen. My brush cutter has two blades that swing from one end of the blade. When I hit something, as too often happens, stumps and rocks, the blade gets nicked, but it swings out of the way. I thought they all were built like that; not so? Does that mean my type doesn't need a slip clutch or shear bolt?
 
 
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