Strange 2518 PTO Failure

mrbeanley · Apr 30, 2008

Hello, all.

I have a 2518 that has about 300 hours on it. I was using it to dethatch the front yard last week, pulling a small dethatching rake behind it. I got off to move a fallen branch, and the blades started spinning!

I thought there might have been an electrical problem. After shutting the engine down, I unplugged the PTO clutch. Started it up again, and MUCH to my surprise - the blades started spinning again! What the....?

I've got a new PTO on order - I pretty well destroyed the old one getting it off. Has anyone else had a similar failure?? How can the clutch engage itself without any current being applied to it??

OldMachinist · Apr 30, 2008

The bearing in the clutch most likely failed causing it to lock up and engage the blades.

mrbeanley · Apr 30, 2008

OldMachinist said:
The bearing in the clutch most likely failed causing it to lock up and engage the blades.

Am I correct in assuming that I'd have to have the bearing(s) pressed out of the clutch in order to replace them? They are so frozen up, I wasn't even sure if they were actually bearings by looking at them.

Oh, well. What's another couple of hundred bucks, anyway?

I wouldn't be so ticked, but I just dropped $300 over the winter on the 2-stage snow thrower for the same tractor. The sheer bolts didn't break when they ought to have, and I ended up replacing the entire gearbox in the middle of the auger assembly.

micman32 · May 1, 2008

That's exactly what happened to mine when it failed.

Then you choke on what a new one costs!!!

Michael

micman32 · May 1, 2008

You can't repair it. You have to replace it. At least that is what my dealer told me.

Michael

mrbeanley · May 1, 2008

What really irks me is the fact that I probably could have just replaced the bearing in the outer pulley. But I bent the crap out of the thing with a pry bar trying to get it off the crankshaft.

For what its worth, I paid $175, including shipping, from a place called Pats Small Engines (www.psep.com). It fit perfectly, and took a little over a week to get here from when I ordered it. For a part that weighs like 13 pounds, that isn't bad when you consider the shipping was free.

Next time, I'll be more careful when I take the foolish thing off.