Stuck PTO shaft saga

aczlan · Mar 14, 2012

Have you tried putting a prybar between the cross and the end of the shaft and pushing off of that?
I would also bang on the sides of the coupler to rock it from side to side.

Aaron Z

Dead Horse · Mar 15, 2012

I have had the same problem only not as severe as yours.

This issue originated from having a PTO shaft which is cut too long, as previously pointed out. The PTO output and input shafts on tractor and implement are very hard steel. When compressing the shaft beyond its limit, something has to give and it is the locking pin in either end of the Shaft (at the collar)

The problem is that the input or out put shaft "shaves" a chunk off the pin, leaving the shrapnel behind, in the pin groove of the input or out put shaft. This results in the collar being "pressed" on to the input or out put shaft and the pin extremely tight in this position. When attempting to remove the collar, the remains of the pin want to twist and bite into the shaft thus locking it in place. Steady pulling is not going to work as well as a shock pull.

You will have to be careful doing this not to hurt the pulling equipment, the gear box input shaft or yourself.

In my instance I applied a LOT of pull tension on the collar with a come along and then whacked said collar with a hammer. any movement resulted in re-tensionning and repeated whacks. rinse and repeat. It will come off, but the collar will be junk.

nickel plate · Mar 16, 2012

I recently cleaned and re-greased the PTO shaft on my rotary mower (I do this every couple of years) as mentioned before and today I hooked it up-slick and sweet, about five seconds to spline attach versus a minute or two/five attempt and a bunch of loud swear words when dirty.

gengine · Mar 16, 2012

Maybe not tractor related, but my old blazer had a receiver hitch with a stabber rusted in. I sprayed it with PB for a couple days, then chained to a tree and gave 'er heck. Nothing moved. Sprayed another couple days, applied heat, and tugged again. Got a loud bang, stopped and checked, had to buy a whole new receiver hitch and a bumper. Just out of curiosity, I took the broken hitch to work for the big press, 19.5 tons to break that puppy loose.

Depmandog · Mar 17, 2012

Your efforts will be made easier using heat, tension and a sledge hammer (and a helper). A cutting torch with a rosebud tip is ideal. Put the shaft under tension. Heat the shaft for ten minutes while under tension. Have the helper repeatedly rap it with a small sledge, while you apply the heat. Good luck.

deezler · Mar 19, 2012

Arg. Thanks for the advice everyone.

I don't have a cutting torch, so was going to start with a small handheld torch. Probably a waste of time. I think at this point I will fire up the air compressor, and just get out the cut-off wheel. It's only $60 for an "economy" driveline shaft from agri-supply.

284 International · Mar 20, 2012

That's pretty cheap for a new shaft. Just make sure the splines don't get mangled trying to cut it off. You may find the high frequency vibration and heat will loosen it up enough to slide off anyway.

Oldtractorfixer · Mar 20, 2012

On the mower end disassemble the u-joint in-place on the mower. Get a two leg puller and hook to the holes. A good puller will have better pull than what you have done. (might be time to buy one at Harbor freight) or just rent one if you don't have one. If It comes great If it doesn't you can heat it with pressure on it. Even if you ruin the u-joint half you aren't out too much. On the other end remove the little clip and take out the spring pin and clean all that rust and mud. It will never work nice until you do this. A die grinder with a wire brush will help on the splines and then a small flat file will finish.
Don't forget to clean the splines on the tractor they probably have dirt and grease too. If it sticks on the tractor again a slid hammer works well there. I've tried some never-seize on the splines, it seems to work a little better than grease. I would like to know what others use to lube the PTO splines.

bcp · Mar 20, 2012

All of the mentions of hammering and vibrations make me think of using an air hammer with a blunt tip.

Northern Industrial Air Hammer Kit  6-Pc. Set | Air Hammers | Northern Tool + Equipment

Bruce

deezler · Mar 20, 2012

Again, great advice. Thanks everyone.

I didn't have time to get to it last night, maybe tonight though. I do have an air impact hammer, and I went so far as to screw on the blunt tip hammer and start looking at places on the U-joint to apply some whacks before the sun set on me.

No splines on the mower input shaft, just smooth with a cross hole for the shear pin. So I am not too worried about nicking the mower input shaft a bit if I do have to cut off the coupler. Can easily die grinder it back to smooth.

Two-leg puller is also a great idea, don't have one, but seems like a useful tool to have in the toolbox. Slide hammer set, too. A trip to the local harbor freight might be in order....