TC24D & new 716D blower ...driveline question

[Trouser Bark]

I've got 30 hrs on my TC24D now and am beginning to get the hang of the FEL. We've had about 60" of snow so far this season though and that's too much for a 300' driveway and the bucket so I bought NH's new 716D rear mount blower w/ manual chute rotation.

It's the first time I've tried to mount a pto implement and I was a little surprised at what a pain that was. Matter of fact it's still not properly attached and the problem is the driveline. I followed the manual's instr's on how to hook the blower to the 3ph and all went smooth til the last little bit. The manual doesn't really say how you hook up the drive line and uses a term that I can't find anywhere else in any of my NH manuals.

Under snowblower installation in the blower manual it states:

6.) Connect driveline to tractor PTO shaft, making sure that the driveline locking collar is well secured to the tractor.

...then just underneath that is one of the many cautionary statements in the manual. It states:

CAUTION: Make sure that the quick coupler is securely locked in place. A "click" must be heard.

That sounds reasonable but the manual doesn't say what a locking collar is and it also doesn't say what a quick coupler is. I have no idea how these are supposed to go together other than the common sense approach, so I gave it a whirl and the female end of the drive shaft won't fully slip over the male PTO shaft. It goes on about 3/4" then (I think) it jams up on 4 bearings inside the female end.

I tried the gentle method and that just wasted 30 minutes. Then I decided to go full on greco-roman with the shaft and climbed underneath the tractor and yanked, jerked, and cussed. Noop.

Got back out on top and gave it the rubber mallet attitude adjustment but due to the general shape of things I couldn't really get a good enough whack at any surface to get the shaft to engage properly.

In retrospect, the 4 inner bearings might be frozen inside the female driveshaft end that's supposed to fit over the PTO shaft. I'll check that tomorrow. Assuming that's not it though, am I doing something wrong? Is there an easy way to get this on?

What about a locking collar? Any clue what that is or what it locks to?

How about a quick coupler? I really can't picture what that might be.

I normally try to limit the number of questions I ask that only enlighten one. Being a complete green pea though I don't have much choice on this one. Comments appreciated.

I don't know if this merits mention or if it's a driveshaft common to NH implements but JIC the shaft is made by Benzi & De Terlizzi in Italy.

 

[JerryG]

If it has bearings that you can see on the inside of the coupler, the coupler will have a twist sleeve. Right at end of coupler there should be a sleeve that goes around the whole end with ribs or a knurl pattern on it. If you will twist the sleeve counter clockwise (I think) it will allow the bears to retract so that you can slide the coupler on. It might help to spray the PTO shaft and the inside of the coupler with WD-40 or something like that. It helps me anyway. After the bears have started on to the shaft you can quite twisting and let go of the sleeve. Continue sliding it on until you hear the click of the bearing going into the circular groove in the PTO shaft. Pull back on it hard to make sure it is locked on. That should fix it for you.

 

[Trouser Bark]

Thank you Jerry. I noticed that the end of the driveshaft had a black plastic looking ring around it that would spin freely but I didn't look inside the unit to see if spinning the ring did anything to the bearings. I'll pay closer attn to that ring tomorrow.

Thanks again.

Side note: I'm normally inclined to 'test' things to see if I've got 'em right (or to see how wrong I've got it?) but NH's persistent "injury or death" caution notices seem to be fairly effective. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Bird]

If it has the black plastic looking ring that spins freely, then you just pull (or push) it back from the end until the couple slides onto the tractor's PTO output shaft.

 

[PineRidge]

<font color="blue"> If it has the black plastic looking ring that spins freely, then you just pull (or push) it back from the end until the couple slides onto the tractor's PTO output shaft.
</font>

Bird nailed it. That's how mine works as well. Just pull it back from the end until the coupler slides onto the tractor's PTO output shaft. Then let go of the collar and pull on the end of coupler itself toward you to be sure the coupler is indeed locked in place. You may hear a click which is normal.

 

[Trouser Bark]

Thank you, Bird & Pine. I'm on my way to get this hooked up in a few minutes and I appreciate the pointers very much. On a side note, Bird ...I've learned an awful lot from reading your posts. There are no doubt a lot of guys like me that have been reading what you've told others in these posts and benefitted quite a bit.

Just in case you don't hear it often enough I'd like to let you know that I for one appreciate the time you've invested in helping others, most of whom you'll never meet. Thank you from Alaska.

If you have any influence and think you might be able to get NH to run their manuals by a 6 year old before they print 'em it would be a good thing for guys like me. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Bird]

/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gifGosh, Legion, I may have to get a bigger hat. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif But thanks anyway.

 

[Trouser Bark]

Smooooth, like buttah.

...click.

And after playing w/ it for a few minutes I'd estimate that it'll reduce my snow removal seat time by about 80%. Definitely a cool tool.

This 716D that I have is a few inches (maybe 3 or so) skinnier that the FEL which I thought was unusual, but it sure shoots some serious snow. It does an xlnt job of launching rocks too. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[deepsnow]

Legion, basically went through the same experience last winter. My local NH dealer are real considerate of my ignorance/lack of tractor sense. Be sure to have a few spare shear pins around if you regularly throw stones. Went through couple shaft and auger pins last year (early & late snowfalls, frost heave rocks). So far, none this season. The 716 can really kick out the snow. Makes snow clearing more fun than work.