tractor and mower attachment

[maureen]

question: when attaching the woods mower to the pto on my tractor,then
trying to engage the lever to make it work, it has been refusing to enage,
On rare occasion it trys but causes the engine to die. The lever for the pto
has a grinding sound when trying to get it to wprk. It has always had this
habit but it appears that it has become mor difficult. Is it the pto
malfunctioning or is it the woods brush at fault?

Would appreciate some expert knowledge on this problem. I have bee told
there are adjustments near the lever, but I found moving the adjustment
around did not make any difference.

I hope I can find my way back to this website. If not would appreciate
a regular e mail . Put something in the return mail with TRACTOR QUESTION
ANSWERED otherwise all mail I don't recognize will be deleted.

Thank for you time
Maureen

 

[Muhammad]

Welcome to TBN.

 

[Soundguy]

ensure that the driveline to the mower and it's blades and spindles turn freely when unhooked from tractor.

soundguy

 

[Briana03]

WELCOME to TBN

I moved your thread to the Attachments Forum.

 

[RoyJackson]

To the OP:
Does your PTO have the same symptoms with any other implement?
Is this the first time you've used your Woods mower? BTW, is the Woods a finish (lawn) mower or rotary cutter (field mower)?
A finish mower should engage and spin up pretty easily. Just engage at around 800-1000 RPM, then increase engine speed smoothly. A rotary cutter has heavy blades and can be more difficult to engage. What I do is engage the PTO (tractor transmission in neutral) at about 800-1000 RPM and be prepared to give it a bit more fuel if the engine starts to stall (foot throttle is handy for this). Once the cutter blades are spinning (expect a "bang" initially (blades extending) then some vibration. Once the cutter blades are turning smoothly (5 seconds or so), increase the RPM to PTO speed and select a low gear.

A bit more information such as what type of tractor, type of transmission (gear with a 2 stage clutch?) would help.

Soundguy's suggestions are good (as usual!), but the inertia of cutter blades or even a finish mower can make spinning them difficult....use a "cheater bar" of some sort if you try this.

BTW, if you haven't read your tractor's operator manual, I suggest you do...might answer some of your questions.

 

[TractorRob]

As mentioned, information on what type of tractor would be helpful. Different tractors have different requirements for engaging the PTO.

...The lever for the pto has a grinding sound when trying to get it to wprk...

That sounds like you are not pressing the clutch in before engaging the PTO on a tractor that requires that you do.

 

[teg]

...trying to engage the lever to make it work, it has been refusing to enage, On rare occasion it trys but causes the engine to die. The lever for the pto has a grinding sound when trying to get it to work...

So, you push the Clutch IN, then try and engage the pto shifter and it makes grinding noise? You have to use the clutch, and let it out slowly once the PTO is engaged...

If you ARE using the clutch, the clutch might be worn out... come back with more information...

 

[maureen]

In response to my problem concerning the brush hog and the pto on my Ford 800
series tractor. I have used these two items for years, the pto always had a bit of a
grinding sound when getting it to engage. You can even feel the roughness at times,
like the gears are hitting something. Anyway this tractor has live pto, it has five or
so speeds. I thought maybe the gear box may be low on gear oil, will check this out
this upcoming weekend. In the past I was able to spin the shaft manually. Last weekend
I tried spinning it again, and it would not move. I will have get down and check to
see if anything underneath may be preventing it to spin freely. This is an expensive
fix and I do not want to be taken advantage of. That is why I am inquiring why it
was working, then the next time I needed to use it, it would not work. Mother nature
has taken over huge areas where I use to keep the fields open with this equipment.
Now that I have this problem I am unable to mow those areas. So anyone with a
good idea, concrete or not, I am open for all the advice I can get, before I have to
resort to having my tractor hauled off to the repair shop.

 

[maureen]

So, you push the Clutch IN, then try and engage the pto shifter and it makes grinding noise? You have to use the clutch, and let it out slowly once the PTO is engaged...

If you ARE using the clutch, the clutch might be worn out... come back with more information...

I do use the clutch. You cannot engage the lever until the clutch is
depressed.

 

[maureen]

Its me again.

I apologize to everyone on this website, I am not comfortable with it, because
I do not know what I am doing honestly. So many things to read , and
am afraid of making a big mistake by putting the cursor on the wrong
icon.

So please please forgive me
Mo(Maureen_

 

[Soundguy]

In response to my problem concerning the brush hog and the pto on my Ford 800
series tractor. I have used these two items for years, the pto always had a bit of a
grinding sound when getting it to engage. You can even feel the roughness at times,
like the gears are hitting something. Anyway this tractor has live pto, it has five or
so speeds. I thought maybe the gear box may be low on gear oil, will check this out
this upcoming weekend. In the past I was able to spin the shaft manually. Last weekend
I tried spinning it again, and it would not move. I will have get down and check to
see if anything underneath may be preventing it to spin freely. This is an expensive
fix and I do not want to be taken advantage of. That is why I am inquiring why it
was working, then the next time I needed to use it, it would not work. Mother nature
has taken over huge areas where I use to keep the fields open with this equipment.
Now that I have this problem I am unable to mow those areas. So anyone with a
good idea, concrete or not, I am open for all the advice I can get, before I have to
resort to having my tractor hauled off to the repair shop.

if you have an 800 series that is a 5 speed and has live pto.. then it is an 860 and has a dual clutch in it.

If it s grinding to engage, the pto section may be stuck, or the freeplay adjustment is off, or there is simply enough wear in the system that the clutch is not fully disengaging.

if the pto section is stuck, it would prevent you from spinning the pto while it was engaged. if not engaged, and the pto won't spin, post back.

soundguy

 

[teg]

...I apologize to everyone on this website...

Don't worry about the website... we worry more about the tractor.

Soundguy, can you go through what it takes to adjust the clutch??

 

[Soundguy]

external pedal freeplay adjustment is all you can really do on that ford double clutch...

soundguy

 

[maureen]

Re:Tractor and Mower Attachment

In reply to the pto. It does work. It engages.

Attach the brush hog and the difficulty begins immediately. It has gotten to
the point it will hardly engage anymore.

When the mower was attached last summer it would spin only momentarily
before it would make the tractor die.

In answer do I think I can follow instructions to attempt to adjust the pto?
Yes as long as they are clear step by step.

I do not want to harm the mechanism and make it worse is my main concern.

The weekend is near, and will be checking the gear oil level on the brush
hog, will also re-check to see if the brush hog will manuallyfree spin.

Somone had mentioned (locally) that this brush hog has a brake on it?
I was not aware that this model has a brake. It is a big woods brush
hog, you can remove the side plate, it has no shear pins.

Do all of you lean toward thinking that the pto will need to be replaced?

Well if I have overlooked any unanswered questions I again apologize.
I just need to solve this problem.

I thank all of you who have taken the time to respond to my e mails.

Respectfully
Mo(Maureen)

 

[RoyJackson]

Re:Tractor and Mower Attachment

In reply to the pto. It does work. It engages.

Attach the brush hog and the difficulty begins immediately. It has gotten to the point it will hardly engage anymore.

When the mower was attached last summer it would spin only momentarily
before it would make the tractor die.

Respectfully
Mo(Maureen)

Hi Mo,
At this point, it really sounds like your 2-stage clutch is ready for replacement.
Soundguy is the resident expert on those old Fords...and I'm sure he'll chime in soon enough.

Now, when you drive your tractor, does the clutch slip at all? This should be more noticeable in the lower gears.

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. his main disc may be worn enough that he can no longer adequately clutch the pto section, assuming freeplay has been adjusted down to spec, or even a lil more so.

soundguy

 

[RoyJackson]

yep.. his main disc...

soundguy

HER main disk, BTW...

Anyway, Mo...sounds like a repair is in order.

 

[teg]

...assuming freeplay has been adjusted down to spec...

How would one go about and check that out? I assume it's external? Set screw on the arm of the clutch? turn until tightens up and see if it works or if it still doesn't work? Got photos? She may not be the only one that could use the information... Or is it a lot more to it?

 

[Soundguy]

simple rod and clevis adjustment. apparrent when you look at the clutch pedal linkage.. etc.

soundguy

 

[Glen Watkins]

To new members and old alike it sometimes helps to put your general location of where you are located in your profile because some members may read your posts and also be in the same area of the country and willing to come over to take a look and help you out. Just a thought I had!