Snowblower X738 - need help attaching the mid PTO Shaft for 47" snow blower

[dskelly]

Hi - I'm new to the forum having purchased an X738 in June. Just removed the 54" mowing deck, and attached the 47" snow blower. Unsure about the following and have gone through all the manuals and do not see this mentioned. I've also uploaded two photos which hopefully clarifies my confusion.

Attached are photos of the mower lift linkage in the down position, and then after I raise it. I need to install the mid pto shaft, but when the mower lift linkage is raised how do I either remove the shaft attached to the lift linkage, or how is it supposed to be positioned when in the raised position so it's not in the way of coupling the mid pto shaft? Thanks in advance for any assistance! Really pleased to see this site!

Doug

 

[Dutch445]

welcome Doug!
you should have a small hook up on the frame of the tractor, up above the trans filter in your 2nd picture,
which is for your pto shaft from the autoconnect to rest on. then hold up the deck lift and autoconnect
assy with the mower height on high setting.

 

[dskelly]

welcome Doug!
you should have a small hook up on the frame of the tractor, up above the trans filter in your 2nd picture,
which is for your pto shaft from the autoconnect to rest on. then hold up the deck lift and autoconnect
assy with the mower height on high setting.

Excellent - I'll give it a try in the a.m. Thanks for the detail of raising the deck setting to high - never would have known this - I looked all underneath and tried finding a place for it to be secured in the up position but am guessing your suggestion is what i needed. Thanks for replying - I'll try it tomorrow and let you know.

Thanks,

Doug

 

[TCowner]

It appears that you have the auto-connect feature on your tractor/mower. I have the same on my 1026R sub-compact utility. The entire auto-connect lift mechanism needs to be removed to install the pto shaft to run your blower. With a little practice it only takes about 5 minutes to remove but just try to keep everything oriented so that it all makes sense when you put it on next spring. The auto-connect feature is a great idea from John Deere but the fact you have to take the hardware off to install the blower or the front broom detracts from positive.

 

[dskelly]

Thanks for the response - I did check underneath again and do not see any location to secure. I ended up speaking with my local JD dealer - he said Deere tells him there is a latch or something underneath to connect the lift linkage but he has never been able to find it. He also commented even if there were, he'd be concerned it would be too close to the pto anyway, which I agree. Bottom line, there are 4 cotter pins which easily disconnect and drop the unit off the tractor. Didn't even take the 5 minutes - super easy. Thanks for the help.

I just wonder why Deere doesn't just use a coupler on the lift assembly so it could be raised and simply disconnect / uncouple the small drive.

Thanks everyone! I got it done yesterday just in time - we picked up a good 2' plus of heavy snow (still snowing) and the blower worked absolutely fantastic. Did so much better than I thought it would with how heavy and wet this stuff had started out as. Coming down fluffier now - will also be doing a couple of neighbors driveways later today.