How To Remove Pto Shaft From Tractor

Regular maintenance of your PTO shafts is essential to ensuring reliable and safe operation – AND ensuring your safety as well! In this post, I cover how I maintain my two PTO shafts, which happen to be 2 of the most common PTO shaft designs.

The ends of the PTO shafts shown below connect to the tractor PTO and have universal joints to allow them to operate at a range of angles from the PTO. The i on the left is the PTO shaft for my castor squealer and the ane on the right is for my woods chipper.

The couplers on each are 2 of the well-nigh mutual kinds you'll probable run across.  The brush pig PTO shaft has a slip collar that releases when the collar is pulled back and the woods chipper PTO uses a spring-loaded release pin.

I commencement the maintenance past wiping dirt and grease off the universal joint grease zerks, Next, I requite each several squirts until I come across fresh grease oozing from the joints.  This should done before you apply the PTO shaft and after every eight hours of operation. Then I wipe the backlog grease and as much dirt as I can become to.  At that place's a little more than to practise on this terminate which you'll see later in the post.

The other ends of the PTO shafts connect to the implement and they have perhaps the 2 most common shear pin designs.  Starting with the brush hog shaft, the shear pin is a one-half inch by 3.5" long, grade 2 commodities with a nylock nut on the end.  BTW, most shear pins are class 2 bolts so that they are soft enough to shear when needed.  Whatsoever college course than 2 would exist too difficult and your tractors PTO won't be protected from the shock of hitting a large rock or stump with your brush grunter, possibly causing serious impairment.  The coupler is smooth as is the shaft on the brush grunter gearbox.  The shear bolt runs through the implement shaft to mechanically couple the PTO and implement together.

At that place is a grease zerk that lubricates the coupler and implement shaft so that if the shear pin does shear, the coupler can spin freely on the implement shaft.  There is also a grease zerk on the back side of the universal joint, which is accessible when the protective shroud is asunder and pulled back.

Finally, there is a snap ring that goes on the end of the bush hog gear box shaft, which keeps the coupler from backing off the shaft if the shear bolt shears.  However, the gear box safety shroud makes it almost impossible to put the ring on and accept it off.  The shroud also makes it had just to connect and disconnect the PTO shaft from the bush sus scrofa, making it next to impossible to modify the shear pivot in the field.  This is the major drawback of this shear pivot design.  To get around it, I'grand going to replace the gearbox shroud with one that I build that will make information technology piece of cake to service the PTO shaft.  That will be covered in another upcoming video and post.

As shown in the moving-picture show below, the wood chipper PTO shaft has a 5/16" x two.5" grade ii bolt for the shear pin, which transfers rotational power from the universal articulation to the six spline coupler section.  Information technology uses a coupler release push button and it too has a shear joint grease zerk, and a universal articulation grease zerk.

The shear bolt shears where the universal joint and coupler section meet, allowing the coupler section to turn freely yet stay connected to the universal joint.  This design is easier to service. In my opinion.

The shear point zerk and the universal joint zerk should be greased earlier you lot use the PTO shaft and afterwards every eight hours of operation..

The safety shrouds for each PTO shaft are also different designs, and so the removal process is unlike. The wood chipper PTO shaft shroud has 3 tabs that accept to be pressed in to released. Information technology can be hard to get all 3 snaps to release with the others reengaging.

When I finally get the shroud loose, I come across that the universal joint is pretty clean, then I just remove some of the excess grease.  I repeat the process for the other terminate of the shaft.

The white plastic band is 1 of two sleeve bearings that allow the PTO shaft to rotate independently from the safety shroud.  There is a split in the bearing to allow yous to remove it, inspect it and replace it if necessary.  This one looks fine, so I put it back on.

The shroud on the brush hog PTO shaft is held in place by 3 plastic fasteners that are removed past turning counterclockwise a quarter plow and so prying them out with a screwdriver.

The sleeve bearing on this shaft is also split up for removal but it seems so stiff, I'm agape it might break if I pull it off, so I inspect information technology in place and information technology looks to be in skilful status. However, the universal joint is dirty and so I clean it upwardly a flake with a paper towel.  Again, I repeat the procedure for the other end of the shaft.

Side by side, I carve up the sections of the shafts, starting with the curt PTO shaft.  At present is a good fourth dimension to inspect the two sections of the safety shroud.  Other than 1 stop being slight misshapen, they are fine.  No visible cracks, chipping or chafe.

I audit the outer department of the shaft for any impairment, warping or excessive clothing.  Information technology looks good and straight.

Likewise, with the inner section all is well.  Other than some grease, it looks make clean, so I don't wipe it off.  Now for some fresh grease.  I squirt a line of grease along the shaft.  So rub it all effectually the shaft.  I squirt another line of grease on the next side, and again I spread information technology around as evenly as possible.  Finally, I repeat for the tertiary side. This should be done every xx hours of operation.

Next, it'due south time to snap the larger diameter shroud department on to the larger diameter PTO shaft section.  These snap dorsum on a lot easier than they come off!  I repeat for the other section, and then slide to two sections of PTO shaft together.  The cross section of the PTO shaft is such that the section will merely go together one style.

I grease the sleeve bearings using a pencil-point adapter, and and so spin the shroud department on the shaft to spread the grease around. The recommended interval for greasing the sleeve bearings is after every viii hours of performance.

The process is the aforementioned for the brush hog shaft except I wipe the clay and erstwhile grease from it.  Like before, I apply fresh grease to the inner shaft section and spread it effectually.    Since this shaft gets so dirty, I push a rag through the shroud sections with a broom stick after inspecting them.

So I re-attach the shroud section by lining up the holes, installing the plastic fasteners: and giving them a quarter plough clockwise. Greasing the sleeve bearing on this shroud is easier because it has an actual grease zerk.  I perform the aforementioned steps with the other department and then reassemble the shaft. The terminal steps for this PTO shaft are to clean and grease the coupler ends.  And finally, I employ some oil to lubricate the release neckband.

Recommended Tools:

• Lincoln 1134 Extra Heavy Duty Pistol Grip Grease Gun
• LockNLube Grease Gun Coupler

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Source: https://diymyway.net/2021/01/21/pto-shaft-maintenance-dont-neglect-this/

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