BX23 Mid PTO Noise

[CraneAir]

I bought a 2004 BX23 with750hrs for our Northern Michigan cottage last fall. I ran the snow thrower twice this past winter without incident. Last week I installed the mower and cut approximately one acre of grass when I got what felt and sounded like a spindle going bad. When I cut the PTO I could see the blades had stopped, but it was still making racket as the PTO wound down and came to a stop. When I reengaged, it sounded normal for a minute or so and did the same thing. To me it’s acting like an output shaft bearing and/or race going bad. Can anyone with an absolute understanding of the mid PTO nomenclature of this machine confirm or refute my suspicions? Sorry for the tone of my question, but I’m already giving it my best guess and really looking for someone who’s been there, done that to reply.

 

[#40Fan]

I haven't been there and done that, but if you remove the mower, put the PTO in the rear position and then crawl under the tractor, you should be able to spin the mid-PTO by hand and feel if anything might be wrong.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Sound advice is almost impossible without the sound!
Post a video of it on you tube and give us a link to see / hear it.
@#40Fan gave excellent advice.
I would go as far as to say leave the mid engaged and try and turn the shaft, that sometimes will also reveal wear / break issues.

 

[xrocketengineer]

"When I cut the PTO I could see the blades had stopped, but it was still making racket as the PTO wound down and came to a stop."

I thought the PTO and the blades were supposed to stop and start at the same time, or am I missing something?

 

[CraneAir]

Sound advice is almost impossible without the sound!
Post a video of it on you tube and give us a link to see / hear it.
@#40Fan gave excellent advice.
I would go as far as to say leave the mid engaged and try and turn the shaft, that sometimes will also reveal wear / break issues.

I’ll try engaging mid and rear together to see if it still does it, but I’m going to avoid allowing it to do what it was doing, as it sounded self destructive. If I don’t learn more about what could cause this, I’ll just take the PTO apart and inspect it to determine what’s going on, but thank you for your reply.

 

[CraneAir]

"When I cut the PTO I could see the blades had stopped, but it was still making racket as the PTO wound down and came to a stop."

I thought the PTO and the blades were supposed to stop and start at the same time, or am I missing something?

You and me both, that’s why I’m asking the forum. For what it’s worth, I’ll post what I find.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I’ll try engaging mid and rear together to see if it still does it, but I’m going to avoid allowing it to do what it was doing, as it sounded self destructive. If I don’t learn more about what could cause this, I’ll just take the PTO apart and inspect it to determine what’s going on, but thank you for your reply.

Let me be clear, I'm suggesting engaging and rotating / manipulating the Mid PTO shaft with it NOT running, and checking for unusual slop or noise.

 

[CraneAir]

I won’t see the machine until this weekend, but have a hunch that maybe one of the blades has worked itself loose. That would explain the noise and the winding down after the PTO is turned off…