Woods RM550 Finish mower stalls and kills engine

[NotMechanicallyInclined]

Hey,

I have a new to me Kubota HST B2400 series tractor with a few attachments i got off craigslist a few years ago. Everything was working great until recently. When i hook up the Woods RM550 finish mower to the tractor and start to engage the PTO, It runs for a minute before stalling. Thus shutting off the Kubota tractor.

Looking for troubleshooting tips and such as to identify the possible problem. I was initially thinking, i needed to change the belt since it looks old and starting to crack. Appreciate the insight

 

[Russell King]

There must be something wrong with the mower (if everything else works fine on the PTO).

Do you have any other implement that runs on the PTO? Does it work okay?

On the mower can you disconnect it from the tractor and rotate the PTO shaft by hand? Or rotate the mower by carefully trying to turn the blade driven by the gearbox (assuming that there is one)

 

[old and tired]

So you had used the mower before and it worked? or is this the first time hooking it up?

remove the guards and have a look inside. You should be able to spin the PTO by hand (at least I can do my 6' Bush Hog finishing mower).

 

[rbargeron]

The Woods RM550 is a scaled-down version of the RM990 (which I've had 5 of).

If the mower is bogging your tractor down to the point of stalling, a possible cause is a bad bearing somewhere.

First check the main gearbox on top to make sure it has oil - its bottom seal can leak and eventually the bearings run dry. The more likely culprit is one of the two rollers that the smooth side of the belt rides on. Each roller has a sealed ball bearing like these. I've replace quite a few over the years. Best luck - Dick B.