PTO making noise like it's not fully engaged. I have a new L3901, when I got it it had a finish mower and I tested the PTO to see if it worked...no problem. I took the finish mower off until needed. I decide to check the PTO and I engaged it with nothing hooked up to the PTO shaft at the rear. It makes a loud clicking noise like the gears are not engaged or a shaft is hitting something. I tried increasing the RPM to PTO speed and it's not as apparent but at lower RPM (1400 RPM) you can really hear it. Do I need to have a load on the PTO shaft?
PTO making noise like it's not fully engaged
- Thread starter dennyf
- Start date
Not sure why but, My BX does that noise as well when there's nothing connected to the PTO. I also had a Massey GC 2300 that made that noise to. However once I have something connected to the pto it doesn't make that sound. I just assume its the nature of them.
85Hokie
Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
See if the lever is fully engaged .....sometimes the "arm" moves , but something binds it from moving a the correct distance.
If it had a zerk - betcha is doesnt - I would say grease it.
Might have a tooth missing in the gear that when not in constant mesh, "clicks"
If it had a zerk - betcha is doesnt - I would say grease it.
Might have a tooth missing in the gear that when not in constant mesh, "clicks"
melvinhatcher
Member
Equipment
L3301HST, LA525FEL, 66" QA BUCKET, L8455CRUISE CONTROL KIT, WR LONG 3RD FUNCITIO
On my L3301 I never tried the PTO without it being connected to an implement, however, once connected and I engage the PTO, the engine is always at idle, therefore no load to the system, and I get the clicking noise. Slowly increasing the rpms, the clicking noise fades away, so in my opinion, seems normal to me.
Normal sound. Here is why. The L3301 and L3901 are 3 cylinder engines. They fire a cylinder every 240 degrees of crankshaft rotation. In between firings, the crankshaft slows down a little. Then when a cylinder fires, the crankshaft speeds up. The crank is connected to the transmission, which runs the PTO. Every gear inside of the transmission has a little bit of clearance between their teeth. When the engine is running at lower speeds, the constant and regular fluctuation of the crankshaft speed causes the gears in the transmission to clash against each other which makes a little noise. If the PTO shaft had a little bit of load against it, say, bush hog or finish mower or whatever, you would not hear the noise as much because a more or less constant load is placed against the PTO geartrain.
The L3200DT's were really noisy, but it is normal. 3301 and 3901 DT's are also noisier than the HST's are. The HST places a more or less constant load on the engine which helps smooth it out a little, which also smooths the transmission/PTO a little as well. And sometimes this is an issue with dealer techs who are writing work orders; a customer might bring in a tractor and say that it's too noisy-but "too noisy" is subjective. Kubota doesn't pay for exploratory surgery unless there is a 100% chance that something is wrong or broken, but some folks can't realize that and then they get upset because teardown costs are the responsibility of the tractor's owner-UNTIL a problem is found. No problem found, owner is out a chunk of change to reassemble it and the same noise will still be there, and many times they'll say it's louder than it was because they're "hearing it more"; even though it's the exact same as it was before teardown/inspection.
Some older Kubota's used really big heavy flywheels to counter the vibration and noise, and it worked. The L3301 and 3901 do not use that big flywheel. It's plenty big (and heavy) but it's not 100lbs, I think it's only about 37 lbs if I remember correctly. I've got one of the big ones out in the shop under my bench grinder; and it works great for that.
4 cylinder tractors wouldn't do it nearly as bad because the frequency of cylinder firings is higher and there is less speed change between firings. A single, twin and 3 cylinder does, however. This is why the most popular automotive engines are V6's and V8's, the firing pulses are much smoother and therefore not felt (they call it NVH, noise/vibration/harshness). A 4 cylinder car, the vibration is always there and is part of why a 4 cylinder always has that sound and feel.
The L3200DT's were really noisy, but it is normal. 3301 and 3901 DT's are also noisier than the HST's are. The HST places a more or less constant load on the engine which helps smooth it out a little, which also smooths the transmission/PTO a little as well. And sometimes this is an issue with dealer techs who are writing work orders; a customer might bring in a tractor and say that it's too noisy-but "too noisy" is subjective. Kubota doesn't pay for exploratory surgery unless there is a 100% chance that something is wrong or broken, but some folks can't realize that and then they get upset because teardown costs are the responsibility of the tractor's owner-UNTIL a problem is found. No problem found, owner is out a chunk of change to reassemble it and the same noise will still be there, and many times they'll say it's louder than it was because they're "hearing it more"; even though it's the exact same as it was before teardown/inspection.
Some older Kubota's used really big heavy flywheels to counter the vibration and noise, and it worked. The L3301 and 3901 do not use that big flywheel. It's plenty big (and heavy) but it's not 100lbs, I think it's only about 37 lbs if I remember correctly. I've got one of the big ones out in the shop under my bench grinder; and it works great for that.
4 cylinder tractors wouldn't do it nearly as bad because the frequency of cylinder firings is higher and there is less speed change between firings. A single, twin and 3 cylinder does, however. This is why the most popular automotive engines are V6's and V8's, the firing pulses are much smoother and therefore not felt (they call it NVH, noise/vibration/harshness). A 4 cylinder car, the vibration is always there and is part of why a 4 cylinder always has that sound and feel.
I tried adjusting the PTO engagement cable; made no difference. From what I've found out so far I think what I'm hearing is the overrunning clutch. I haven't hooked up an implement yet, but without anything it sure clicks loudly.
What Lugbolt states here, "... but some folks can't realize that and then they get upset because teardown costs are the responsibility of the tractor's owner-UNTIL a problem is found. No problem found, owner is out a chunk of change to reassemble it and the same noise will still be there, and many times they'll say it's louder than it was because they're "hearing it more"; even though it's the exact same as it was before teardown/inspection."
was a problem for the early Caterpillar tractors. In the late '40 when diesel tractors were introduced to farmers they had to be educated to the cost and use of a diesel engine.
Cat had an oil pressure gauge, but it always read low by the standards of the farmer/operator. There was constant complaints of the low oil pressure. Many owners insisted Cat to resolve the problem by fixing internally what ever was causing the low pressure.
After a rebuild the oil pressure remained the same.
Cat finally solved the problem by installing oil pressure gauges that had colors on them...Red, Yellow, Green. Green is good, red is way too low, yellow is not OK. When the numbers were not there the problem went away.
Cat has a high volume, low pressure oil pump designed up keep the engine lubed in all positions at any angle. The pressure wasn't necessary to be as high as the operator was wanting.
Sometimes what we think needs to be tore down and fixed...doesn't!
was a problem for the early Caterpillar tractors. In the late '40 when diesel tractors were introduced to farmers they had to be educated to the cost and use of a diesel engine.
Cat had an oil pressure gauge, but it always read low by the standards of the farmer/operator. There was constant complaints of the low oil pressure. Many owners insisted Cat to resolve the problem by fixing internally what ever was causing the low pressure.
After a rebuild the oil pressure remained the same.
Cat finally solved the problem by installing oil pressure gauges that had colors on them...Red, Yellow, Green. Green is good, red is way too low, yellow is not OK. When the numbers were not there the problem went away.
Cat has a high volume, low pressure oil pump designed up keep the engine lubed in all positions at any angle. The pressure wasn't necessary to be as high as the operator was wanting.
Sometimes what we think needs to be tore down and fixed...doesn't!