Can I continue to us a slightly bent PTO shaft?

[PoTreeBoy]

From what I could tell, the movement comes from the shaft fitting a little loose on the tractor PTO (maybe mower pto too). The locking pin is fully engaged, but the shaft doesn't seem to fit supper tight, at least not like a car driveshaft. So could it be the wobble I see might be normal movement?

Could be the yoke or the PTO shaft. If you have more than one shaft, you could swap and see if they all fit the same. Also check for slop, radial and side-to-side in the u-joints.

From your description, I think your driveshaft is ok.

 

[Fargo]

One other thing. How much shaft overlap should a have? That is, how much should one shaft be inserted into the other. According to my measurements, when my mower is on the ground, my internal shaft is inserted about 6"-7" inside of the other shaft.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

One other thing. How much shaft overlap should a have? That is, how much should one shaft be inserted into the other. According to my measurements, when my mower is on the ground, my internal shaft is inserted about 6"-7" inside of the other shaft.

The easy answer is 'as much as possible, but not too much'. You want at least an extra inch of compression at the shortest point, don't forget to check tilted. If the halves bottom out, you can cause a serious/expensive problem. Short implements that sit close to the tractor, such as tillers, are more sensitive. Also check when changing tractors.

I'd say your 6-7 inches is about the minimum.

 

[GeoHorn]

Why not use it? I assume it could damage seals or possible gears inside the tractor? I'd appreciate to hear your concerns.

Because when one end lets-go…the other end will become a whirling-club and BEAT YOU TO DEATH.

You do not want your loved ones to come out to see why you’re late coming in and find you like that.