Tractor PTO Shaft - Hard to turn - is that normal?

[eljuncal]

Hi, When hooking up my tiller to the tractor PTO shaft ... I needed to give the tractor PTO shaft a bit of a turn to get it to line up better ... and ... wow, that thing is very difficult to turn (by hand) ... I had my PTO, disengaged, PTO selector set to 'mid mount' and the tractor HST was in neutral ... is this normal?

 

[mcfarmall]

Yep

 

[NCL4701]

Normal enough for Sloan to sell a wrench to turn it.

PTO Speed Wrench

PTO Speed Wrench Makes for easier alignment of the tractor and implement's PTO shafts. Flip wrench between 540 and 1000 RPM shafts.

www.sloanex.com

 

[SDT]

Hi, When hooking up my tiller to the tractor PTO shaft ... I needed to give the tractor PTO shaft a bit of a turn to get it to line up better ... and ... wow, that thing is very difficult to turn (by hand) ... I had my PTO, disengaged, PTO selector set to 'mid mount' and the tractor HST was in neutral ... is this normal?

Most modern tractors have a PTO brake that stops the shaft from rotating when the PTO is not engaged.

Allows one to hook up by rotating implement shaft. If you cannot rotate the tiller shaft, you will need to use a suitable tool to rotate the tractor shaft.

Some (not all) will rotate more easily when the engine is not running.

 

[RBsingl]

It sounds like Kubota applies a brake to all PTO shafts when not in use. When I set my Deere 955 to rear or mid, the PTO shaft not selected will freewheel and only in the both position are both braked.

You may find it easier for implements like tillers to hook up the three point and lift it slightly to facilitate turning the implement shaft for engagement but with the Deere I select the other PTO for hookup and then switch to rear PTO to lock the shaft allowing me to move the tractor slightly to rotate the PTO frame into proper position for the top link of the three point to attach.

Rodger

 

[B737]

its new, it will get easier with time and spin easily. went through this twice with B2601 and LX, both became easier with use

 

[SDT]

its new, it will get easier with time and spin easily. went through this twice with B2601 and LX, both became easier with use

None of mine have.

 

[B737]

i could not turn either by hand when new, after each had over 100 hours on rear PTO roughly, i can turn by hand, still tight, but not impossible. YMMV.

 

[Tornado]

Hmm. My L2501 turns pretty easily by hand.

 

[eljuncal]

Thanks to all who posted! Bought the wrench ...

 

[bird dogger]

On my B2650 I need to have the PTO selector in "MID PTO" ONLY. Then the rear PTO stub began to rotate easier and is now easily rotated by hand. But....only for 15° to 30° either clockwise or counterclockwise. But that's more than needed to align the splines of whatever your hooking up.

 

[Elliott in GA]

Thanks to all who posted! Bought the wrench ...

FWIW, I rotate the PTO shaft to connect to the tractor PTO stub for my LP rotary cutter, LP spreader and WoodMaxx chipper.

However, I connect the PTO shaft to the tractor, and then I use the Sloan PTO wrench to rotate the PTO stub on my LP Finish mower to connect the PTO shaft to it.

You may find the easy way depends on the implement.

 

[RalphVa]

The B2601 is still stiff at near 90 hours. I bought a PTO shaft wrench from A.M. Leonard. Never was this stiff on the 3 JDs.

 

[kubotafreak]

FYI, Easy way to burn out that pto brake is to shut down your implements at operating speed. Ideally you bring the rpm down before disengaging the pto.

 

[jyoutz]

FWIW, I rotate the PTO shaft to connect to the tractor PTO stub for my LP rotary cutter, LP spreader and WoodMaxx chipper.

However, I connect the PTO shaft to the tractor, and then I use the Sloan PTO wrench to rotate the PTO stub on my LP Finish mower to connect the PTO shaft to it.

You may find the easy way depends on the implement.

I have always attached the implement to the 3ph, then lift the implement to clear the ground. Shut down tractor, then rotate the pto shaft to turn the implement blade or tines to align with the tractor pto.

 

[aaluck]

Interesting topic. I was thinking about this the other day while I struggled. My new tiller is a PITA because you cannot rotate the implement side.

My PTO will turn in one direction, a short distance and then go back once you let go. Seems everyone's is a bit different.

 

[derekuk101]

On our M series tractors, we turn off the tractor, turn the pto leaver on, and then the shaft will spin freely (at least one full turn) to hook up implements.

 

[Tornado]

I used my rototiller the other day and as I was hooking it up I remembered this thread and so I reached up to see just how easy my pto turns by hand on my L2501. Mine is SUPER easy to turn. I can turn it with just 2 fingers easily. Reading here some folks say it is pretty hard to turn. I wonder what the difference is. Mine is HST transmission rather than gear driven.

 

[SDT]

FYI, Easy way to burn out that pto brake is to shut down your implements at operating speed. Ideally you bring the rpm down before disengaging the pto.

Bingo.

Always reduce engine speed to idle before disengaging the PTO.

I always do so and also lower mower into uncut grass or heavy debris as I disengage.

Lots of horror stories about the weak PTO brake in M9540/9960 and similar models requiring many thousands to repair after catastrophic failures.