4 ft county line mower

[roy2636]

something just doesn't seem right with my rear mower. the PTO shafts adjust very little so it seems like have little room to lift my mower up before the PTO shaft would stop it from moving up using the 3 point. does this look right?

 

[Daren Todd]

You may have to shorten the pto shaft some.

Mark the end of the pto shaft where it clips to the spline on the tractor. Nail polish, marker or chalk work well. Then disconnect the shaft from the tractor. Raise the mower all the way up with the three point hitch and check the fit of the shaft just holding it next to where it connects to the spline on the tractor. Make sure the shaft is fully compressed.

Measure the distance it goes past your mark. Add one inch to it, and that will give you what you need to remove.

To shorten the shaft, separate the two halves and take the same amount off each side. A sawzall with good metal blade, or a chop saw with grinding wheel will make quick work of shortening it up.

 

[roy2636]

You may have to shorten the pto shaft some.

Mark the end of the pto shaft where it clips to the spline on the tractor. Nail polish, marker or chalk work well. Then disconnect the shaft from the tractor. Raise the mower all the way up with the three point hitch and check the fit of the shaft just holding it next to where it connects to the spline on the tractor. Make sure the shaft is fully compressed.

Measure the distance it goes past your mark. Add one inch to it, and that will give you what you need to remove.

To shorten the shaft, separate the two halves and take the same amount off each side. A sawzall with good metal blade, or a chop saw with grinding wheel will make quick work of shortening it up.

hmm ok. how much travel room should my pto have to retract when it connected? the manual says they don't recommend modifying the shaft, so I'm confused.

 

[Daren Todd]

hmm ok. how much travel room should my pto have to retract when it connected? the manual says they don't recommend modifying the shaft, so I'm confused.

The manual for my finish mower said the same thing. I honestly think it's more of a disclaimer. It's a fairly common practice to shorten a pto shaft. But in my case I added an overrunning coupler to the spline on the tractor since mine didn't have one built internally. The bush hog would push me from the stored energy.

I had to shorten the shaft on my bush hog after installing the coupler. In the fully raised position, I cut it down to where I had about two inches of play before the shaft bottomed out. On my finish mower, I built longer lift arms for it since the tires for the mower would bind into the tractor tires in the raised position.

You just cut the shaft down in even amounts on both sides where the two end of the shaft connect.

Here's a couple videos on how to do it


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0vBFJcvs5SE

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MOr7KZUoEkc

 

[ctmike]

Also, if the PTO shaft is too long, you can punch the tractor PTO shaft into the axle housing if you try to force the lift.

 

[roy2636]

thanks. i did end up cutting the shaft, with a hack saw. I'm tired.

 

[ipz2222]

And tomorrow you'll be very sore, but at least you can ride and mow.

 

[Ezlife45]

Are you using the jam nut on the top link turnbuckle?