L3901 PTO not Disengaging Correctly

[UpNorthMI]

My L3910 has about 50 hours on it and is 24 months old, it’s always stored indoors, still looks new. It just had a hard day and a half running a large chipper as I was tidying up several miles of forestry trails with a friend. My work involved a lot of PTO engagement and disengagement as we would run the tractor chipper for 15 minutes the disengage the pto and move the tractor another 60 yards and then get back to chipping. I would engage at low revs, using the pto cable selector and clutch, then lower revs to disengage the pto.

I started to notice that the pto would not fully disconnect and that the cable appeared to go slack. At lunch time I took a look at the pto linkage under the tractor, it was clean, looked new, the pto switch went back to normal operation but once back on the trail had same issue again. What on the lower linkage causes the lever to disengage, should the cable push the linkage, any suggestions for my issue?

after driving the tractor back to the barn the pto will disengage fully.

 

[whitetiger]

At the front end of the cable is a control shaft that rotates to engage the PTO. The shaft has a torsion spring around it to return the PTO to the OFF position. You need to spray a good penetrant on the shaft where it goes into the housing and work the PTO from ON and OFF.

 

[UpNorthMI]

At the front end of the cable is a control shaft that rotates to engage the PTO. The shaft has a torsion spring around it to return the PTO to the OFF position. You need to spray a good penetrant on the shaft where it goes into the housing and work the PTO from ON and OFF.

Many thanks for your input. I did some searching and also found many similar prior posts, seems to be an issue with the L series, I will also lube the cable.

 

[Timmer92]

I have an L3901 with 80 hours on it that is having the same problem. I'm anxious to see how this fix goes for you and try it myself as well.

 

[UpNorthMI]

I have an L3901 with 40 hours on it that is having the same problem. I'm anxious to see how this fix goes for you and try it myself as well.

Best advice so far is to use PB Blaster on the rotary link that has a coil spring on it, located on right side of transmission and to use cable lube on cable at pto switch end so it runs down the full length of cable.

My L3901 has not really had any PTO use in the last 9 months, mainly loader and towing use. I won’t get back to look at it until the weekend but I’m confident this will solve the issue, I will let you know how things work out. Sometimes little use is not a good thing!

 

[Timmer92]

Best advice so far is to use PB Blaster on the rotary link that has a coil spring on it, located on right side of transmission and to use cable lube on cable at pto switch end so it runs down the full length of cable.

Thanks. I didn't have any PB Blaster on hand, so I used Hornady One Shot (great product btw) on the rotary link. I wasn't able to see how I might get lube down the cable. There is an accordion type gasket that seems to have a tight seal. I wasn't sure if I could get in there somehow or if just spaying the general area would work. Any thoughts?

 

[wgator]

Thanks. I didn't have any PB Blaster on hand, so I used Hornady One Shot (great product btw) on the rotary link. I wasn't able to see how I might get lube down the cable. There is an accordion type gasket that seems to have a tight seal. I wasn't sure if I could get in there somehow or if just spaying the general area would work. Any thoughts?

I would set the PTO lever to on, then stick the lube straw between the dust boot and cable on the lever end, hook the lube can to straw and fill the dust boot with lube, work the pro lever a few times then refill the dust boot with lube. It should eventually wick down between the cable and sheath.

 

[UpNorthMI]

Thanks. I didn't have any PB Blaster on hand, so I used Hornady One Shot (great product btw) on the rotary link. I wasn't able to see how I might get lube down the cable. There is an accordion type gasket that seems to have a tight seal. I wasn't sure if I could get in there somehow or if just spaying the general area would work. Any thoughts?

I will not be looking at my tractor until this weekend. I'll clean the rotating PTO link with compressed air then soak it with PB Blaster. With regard to cable lubrication, I was planning to follow a similar method to the "wgattor" post above but I did buy a:

KiWAV Cable Lube Luber Lubricator Lubricant tool for Motorcycle Scooter Bike

from Amazon for $9.50. Search and take a look at this, If I can get this device on the cable I hope to be able to "pressure lube" the complete cable. I also looked up the PTO Cable set up in the Kubota WSM, see pdf below. It looks like the accordion rubber gasket is just a dust guard to keep dirt out of the cable.

I will first try to disconnect the cable at the pto switch to ensure I can get good access to lube it properly. I'm happy to invest the time and to even remove the cable completely as I really need my equipment to be fully reliable in the future. I will make a point of cleaning the PTO rotary link and re lubing it every so often as well as cycling the PTO switch every so often.

Good luck with your tractor and getting the PTO switch to function correctly..

 

[Timmer92]

I was looking at general cable lube videos online (not tractors) and found a few where people fashioned a funnel / catch around the cable top and used a rubber band or zip tie to tighten it, then liberally filled the funnel with cable lube and let it sit. Of course, you need gravity to assist.

 

[DrankTheOrangeKoolaid]

I hate trying to lube cables with a spray can... I find Tri-flow works very well on cables.

 

[Timmer92]

Update for my tractor experiencing the same problem. I had only lubricated the lower control shaft and spring area. I haven't yet gotten to lubricating the cable. I used the PTO extensively this weekend and it worked fine. So for me, problem solved just by lubing the low end.

 

[JCMC]

My L2501 is giving me the same problem. I will try the lube method and see what happens. When I pull back on the pto lever it started . I was wondering if there is a way to adjust the switch as it seems that the little bar that hits the switch is not pushing it far enough to engage.

 

[JCMC]

My L2501 is giving me the same problem. I will try the lube method and see what happens. When I pull back on the pto lever it started . I was wondering if there is a way to adjust the switch as it seems that the little bar that hits the switch is not pushing it far enough to engage.

Lubed all the linkages and the cable worked the cable back and forth I bent the two contact switches up and it started right up, engaged and disengaged PTO a number of times shut it down and started numerous times. I will make it part of my regular maintenance. FYI the micro switch on the side towards the fender is the fuel shut off the other one is to the switch