PTO in Neutral?

[DeepWoods]

I have a B2650hsdc that I recently started using the rear PTO on a wood chipper. My question is, is there a way to put the PTO into a neutral position, so that when I’m trying to connect the PTO shaft to the chipper it can be rotated to align the splined shaft? It is a real pain to rotate the 200 pound flywheel on the chipper to get the splines lined up. I’ve tried several combinations on the PTO levers and don’t seem to be able to get a neutral position.

 

[GSD-Keegan]

Hmm. Pretty sure I rotated pto on mine. Maybe put transmission in neutral as well? Can’t remember at the moment

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I just looked at the dwgs online and it looks like the 'PTO shifter' should mechanically disengage the PTO shaft from the PTO clutch.
I agree though you should be able to freely spin the PTO shaft ,every tractor I've ever had, you could.

 

[beckmurph]

Put your pto selector in the mid pto only slot. The farthest to the front slot.
If that doesn’t rotate, slide the selector between the front selector slots and try to rotate the pto shaft.

WITH THE ENGINE OFF!!

 

[Elliott in GA]

I believe you should select the Mid-PTO (only) and Neutral transmission to free the rear PTO. I have an SU (no Mid-PTO) so my PTO shaft is never free.

I rotate the attachment's PTO shaft to mate with the Tractor PTO - easy to do on rotary cutter and spreader. However, the finish mower is another story; there I use a PTO wrench ($20). I mount the PTO shaft to the tractor, and then I connect to the finish mower using the PTO wrench. It only adds about 1 minute to hook up time.

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

 

[Henro]

I just looked at the dwgs online and it looks like the 'PTO shifter' should mechanically disengage the PTO shaft from the PTO clutch.
I agree though you should be able to freely spin the PTO shaft ,every tractor I've ever had, you could.

Different tractor, but with my BX2200 I had a similar issue when putting my MMM back on after spring maintenance.

I did find a position of the selector lever, somewhere between one of the three choices...not sure which it was...I have front-mid-both sections...and the PTO shaft then moved freely.

Maybe the solution is just trying different selector lever positions...worked for me.

 

[DeepWoods]

Put your pto selector in the mid pto only slot. The farthest to the front slot.
If that doesn’t rotate, slide the selector between the front selector slots and try to rotate the pto shaft.

WITH THE ENGINE OFF!!

After playing with it after my OP, I found that moving the PTO selector to the mid PTO only position I can rotate the rear PTO shaft about a quarter revolution. All other levers have no affect on rotation, reguardless of position. The quarter revolution is enough for me to get the PTO shaft of the chipper aligned. Problem Solved, thanks for all the replies

 

[DeepWoods]

I believe you should select the Mid-PTO (only) and Neutral transmission to free the rear PTO. I have an SU (no Mid-PTO) so my PTO shaft is never free.

I rotate the attachment's PTO shaft to mate with the Tractor PTO - easy to do on rotary cutter and spreader. However, the finish mower is another story; there I use a PTO wrench ($20). I mount the PTO shaft to the tractor, and then I connect to the finish mower using the PTO wrench. It only adds about 1 minute to hook up time.

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

This looks like it would have solved my problem if I hadnt found the correct lever positions. Something to keep in mind though as it might be an easy solution as well

 

[DeepWoods]

Not sure how I got to this posting that was from last summer, but it is discussed again in detail as to the same problem. Thought linking them together might help with others that have this problem.

Potential PTO Shaft Rotation Tool?

On the LX2610 when the PTO selector is set to mid I have been told that it is possible to manually rotate the rear PTO shaft from the tractor so that it may be aligned with the splines of a PTO shaft for shaft attachment. However, before being told that the rear tractor PTO tractor shaft could...

www.orangetractortalks.com

 

[GreensvilleJay]

OK, I'm curious to know WHAT or WHY the PTO shaft doesn't freely spin when not engage... If it isn't 'free' , that means it's 'connected' to 'something'......??

 

[hagrid]

From the BX23S manual:

On the BX series, and perhaps others with hydraulic clutch PTOs, there is a spring powered brake to arrest drift of the PTO.

 

[xrocketengineer]

I could not figure out from the WSM transmission disassembly, how the PTO's are selected. But it appears to me that since the brake engages the selected PTO to stop it as the clutch disengages, then the "unselected" PTO is not engaged to the clutch nor the brake and therefore should be free to be spun by hand. Does that make sense to you guys?

 

[hagrid]

I see it.

See how the rear most gear is in dashed lines? That is actually the alternate position of the "middle" gear. It slides between three positions: forward, rearward, and middle. The middle position bridges the two intermediate shafts which would be both PTOs powered simultaneously. They should be free when the other is selected.

 

[xrocketengineer]

I see it.
View attachment 79260
See how the rear most gear is in dashed lines? That is actually the alternate position of the "middle" gear. It slides between three positions: forward, rearward, and middle. The middle position bridges the two intermediate shafts which would be both PTOs powered simultaneously. They should be free when the other is selected.

I see the slider gear now and the groove for the fork. Thanks!

 

[Vigo]

I had read somewhere that the BX had a 'pto brake' but it never occurred to me to wonder if it would make the pto shaft harder to line up. Sounds like a workaround has been discovered, though.

Makes me wonder.. would an overrunning clutch attachment for the pto shaft be easily enough turned by hand to bypass this issue? Probably not a valid reason to buy one, but it begs the thought and i've never seen or touched one personally.

EDIT: Whoops, looks like that question is answered explicitly (yes, it works) in post #5 of the thread linked above. Well, now i know..

 

[JOLJ]

I have a small L4701 Kubota, bought in 2020.
I have a twist button, no mid range PTO CONTROLS.
So how do I get the 6 spline shaft to rotate by hand?

 

[mikester]

I just looked at the dwgs online and it looks like the 'PTO shifter' should mechanically disengage the PTO shaft from the PTO clutch.
I agree though you should be able to freely spin the PTO shaft ,every tractor I've ever had, you could.

FYI My tractor only give you about a quarter turn each way on the PTO. They don't all spin freely in neutral.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

I have a small L4701 Kubota, bought in 2020.
I have a twist button, no mid range PTO CONTROLS.
So how do I get the 6 spline shaft to rotate by hand?

You probably can't. Like many tractors with hydraulic PTO clutches, there's a spring activated brake that engages when the clutch disengages.