good morning question is im trying to get the pto shaft working again theres a detente ball in the female end of the pto coupler thats frozen I unbolted the flange and took out a 3rd bolt in the side of the flange and after soaking it a bit ball bearings fell out of that 3rd hole and of course spread all over the garage so no idea how many were there any directions here?? While I spin my wheels trying to find replacements. the 2 halves of the pto shaft were not sliding into each other i used a stainless tube brush on a drill to clean the female end and a flap disc on the male end but the shaft coupler would slide right off the pto shaft.
pto shaft question
- Thread starter BiggB
- Start date
Sounds like you now have at least three issues with your PTO shaft, but your only question appears to be how many ball bearings it needs. Might be time for a new PTO shaft.
PTO repair parts are out there, no need for a whole new one.
Here's an example, NOT SAYING THIS WILL FIT, just for illustration purposes.
Look under - driveline parts - yoke repair kits
Or call to get what you need.
farmerbobsparts.com
You said:
the 2 halves of the pto shaft were not sliding into each other
So you cleaned the shafts, now they go together and slide freely?
The inner and outer shaft must slide freely to allow raising and lowering of the attached equipment.
You said:
but the shaft coupler would slide right off the pto shaft.
The coupler (yoke) slides off?
The yokes are usually attached to the inner or outer shafts (you call male and female) by a roll pin driven through both the yoke and the shaft.
Here's an example, NOT SAYING THIS WILL FIT, just for illustration purposes.
Look under - driveline parts - yoke repair kits
Or call to get what you need.
Weasler Repair Kit for 1-3/4" 20 Spline Safety Slide Lock w/ Spring, Balls & Pawls
Shop Weasler Weasler Repair Kit for 1-3/4" 20 Spline Safety Slide Lock w/ Spring, Balls & Pawls - 13004020 at Farmer Bob's Parts and Supplies, your go-to online ag parts retailer.
farmerbobsparts.com
You said:
the 2 halves of the pto shaft were not sliding into each other
So you cleaned the shafts, now they go together and slide freely?
The inner and outer shaft must slide freely to allow raising and lowering of the attached equipment.
You said:
but the shaft coupler would slide right off the pto shaft.
The coupler (yoke) slides off?
The yokes are usually attached to the inner or outer shafts (you call male and female) by a roll pin driven through both the yoke and the shaft.
Elliott in GA
Well-known member
Equipment
LX 2610SU w/535,LP RCR1860,FDR1660,SGC0554,FSP500, DD BBX60005
You might want to simply buy a new PTO shaft part or section or whole shaft.
A place like this could help you with enough information from your current equipment.
paulbhardware.com
A place like this could help you with enough information from your current equipment.
PTO Shafts & Components - Power Transmission & Fluid Power
paulbhardware.com
Well 3 at least now haha, water in a u joint when I got it greased and the yoke ball bearings also very rusty but very well could be the right move I don’t know if those loose ball bearings are available as a replacement part I guess is what I was thinking.
Yes cleaned them both up and they slid easily. That’s when I noticed the detente ball wasn’t moving I was attempting to disassemble & remove it to see if there’s a spring behind it and clean it up so I removed the 2 yoke bolts and the 3rd one which turns out to be the retainer for the loose balls as they spilled out when I tapped the yoke. New territory for me never ran a pto implementPTO repair parts are out there, no need for a whole new one.
Here's an example, NOT SAYING THIS WILL FIT, just for illustration purposes.
Look under - driveline parts - yoke repair kits
Or call to get what you need.
Weasler Repair Kit for 1-3/4" 20 Spline Safety Slide Lock w/ Spring, Balls & Pawls
Shop Weasler Weasler Repair Kit for 1-3/4" 20 Spline Safety Slide Lock w/ Spring, Balls & Pawls - 13004020 at Farmer Bob's Parts and Supplies, your go-to online ag parts retailer.
You said:
the 2 halves of the pto shaft were not sliding into each other
So you cleaned the shafts, now they go together and slide freely?
The inner and outer shaft must slide freely to allow raising and lowering of the attached equipment.
You said:
but the shaft coupler would slide right off the pto shaft.
The coupler (yoke) slides off?
The yokes are usually attached to the inner or outer shafts (you call male and female) by a roll pin driven through both the yoke and the shaft.
I'm not following you description fully, but I think you need one of these and your back in business.
If you measure the diameter of the bearing balls you can order them from Ebay for cheap. Opt for the chrome ones if available.
Last edited:
Maybe this will help the 4th image is where the ball bearings were the 2nd are the balls they were dull grey like they were not lubed the 3rd is where the detente ball that’s stuck is
Attachments
Russell King
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
L185F, Modern Ag Competitor 4’ shredder, Rhino tiller, rear dirt scoop
What implement does the PTO shaft drive?
Which end are you discussing (tractor or implement end)?
Some PTO shafts (for tillers) have a splined attachment to the implement and the shear bolt is installed in a tab. The joint is in two pieces that are supported by ball bearings that spin only when the shear bolt is missing. They can be lubricated at assembly but there is no way to grease them and they don’t really need a lot of lubrication it since it is normally a static situation. These balls often rust and look similar to what you show due to corrosion and disuse.
Others have a tractor connection end that uses ball bearings to attach it to the tractor instead of the pin style shown above. Theses generally have a black ring that is pulled or rotated to allow room for the ball bearings to expand out to fit over the shaft diameter then springs force them into the groove that is on the tractor side of the tractor PTO output shaft.
Which end are you discussing (tractor or implement end)?
Some PTO shafts (for tillers) have a splined attachment to the implement and the shear bolt is installed in a tab. The joint is in two pieces that are supported by ball bearings that spin only when the shear bolt is missing. They can be lubricated at assembly but there is no way to grease them and they don’t really need a lot of lubrication it since it is normally a static situation. These balls often rust and look similar to what you show due to corrosion and disuse.
Others have a tractor connection end that uses ball bearings to attach it to the tractor instead of the pin style shown above. Theses generally have a black ring that is pulled or rotated to allow room for the ball bearings to expand out to fit over the shaft diameter then springs force them into the groove that is on the tractor side of the tractor PTO output shaft.
The tractor end, I was thinking they are used as a retainer instead of an actual bearing looking at their condition, because where they are should not be turning unless something failed catastrophically. I started this after I cleaned up both ends of it
Its for a snowblower, and its the tractor side atm, i cleaned up both sides of the slide so it would slide easily it had some rust on the tractor side and the implement side was all gummed up with old grease and debris. once it would slide I put it on the tractor pto and it wouldn't stay on that's when i tried to move the detente ball inside and it seemed stuck so i was trying to disassemble the yoke to get to it when the can of worms exploded HAHA as always.
Russell King
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
L185F, Modern Ag Competitor 4’ shredder, Rhino tiller, rear dirt scoop
Okay then there should be a rebuild kit for that coupler. I looked at Loftness and they no longer have much about snowblowers on their website. But you need to try and figure out what brand of PTO shaft you have to get a rebuild kit or just replace the whole shaft or just that yoke if you can’t figure that out.
Here is a link to a random repair kit (that probably has no relevance to your shaft). It just shows a few balls but I have no idea if that is consistent across brands.
farmerbobsparts.com
Good luck.
If it was me I would just buy 10 of the balls by measuring the ones you have and try to repair what you have by installing three balls, then four, then five and see what works. But that is somewhat risky since you do NOT want that coupler to fail during operation.
Here is a link to a random repair kit (that probably has no relevance to your shaft). It just shows a few balls but I have no idea if that is consistent across brands.
Weasler Repair Kit for 6 & 21 Spline Safety Slide Lock w/ Spring, Balls & Pawls
Shop Weasler Weasler Repair Kit for 6 & 21 Spline Safety Slide Lock w/ Spring, Balls & Pawls - 13004000 at Farmer Bob's Parts and Supplies, your go-to online ag parts retailer.
farmerbobsparts.com
Good luck.
If it was me I would just buy 10 of the balls by measuring the ones you have and try to repair what you have by installing three balls, then four, then five and see what works. But that is somewhat risky since you do NOT want that coupler to fail during operation.
Yea exactly that’s why I started this lol. I may just get a replacement yoke for the tractor side of the shaft. That stuck detente has me very concerned I’ve seen video of broken pto shafts do not want first hand experience with it shattering a front joint on my rustang and nearly pitch polling it over the driveshaft was more than enoughOkay then there should be a rebuild kit for that coupler. I looked at Loftness and they no longer have much about snowblowers on their website. But you need to try and figure out what brand of PTO shaft you have to get a rebuild kit or just replace the whole shaft or just that yoke if you can’t figure that out.
Here is a link to a random repair kit (that probably has no relevance to your shaft). It just shows a few balls but I have no idea if that is consistent across brands.
Weasler Repair Kit for 6 & 21 Spline Safety Slide Lock w/ Spring, Balls & Pawls
Shop Weasler Weasler Repair Kit for 6 & 21 Spline Safety Slide Lock w/ Spring, Balls & Pawls - 13004000 at Farmer Bob's Parts and Supplies, your go-to online ag parts retailer.
Good luck.
If it was me I would just buy 10 of the balls by measuring the ones you have and try to repair what you have by installing three balls, then four, then five and see what works. But that is somewhat risky since you do NOT want that coupler to fail during operation.
