PTO Shield

frysl

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L3301 LA525 FEL & FDR1672 6' Finish Mower
Jun 13, 2016
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Sumner County, TN
Hello all,
im thinking of removing the shield that is mounted over the top half of my PTO shaft. it seems to be a huge hinderance when getting a driveshaft attached or disconnected.
Any reason why this would be a bad idea?
 

SidecarFlip

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M9000HDCC3, M9000HD, Kubota GS850 Sidekick
Oct 28, 2018
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When you get wound up in the rotating shaft from carelessness, report back.
 

007kubotaguy

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Go online and search PTO accidents. I have worked with farm equipment 45-plus years. I have seen too many accidents with PTO shafts that were in properly shielded. In addition to PTO shafts other things that weren't properly shielded such as belts pulleys blades. I hope you will reconsider.
 
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GeoHorn

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The shield can be “flipped up” when attaching a different Implement...correct?

My old 9N Ford had no safety features at all... and the N-Fords have some of the worst accident histories. I didn’t see it (thank goodness) but an acquaintance who had owned his tractor an entire lifetime ended that lifetime when his jeans/pant-leg was grabbed by the PTO.
His wife went out to the field to bring him lunch and found what remained of him spinning on the shaft.
You don’t want to do that to your loved ones. I decided to shut the engine OFF from then-on when changing implements.
 

BigG

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l2501, FEL, BB, Rotary cutter, rake,spreader, roller, etc. New Holland TL80 A
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Read and then make up your own mind. Remember you are not the only person that will be around your tractor in your tractor's lifetime. http://farminjuryresource.com/atv-injuries/farming-injuries/power-take-off-victims/h

Without looking at your tractor perhaps there is a way to make the shield a quick removable one. Making it is easy to remove as you attach/detach the PTO shaft and the reattach the shield. I have watched the shield keep hay from becoming wrapped up in the PTO when the windrow was being rolled over to promote the hay drying.
 
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Fordtech86

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L3200
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Like Geo said....the shield on my L will flip up the attach the shaft then just push it back down when you have it attached.
 
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GreensvilleJay

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Apr 2, 2019
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I was responding to the 2nd post....
...When you get wound up in the rotating shaft from carelessness, report back....

i was hoping #2 would reply...

I've only got 5+ decades of 'tractoring', 9N,2N ,8N, several Allis-Chalmers,some Case and IH. Have always had tractors shut off before doing any PTO work, still have 10 fingers and toes.

Maybe the 'flippy' PTO shield someone has will fit ? if not,remove yours ,cut as needed, weld a hinge on it".
 
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Benhameen

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2012 Kubota L3800 HST W/FEL and 1963 JD 2010 row crop utility
Jan 27, 2013
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I need to check and see my shaft cover flips up. Although, I don’t really have much issue hooking it up. I use a quick hitch and normally I’ll hook up the shaft and hang it from the QH before I back into the implement. It makes it way easier on all fronts.
My old JD doesn’t have one and we never
had any problems but there is a whole lot more room to work back there.

Also, as others have said, I’m never any closer to it than my back seat once it’s spinning.
 

Fordtech86

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I need to check and see my shaft cover flips up. Although, I don’t really have much issue hooking it up. I use a quick hitch and normally I’ll hook up the shaft and hang it from the QH before I back into the implement. It makes it way easier on all fronts.
My old JD doesn’t have one and we never
had any problems but there is a whole lot more room to work back there.

Also, as others have said, I’m never any closer to it than my back seat once it’s spinning.
I have the little brother to your tractor and they both similar to the OPs tractor. Just pull up on the shield and it will move...there is some resistance
 
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aaluck

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Who said anything about getting near a rotating shaft? Re-read my post before you try to sound like a smart ass.
Its a bad idea. You could get knocked off the tractor, someone may come up from behind that you don't hear. etc.

The guards are there for a reason...folks that never thought it could happen have died or lost limbs.
 
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Tornado

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Hello all,
im thinking of removing the shield that is mounted over the top half of my PTO shaft. it seems to be a huge hinderance when getting a driveshaft attached or disconnected.
Any reason why this would be a bad idea?
Its a safety / protection item. Removing it opens up potential safety hazards, which you should be able to easily imagine. The objective of the piece is to cover a high speed spinning shaft, for obvious reasons. The pro's and cons are very self evident here, so its up to you what you want to do. Any reason why its a bad idea? Higher possibility of injury to an exposed shaft. Possible damage to shaft if something is perhaps dropped or falls down onto it. This is all pretty elementary.

As stated, most new tractors I've seen allow this cover to tilt up and out of the way for just the reason you mention.
 

Nicfin36

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L2501 HST, BH77 Backhoe, SSQA Loader ZD1011 Mower
Jun 19, 2019
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With all due respect, I think we all might be giving too much credit to the PTO shield as a safety device than perhaps it should. Yes, it does offer some protection. However, if you play with the PTO shaft rotating or fall off the tractor with the PTO shaft spinning, I am not very optimistic that the shield will do much for you. I never mess with the PTO or PTO shaft unless the tractor is off. As said, I think the shield is also there to protect the shaft on the tractor from being hit which could damage it.

I am not opposed to the shield and I would also recommend the OP to leave it on. The shield on my 2501 tilts up, although it is very tight and I just make do without moving it since I rarely use PTO driven impements on it.

With that being said, my old John Deere 2030 did not have a PTO shield. I actually made one for it last year. I really made it to protect the shaft and not really to protect me from getting in it.
 
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BobInSD

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L5740
Jun 23, 2020
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South Dakota
When you get wound up in the rotating shaft from carelessness, report back.
Don't report back if you get wound up in the two feet of PTO that's not under that shield. Do not sit or stand on top step. Do not clean parts with any flammable liquid. Do not attempt to use a vented gas can.

(Just being flippant. It, along with other safety devices, might protect you some if you can wiggle past the lift arms and get stuck in the front six inches of the PTO shaft.) I've never had a tractor with it before, but I'm leaving mine on for now. Some of my newer PTO shafts even have the plastic covers for most of their length. As for the shield on the Kubota, I didn't realize it flipped up, so I'm glad I clicked in here.

Is the inside of the hole the shaft comes out of threaded for a cover? On my Ford I have a cover that threads on to protect the shaft from damage and dust when not in use. As Nicfin36 said, that is probably 98.3% of the purpose for this one also.
 
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Old_Paint

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As I get older, I realize I'm getting older because I do fewer stupid things, like removing safeties. Either I'm getting smarter, or the safeties are getting harder to remove. When I was young, dumb, invincible, 10 feet tall and bullet proof, yeah, I did a lot of stupid things. Some of which, I'm glad to say I survived them, but have no idea how.

I hadn't thought about a hanger on my QH for the shaft, but unless I can couple the shaft before I hook up with the QH, there's no way I'm reaching that u-joint at the chipper end. I like the release on it better. I used the chain for the shaft guard to keep the tractor end u-joint outta the dirt when I'm not using the chipper.

I spent a lotta time on an old 8N when I was a kid in the 70's, and like the other poster pointed out, I've seen (and had to remove) a lot of kudzu from the shaft of a bush-hog that didn't have any guards whatsoever. I figured out one day it was easier to slide the shaft apart at the splines and pull the shaft halves out of the kudzu ball than it was to cut it off. I've also seen the hay wrap on a rake while rolling a windrow. Talk about a messy hairball to get off. I'm really beginning to like the decreased exposure of rotating parts.

Even with all the guards, I ain't getting anywhere near a rotating shaft. That's a gruesome death waiting to happen.
 

Magicman

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Oct 8, 2019
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The shield on my M4900 flips up. It also catches any excess grease that may sling off of the PTO joint/shaft.
 
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Russell King

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Jun 17, 2012
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Hello all,
im thinking of removing the shield that is mounted over the top half of my PTO shaft. it seems to be a huge hinderance when getting a driveshaft attached or disconnected.
Any reason why this would be a bad idea?
Not sure what you’re talking about removing but the plastic cover over the shaft has some method to disconnect it and then you can push it back towards the implement, connect the PTO shaft to the tractor, pull plastic shield back into position and reattach the shield to the shaft and attach the chain to keep it from rotating. Very easy usually and faster than trying to fit your hands in a too small to do anything space.

I don’t have a flip up guard on the tractor but it takes maybe two minutes from start to finish doing it as described above