PTO Slip Clutch Failure! Oh No!

[Grif]

Hi friends,

I'm freaking out a little right now and am fearing damaged gears in my L2900. This morning I rented a 3 point PTO Harley Rake for the Labor Day weekend. Hooked it up and began power raking and grading. My soil is very rocky. It didn't take long to hit a rock big enough to activate the slip clutch (or so I thought).

After hitting a few more rocks, I began noticing that it took less resistance to cause a slip. Then I noticed that when the slippage occurred, the PTO shaft stopped spinning as well, indicating that it wasn't the slip clutch on the rake stopping the rotation of the implement (the Harley Rake slip clutch is located further downstream from here).

Now, if I raise the 3 point hitch to the highest position and engage the PTO, the roller will rotate at full speed. When I lower the implement to the ground and engage the PTO, rotation stops with the slightest bit of resistance and there's an awful noise.

Of course, the rental place is closed now for the weekend. My suspicion is that the slip clutch on the rented Harley Rake failed and the torque was transferred to the driveline of the tractor.

If anybody has any suggestions for starting points or any thoughts to share, I'd be very appreciative!

Thank you!
Grif

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

OH NO is right , it does sound like you've damaged the PTO drive system.
That model does not have a simple system and it will take some diving into it to figure out what has broken.

They probably didn't explain to you that you need to adjust the slip clutch on the unit to match your tractors PTO output.
The slip clutch on most rental units are set way too tight because if it slips they get a ton of calls "This unit isn't working".

 

[Grif]

Thanks for reassuring me. Hahaha.

The rental place didn't say anything about adjusting the slip clutch. Should I have known? Is this my fault?

I figured that this unit sat for a while out in the weather and the clutch seized up. Didn't know that they intentionally set them way too tight.

 

[Bulldog]

Probably depends on the slip clutch as some have no adjustment but you can bet if the rental place can adjust it to protect their stuff it was done that way. It don't matter where it came from the rental place could care less about your stuff.

 

[twomany]

rental equipment. YOU need to know how to set it up for your machine. Not the rental place.

The last user may have had the rake fitted to a 100 hp tractor.

 

[Grif]

This particular Harley Rake (Paladin T6M-0052) has a Weasler Torqmaster clutch-- a pre-set, nonadjustable friction disc clutch.

There is a clutch run-in procedure which the manual recommends performing if the rake has not been used or has not been operated for one year.

I'm still suspicious this thing sat for a long time and the clutch seized up.

 

[twomany]

This particular Harley Rake (Paladin T6M-0052) has a Weasler Torqmaster clutch-- a pre-set, nonadjustable friction disc clutch.

There is a clutch run-in procedure which the manual recommends performing if the rake has not been used or has not been operated for one year.

I'm still suspicious this thing sat for a long time and the clutch seized up.

;-)............

 

[Bulldog]

I'm still suspicious this thing sat for a long time and the clutch seized up.

Chances are unless it's been burn up the clutch hasn't been touched since it left the factory.

 

[twomany]

This particular Harley Rake (Paladin T6M-0052) has a Weasler Torqmaster clutch-- a pre-set, nonadjustable friction disc clutch.

There is a clutch run-in procedure which the manual recommends performing if the rake has not been used or has not been operated for one year.

I'm still suspicious this thing sat for a long time and the clutch seized up.

Would you care to give a torque specification that would qualify the clutch as "seized up".

I have never seen a specification on any tractor PTO that suggests an ultimate load before failure.

Certainly one would expect full rate horse power without issue. Unfortunately, that does nothing to put a number on "shock loading".

I'm wondering if a slip clutch can even be qualified that way. There is much complication in the maths associated with the mass of the drive line etc, along with the nature of the loading.

A ground strike of an aviation propeller is a mandatory engine overhaul.

 

[nickelplated5s]

Similar problem with a Caroni tiller. Somehow there was a piece of a trailer axle buried in my field, u joint went. There are 8 spring tension bolts on the clutch. Am I correct that loosening them will allow for more slippage. 6' tiller with an L4740. Clutch was at factory settings and worked great until the axle.

 

[Tx Jim]

Weasler Torqmaster clutch which is very similar to clutch on my JD 467 rd baler needs at beginning of each hay season to have all 6 bolts loosened evenly until clutch plates slip then tighten bolts back up. I forgot to slip this clutch at the beginning of hay season last yr then a chain broke then locked baler down resulting in main gearbox shaft getting twisted off. IMHO slip clutch is designed to protect implement driveshafts more than protect tractor pto clutch.