860 PTO Clutch

[mgriff543]

I got my new 860 home from Kentucky and hooked up the brush hog yesterday and went to work. It started out ok but after 20 minutes it stopped. I don't remember hitting any stumps and the hog turns by hand. I stopped and re-engaged the PTO and it started to turn for a couple of minutes then stopped again. This is a 5 speed with the double clutch and after looking over the shop manual I'm afraid I have a clutch job in my future, unless I'm missing something?
 

[Fordfarmer]

[quote="mgriff543"](quoted from post at 06:47:35 09/29/12) I stopped and re-engaged the PTO and it started to turn for a couple of minutes then stopped again. quote]

It sounds like your PTO is disengaging on its own, not a clutch problem... I've never had to deal with that problem, but I've read about it here. An archive search should yeild some answers.
 

[terry274]

On some tractors there is a snap ring on the PTO shaft inside the housing that can break or come off the shaft. This can cause the PTO handle to become disengaged as the bush hog PTO shaft moves. The repair is fairly easy and simple I have heard, I have not needed to do it. As the other poster stated, search the archives for more/better information. A service manual would be a great thing at this point.
Terry
 

[mgriff543]

I'm sorry, I worded that poorly. The control lever is not moving from the engaged position, but the PTO slowly stops spinning. Does this still mean the problem could be in the linkage?
 

[Fordfarmer]

Means that either your clutch disk is worn out, or (hopefully) the linkage needs to be adjusted. I haven't had a live PTO tractor in years, so I can't say off hand exactly how to adjust it... your manual should tell you.
 

[souNdguy]

for kicks, is the pto shaft spinning, and the shear pin bad?
 

[Kurt-NEPA]

Sounds like your clutch is slipping to me. I'd try to adjust the clutch linkage first. If you decide to replace the clutch, its not too bad a job. Just a bit pricey. Figure $400-600 for a replacement clutch and throw out bearing. I would add a pilot bearing, 2 input shaft seals and a gasket. I just replaced the one on my 660 with Tisco clutch and CNH seals. Its working great so far.
 

[mgriff543]

Thanks for the input. I wish it were the shear pin but it's intact. As it stands there's 2" of clutch pedal free play and the pedal is 10.5" above the floor boards where the manual indicates 1.5" and 9.5". I'm on my work stretch now so I'll be adjusting next week.
 

[MarkB_MI]

If you have an inch and a half of free play, your problem is not adjustment. Slippage occurs when you have no free play, and because of the design of the 860 clutch, the transmission clutch will slip when you run out of free play, not the PTO. If the PTO clutch is slipping, it's blown.

You might have a broken PTO shaft. Given that you can pull the shaft without splitting the tractor, you might want to check that first.