JD A W/ Powertrol Rocker Arm Issue

[AWC]

Howdy!

I am helping my Dad work on his mid to late 40's JD A. We know it has a leak around the PTO shaft and need to find bearlings and seals for that, but our big problem is that the rockershaft on the power-trol will not stay up when loaded, unless the PTO is engaged and the lever is in the up position. We had a post-hole auger we just put on it and every time you pull in the clutch to go shift, the whole unit falls into the dirt. When the clutch is thrown back out it comes back up. I've never tore one apart, so not sure what is all going on inside the unit, but I believe the units my grandfather had would stay up if the lever was returned to the neutral position, so I assume there is some sort of check valve system there. What do I need to look for with this? Need to get it fixed soon so we can get posts in before snow flies.

Thanks!

AW

This post was edited by AWC on 09/20/2023 at 09:00 am.

 

[Pete in MD]

The Power-Trol valve box has 2 check valves, along with lots of other stuff, inside it. It sounds
like these valves are causing your problems. They either have parts missing or are put together
wrong or need to be repaired.

The 2 cylinder Hydraulics Manual, SM-2011, describes the operation and repair. Before you do
anything get a copy of this manual thru Ebay or the JD publication website. Hopefully someone will
post the link to the JD website.

 

[Loosehandle]

Could also be a failed gasket