PTO Coupling

[holloway.joshua]

My gearbox seal is in need of replacing on my bush hog. In order to do that, I’ve got to remove the PTO shaft. I can not for the life of me figure out how to get this one off. Any advice? Pictured is the top and bottom.

 

[Powered By IH]

My gearbox seal is in need of replacing on my bush hog. In order to do that, I’ve got to remove the PTO shaft. I can not for the life of me figure out how to get this one off. Any advice? Pictured is the top and bottom. View attachment 149809

Have you tried pushing down on the offset pin with a punch and seeing if it moves then?
Is there any movement of the yoke on the shaft or is it totally solid?

 

[shaun wallace]

Metric drive line. Pry out washer, spring and pin will come out.

 

[holloway.joshua]

Metric drive line. Pry out washer, spring and pin will come out.

Once I’m ready to re-install, what would that process be like? I’m considering buying a new PTO shaft all together. The tractor side of this shaft works fine with all my old Massey’s, but on my newer John Deere, it’s nearly impossible to get the PTO coupling off once it goes on.

 

[Powered By IH]

Once I’m ready to re-install, what would that process be like? I’m considering buying a new PTO shaft all together. The tractor side of this shaft works fine with all my old Massey’s, but on my newer John Deere, it’s nearly impossible to get the PTO coupling off once it goes on.

Does the newer Deere still have paint on the PTO?
Maybe putting a bunch of grease on it, taking the paint off, or touching up the PTO splines with an angle grinder would help.

 

[holloway.joshua]

Does the newer Deere still have paint on the PTO?
Maybe putting a bunch of grease on it, taking the paint off, or touching up the PTO splines with an angle grinder would help.

No paint on the shaft. I’ve coated it with anti-seize and still have the same issue. The deer shaft is fine with any other coupling, and the bush hogs shaft is fine with the other tractors.

 

[holloway.joshua]

Have you tried pushing down on the offset pin with a punch and seeing if it moves then?
Is there any movement of the yoke on the shaft or is it totally solid?

I’ve depressed the pin and pulled by way of chain to no avail. Yes, there is a bit of slack on the shaft, about a 1/4 “

 

[Tx Jim]

I put Corn-head lube in my JD 709 rotary cutter gearbox many yrs ago that had a leaking blade shaft seal. If you put corn-head grease in your cutter gearbox I'll bet there will be no need to remove coupler.

 

[DanielW]

The second picture shows the spring retaining washer that gets peened/swaged in-place from the opposite side to retain the spring. I never much cared for that style with the peened retaininig washer that has an open centre - they get packed full of crapulence/water. The crapulence holds the water in there, and they rust/seize solid. And often the spring rusts and breaks, and strands of it get wedged in/around that pin, or (more likely from your description) jammed up in such a way that it prevents the pin from being fully pushed in enough to let the yoke slide off.

You're probably best to pry the washer outs as Shaun suggests. Then you can pick the spring (and other gunk) is out of there and knock the pin fully out and remove it from the equation. But maybe first try (if you haven't already) some careful tapping back and forth with a pin punch (through the centre of that washer when tapping from that side) to see if you can get some gunk to fall out of that washer hole and let the pin slide a little further in. Don't hit too hard, because you don't want to swage/peen it and make it even tighter in there.

Ultimately, while I couldn't guarantee this with 100% certainty, it sounds like something's preventing you from pushing the pin as far as it needs to go in order to get it into the clearance region on the splines.

 

[kenbob]

Do you think the JD shaft might not be perfectly straight? If that were the case, Twisting the pto as you pull it off should help. If that works, it would explain why.

 

[300guy]

I have put in the corn head grease in a couple of my gearboxes and no more leaks. It works and would not spend all the time and work to replace seals when the corn head grease really works!!!

 

[kenbob]

I had a leaking steering box on my Case 300, replaced 90w with corn head grease.....no leaks and steers easier.

 

[DanielW]

While I've also used corn head grease for leaking gearboxes, it appears the OP's seal has popped out completely. And if it's done that once, I'm inclined to think it would do so again if you tried to press the old seal back as-is. Corn-head grease works dandy for slightly weak/loose seals, but if that seal is completely popped out like shown, I'd think it would still puke all the grease out in short order.

Bush-hog gearboxes are pretty easy to break down and repair/re-seal. That's what I'd be doing. Then decide if you want to go corn-head grease or oil once it's back together. Make sure you check the bearings (both for slop, and pre-load if it's one of the older Squealer series that takes tapered roller bearings) while you're in there.

 

[paul]

The little button that is flush with the collar did you push that in, or is it broken off level somehow? First picture I think.

That button should be sticking out when locked on. You push it in to remove. However it looks like you pushed it in hard, it was likely frozen in place a bit? Usually they shouldn’t go in flush like that, a little bit still sticking out. If it’s in too far, it is again locking the collar onto the shaft.

Stick a thin punch or stiff wire (broken rake tooth works for me) in the small hole on the other side and tap that pin back out again. So you are at the start of it all again.

Then try pushing it in little by little and seeing if you can find the place it releases, without going too far and locking it on again.

This is ‘one’ possible problem, of several it could be. Typically these connections aren’t used for years and freeze up with rust, dirt. Or the splines chatter on each other and wear micro grooves in each other and ‘grab’ into these grooves. Or you hit enough stumps the splines twisted slightly, and now they won’t want to pull apart because of the spiral.

I’m trying to get a tie rod out of the tie rod pipe on my TW 20 tractor, and facing similar troubles. 3 feet of rod inside 3 feet of thin pipe for 40 years, the rust and grime and flex and dirt has then pretty well sealed together permanently. I’m in the house thinking on the issue…. Sigh.

Paul

 

[MARK ROBKE]

I put Corn-head lube in my JD 709 rotary cutter gearbox many yrs ago that had a leaking blade shaft seal. If you put corn-head grease in your cutter gearbox I'll bet there will be no need to remove coupler.

I agree with Texas Jim. It is so much easier, and this is a common 'fix' for leaking bushhog gear boxes. If it does not work you have only lost some grease. Mark.