Traditional Problems with the Power Take Off
-Excerpts from Farm & Livestock Magazine Spring 2019
“Contemporary tractor owners have the same problem with connecting equipment to the PTO that they had when it appeared on the market shortly before 1920. It takes too long to hook up, it always means banged up knuckles, pinched fingers or worse, and it almost invariably produces language that is unfit for polite society. The PTO provided the key to making the tractor a versatile source of power that the plow horse could not deliver.
Anyone who has ever changed out a PTO knows what it’s like, and it has been the part of tractor work that everyone dreads the most until now. What has traditionally made it so challenging has been the need to match up the six splines on the male shaft with the splines of the female coupler which are on the inside and not visible. Frustrated tractor owners have tried cleaning it, greasing it and slamming it with a sledgehammer and still have had no luck in getting the PTO shaft on.
To make the job even more burdensome, accessing the PTO requires bending over and reaching into the recesses of the tractor, a hard-enough task anytime but especially when the day is hot, the job is behind schedule and maybe a pain in the back makes stretching difficult. Pulling the collar back often requires another set of hands and creates more frustration, but the PTO Link™ takes care of everything.”
Feature article by the Farm and Livestock Directory from Five Star Publishing, linked by permission of Five Star Publishing.
Can't get the PTO shaft on?
Neither can these people:
"Can't get the #@$%&* PTO shaft on.
Cleaned it.....oiled it, greased it. Won't go on. " -Feral
https://www.ar15.com/forums/outdoors/PTO_shaft_wonandapos_t_go_on__Any_advice_/17-623841/
"I cannot remove my PTO shaft. I've never had this problem before and am unsure what may have caused it." -IslandTractor
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/104690-pto-shaft-stuck-jammed-tractor.html
Stuck/rusty PTO driveshaft on my bush hog
http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=implment&th=131826
I borrowed a friend's post hole digger and now I can't get the *** thing off my tractor.
It will not slide in/out and I cannot remove it from the gearbox either.
I've tried hitting it with a heavy hammer but can't get a good angle to do much good. I'm stumped!
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24208
The (So-Called) Secret to putting on a PTO Shaft
"Here is the best way to do it bar none: Back up to the implement making no mistake on distance or evenness. Get off the tractor and give the line-up a once over. Once you are certain everything is perfect straddle the PTO shaft and pull into place.
Although everything was perfectly even and lined up the shaft will be off-center. Mutter a small obsenity about the impossibility of these relational physics. Get back on the tractor and go back and forth at least 3 times. Climb back down and straddle the PTO shaft again only to find out it is worse than the first time.
Even though you are fully aware of the weight of the implement you should now attempt to move the implement. This will automatically cause a slightly larger obsenity to blurt out of your mouth. Climb on the tractor again and while in 3rd gear rip around and get a clean shot at the implement. Climb off muttering something about putting a man on the moon and pull the PTO Shaft until it meets up with the tractor's PTO. Calculate the odds of six splines over the circumference of the shaft and after quick calculation make mental note to never play the lottery again.
Throw down the PTO shaft and kick the tire hard enough that you will remember it for the rest of the day. Wipe your forehead with your sleeve, yell at the dog, promise a kick in the pills to the unfortunate inventor of this contraption then go get a drink of water. When you come back the shaft will go on on the first or second try.
It is extremely important to put the PTO cover somewhere you will not remember it and it is likely to hide for at least 4 weeks. Climb on the tractor and wait for 20-25 seconds before you start the tractor. This will provide sufficient time for the wife to call you in or the cell phone to ring and avoid wearing out your starter prematurely.
I hope this helps...it works everytime for me." -DwightD123
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/219109-secret-hooking-up-pto-shaft-3.html