Farmall Cub

It looks like it is PTO problem season......

I asked last week about my PTO poppoing out of gear - check the shift lever and look at the splines i was told.
Splines looked good.
The lever pin had a flat spot on it, ordered a new one but it only lasted about 15 minutes..!!!

One of the suggestions was to weld a piece of drill bit in place of the worn pin - just did that and it has lasted longer than the one I bought.

BUT - when the PTO is engaged and under load (Woods 59 Belly Mower)there is a lot of pressure trying to force the lever towards neutral...at least it seems like a lot to me.

Under no load the lever 'clicks' in and out of gear smoothly and looking through the fill plug hole it seems to be engaged properly.

Maybe more wear on the splines than I think?

Just looked at 'gusbratz's pictures of his spline - mine doesn't look near that bad.....

You may have to pull the PTO out and also check the splines on the sliding collar. While out, take a good look at the pilot bushing and make sure it's still in good shape.

Bob

The splines look OK to me - I'll try to get a picture - pilot bushing seems OK too, no play, no binding

If the lever is being forced back, then the splines are wore out either on the input shaft, the collar, or both.

Agree with Raymond, but also check how much space is between the PTO shaft and the main shaft with the PTO installed and in neutral. There should be very little space there... If there is a lot of space, then the retainer for the transmission front seal may have been installed backwards and allowed the main shaft to slide forward.

When everything is correct, it will actually engage at about the mid point of the lever travel. If it is only engaging right at the end, something is worn, the ends of the splines on the transmission shaft may be worn, the splines in the collar may be worn. Also, if the pilot bushing or the end of the pto shaft is worn it may put pressure on the shifter. I do not remember the history of your tractor, but if you recently purchased it you might need to check if the input shaft will slide forward and backward. that would indicate the front retainer on the input shaft is installed backward.

Check out the post I just put on gusbratz problem....

OK - I'm convinced I have to repair/replace the mainshaft

Has anybody had any luck with welding then re-shaping the splines? I have a local welding/machine shop that does excellent work.

I haven't had much luck with the 'search function' (probably operator error.....) - How do you pull the mainshaft? Split at the engine and pull it forward or split it at the transmission and pull the shaft back out of the clutch then pull it forward from the transmission?? OR do you have to split it front and at the trans????

You split where the transmission bolts to the torque tube. When you split there, the transmission pulls the main shaft put with it. Just be careful not to press down on the clutch pedal when you have it split, or the clutch disk will fall out of alignment and make it much harder to get things back together again.

It would be interesting to see what a welder could do with the shaft, but the cost of a new one or a good replacement may make more financial sense in this case. Also check the shaft for straightness.