154 PTO Clutch won't stay engaged?

[gitractorman]

I don't have the tractor here to look at, but a friend called and says that the PTO clutch will not stay engaged unless you hold up the lever. Is there an adjustment, or a spring/part that is broken or missing?

Thanks,
Bill

[SONNY]

Sounds like you need to pull the clutch out and re-adjust it,---the 154 has a nut on the front side along with the shims.--disk wear and springs getting weak will cause this!
If you do decide to take it apart, look closely at the wave washers to see if they have been hot and weakened, if so then they need to be re-placed, (hard to find item), also check the snapring between the clutch plates!---I just went thru a 185 pto clutch ordeal and it wasnt cheap or fun!

[gitractorman]

Sonny,
Thanks. I'll see what everything looks like. This is a brand new PTO clutch, so maybe it just has broken in a bit and needs to be adjusted. I mowed my whole yard with it just fine, a couple of times, without incident, so it could be that the new owner is just not doing something right.

Bill

[BigBill]

It just happened to me with my 154 the bearings were bad on the lever part of the PTO that engages the clutch. The bearings would jam / bind and unlock the PTO. I took it apart and found the two ball bearings were bad.