I think it’s an older SSP6. I can take a look this week. I’ll use it again in late summer for tillage radish.
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Spent most of the day removing corroded old grease fittings on my disk. There’s 4 on each of 4 sections. Because I didn’t know they needed to be greased, the back row of disks wouldn’t hardly move at all. With the help of my BIL yesterday, we were able to get 6 of the 8 old fittings out, the other two refused to budge. So, after cleaning out old dried up grease and dirt from the holes they go in, I installed the new ones, and filled them up with some heavy duty lithium grease.
Took a while to get it worked in, and get them rolling again, but at least now they’re working right. I actually got out and did some disking of our plowed garden plots before it started raining (whaa, rain again?) on me again. So, here it is in the barn, sorry for the dark pics.
One more day of disking, and it will be retired to the pasture to wait for another year…
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Hey folks. I really need some help. I know I am about to ask what seems like a dumb question, but I just spent 1.5 hours working and straining and almost killing myself on the most insanely simple thing on earth, but I just need to make sure I’m not missing something.
My problem, tiny as it may sound, it that I absolutely cannot get my mower PTO onto the tractor PTO drive. In other words, the female end that is on the mower just will not go onto the male end on the tractor.
Yes, I’m sure I lined them up right. And I tried pushing the pin on the mower attachment that is used when you take it off the PTO drive. And I know the sizes are right because its been on and off several times, though it is always the hardest physical thing I do on my farm- pulling with every ounce of strength I have- but it isn’t enough most times.
OK, I hope I can explain this. You are supposed (I THINK) to be able to back up within a couple inches of the female part on the mower, line it up with the male part on the tractor, and then pull the female part out of the sleeve (not all the way until it slides over the male end and clicks in place. My problem is that it is just about impossible to pull the female end out toward the mower- even a 1/8th inch. It is the hardest thing on earth to pull that female end even a tiny bit away from the sleeve it sits in on the mower. If I completely unhook everything from the tractor and get so I can REALLY pull, I can usually get the female part to slide out a couple inches- but it is so hard to do that when I have to stand in the awkward position required by having the tractor right in fromt of the mower, there is no way I can get enough leverage to pull the female part forward and over the male part on tractor. Ive tried putting both grease and oil on the outside tip of the mower part that is suppossed to move in and out of the sleve, but the entire shaft of covered with a plastic cover that means I can only lube about the last inch of the inner part of the sleeve, and when I push it back into the sleeve the outer sleeve is so tight that wipes even the oil, let alone grease, of the inner part that slides in and out.
I know this is a crazy post and I’ve probable lost everyone by now… my question is, on the sleeve that is on my mower- it has an inside part that should slide in and out of the metal outside part- and all that happens inside a black plastic cover. Is there any reason I am unable to get the inner sleve to slide in and out of the outer sleeve?
The two halves of your PTO shaft are probably pitted and corroded and seizing together. I bought an old wood chipper, and spend weeks and a ton of heartache to get the two halves separated so I could sand down and lube the interface.
Do you have a plastic PTO shield over the PTO shaft?
What I did was disconnect the drive line from the chipper and tractor, douse it with Aero-Kroil and hang it from a rafter. Then I periodically go out and bang it with a hammer. After a day or two the they fell apart and I was able to re-dress the interface and lube it.
I had to destroy the PTO shield to get it off, so I bought a replacement for that.
Some standard PTO shafts are dirt cheap at MFG Supply, so you could also just buy a new one, if yours isn’t clutched or exotic.
1400 reviews, average rating 4.8/5 stars:
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Seriously, Jafar, you have no idea how much I appreciate that response. ANd it absolutely makes sense. Yes, I have a plastic PTO shield over the shaft and it drives me crazy! Because if that stupid plastic Shield I can not really see what is going on, nor can I really get oil or grease any further down the shaft than the inch or so I can reach from the end of that cursed plastic cover. I soooooo understand who you tore yours off because I came so close to doing that today and was still thinking about it tonight.
Mine isn’t as stuck as it sounds like yours was. If I get at a good angle with a good grip so I can really pull, the inside half of mine will pull away from the outer sleeve. But it is incredibly hard to do and I can’t can’t get a good enough grip and angle when I’m bent down trying to pull in forward onto the PTO shaft (male part) on the tractor. I literally have pulled a muscle in my back trying to do that today.
For some reason it hadn’t dawned on me that I could buy a new one. I sort of thought it was part of my mower (dumb, I know) . Turns out the only two PTO impliments I have each have their own shaft so I somehow just thought they were attached. Trust me, if I can buy a new one and get in on my mower, I’m doing that for sure. I’ve had this problem for two years and its gotten worse every single time I’ve had to remove my woods finishing mower. I might try the Kano oil you linked first, but unless it does a miracle I’m buying a new shaft if I can get it to work!!!
Kroil is miraculous. It probably isn’t a good idea to use the PTO shaft that doesn’t slide freely. Take some pictures and post them. Those plastic shields are important safety devices, and many come off readily if you know the trick. Mine could only come off after separating the two halves though and those halves weren’t coming apart. I tried a number of things first that might work for you. Like tying the half to a tree and pulling the other half with the Tractor or a ratcheting winch, can get a cheap one from harbor freight. You can drill a hole in the side of the shield so you can spray kroil into the seam between the two halves of the shaft. If you own property you should have a can of kroil. Certainly if you own a Tractor. Ideally you’d clean and lube the interface between the two halves of the shaft annually. But at least more often than never. Practically, whenever they start to slide less readily. The U-joints at either end probably have grease zerks that should be used periodically to grease them as well.
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Yep…I’ve had mine for 10 years and its never been cleaned or lubed in the area that slides. Now I do put a grease gun on the grease gun points on the ends of each one, but best I can tell that is just to grease the end parts that turn, not the shaft itself.
Again, I’m sure I’m not being clear…mine isn’t 100% stuck so I wouldn’t have to pull it apart with tractor or even a winch. I can, with all the force me and my sore back can muster, get them apart. My problem is just that they are so incredibly hard to pull apart-even a little- that I can’t do it with one end hooked to mower and other end close to tractor and me standing over or beside the shaft trying to pull it onto the tractor.
You’ve given me so much great information. One, I never thought about buying one. Two, as stupid as it sounds, I didn’t even really understand that the shaft was a seperate piece with 2 connecting ends so it could be taken off the mower. Now that you told me I’ve been looking and reading and I get it. Sounds like you’ve also taught me about Kroil! SOunds like something I ought to have. THough don’t give me too much credit. As if everything I’ve said in the last few posts didn’t make it clear, I’ll go ahead and admit that most people’s grandmothers probably have far better mechanical skills and knowledge than I do. I hate it very much but I was raised in the suburbs and never had to fix or even work on anything mechanical. Its shameful how limited my knowledge and experience is.
Anyway, once again I am very sincere in saying you’ve been a huge help on one of the most frustrating problems I’ve had and I thank you! If I can’t buy a new one or kroil mine enough to work, I’ll post some photos and ask for more help! Thanks again Murky!
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Kevin a PTO shaft will definitely get corroded up with grit and rust and be hard to get in and out but usually a little oil will cure that problem. More than likely the shaft has developed a slight twist in it. It may not be noticeable to the eye or be bad enough to make it vibrate but it will make it some kinda hard to get in and out.
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If it is just difficult to pull apart, pull it all the way apart and clean, lube, grease the female portion (if you can’t be bothered to take the plastic shield off). Use some penetrating oil and/or solvent with a stiff bristle brush, like toilet brush or the like and clean out the sludge.
I wouldn’t use it again until the halves slide easily. It’s already awkward enough to attach a driveline, you shouldn’t have to fight to get it to telescope on top of that.
You don’t have to be mechanically inclined, you just have to be brave enough to give it a go, and use some trial and error. It’s much, much easier in this information age.
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BTW, I meant Agrisupply not mfg. Different stuff. Sometimes its less expensive to buy a whole new PTO shaft than to buy a replacement safety shield.
Need to know what kind of torque protection you have, slip clutch or sheer pin, and what kind of connections for the tractor and implement ends, and min/max lengths it needs to function at.
You can buy longer than needed and cut to appropriate length if you know what you are doing. Too short or too long can be dangerous.
https://www.agrisupply.com/pto-shafts-accessories/c/3500000/
Anyone else catch this? Looks very promising. I may have missed it but I don’t think he said actual run time on a full charge, just that one person could swap the battery in under 10 minutes.
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I run an old Ford 3000 diesel tractor. I like it because it is really simple to work on and it runs better than most of the new ones. I can remove 6 bolts and have the whole front end removed to work on the engine. You can buy a kit to rebuild the entire engine for $400. I use it for mowing my pasture as well as working a 5 acre garden
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It’s quite sick what John Deere has done. They say they support “right to repair” (which they don’t), but they don’t support right to modify… because obviously the farmers don’t really own the tractors they bought.
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We purchased 6 filters, one belt, 15 gallons of hydraulic fluid and 7 quarts of oil for annual service of the New Holland TC35DA, $680 and we’re doing the service ourselves. Up $220 from 2019. Hydraulic fluid $105/5 gal. Power steering fluid filter (which we haven’t replaced in the past) was $127. Still have to service the Massey Ferguson.
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Bearing in the front axle of the New Holland had to be replaced, and a week later the power steering ram on the Massey Ferguson snapped off a tie rod. It’s gonna be one of those years for equipment…
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I had to replace both, yes my tractor has two, batteries this spring. They were about 10 years old, and over the last few years, I had to constantly charge them before I could start it because they were so old and depleted.
Well, this March they wouldn’t even take a charge, so I had to replace them. It was quite difficult getting them out and putting the new ones back in as there is no wiggle room where they go. Set me back $260, but hopefully that’ll last me quite a few years.
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Wow sounds like an expensive repair. Are those the type of repairs you can do, or did you have to have someone do it for you?
As mentioned way back in this thread (2017), I had to replace my radiator, water pump and cooling fan when the bearing in the pump went bad and caused the fan to impale itself in the radiator. That was a real chore, but I was glad it was something I could do myself.
I can’t believe you said hydraulic fluid is over $100 for 5 gallons now. I probably need to replace mine soon.
Is that true for all new tractors nowadays? You can’t work on them yourselves anymore? I mean, besides fluid and filter changes, or is even that restricted?
Thankfully my JD is forty years old, so I don’t have to worry about a bunch of sensors or electronics.
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