PTO Issue: Houston we have a problem

10466 Views 14 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Driftpinto, 2 mo ago

wifi_guy

Discussion Starter · Jan 11, 2015

So I was blowing some snow yesterday when I heard a horrible noise coming from the front. I immediately shut the PTO off. I discovered that the PTO shaft that comes out from the front of the machine was very loose. Meaning I could move it all directions when it should be firmly in place.

Anyone know how that shaft is held in place? Assuming it runs through a barring that is bolted to the machine somehow. I have had this thing less than a year, hard to believe that this has happened already.

1 - 15 of 15 Posts

jimslick

· #2 · Jan 12, 2015

boy, not good news, for all of us.

KeviNH

· #3 · Jan 12, 2015

2

Chapter_12_PTO.pdf

You need "Chapter_12_PTO.pdf".

Looks like the PTO shaft is mounted to the PTO gearbox, and the gearbox to the frame. Either could be loose; the big question is, why?

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jimslick

· #4 · Jan 13, 2015

WIFI GUY any word on your pto shaft.

Jorts

· #5 · Jan 13, 2015

Take a look at the front carrier that holds the PTO shaft. It holds the shaft in place where it exits the front of the BRUTUS.

wifi_guy

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 14, 2015

Hey guys, I just heard back. I ended up taking the machine in. It was a barring in the carriage assembly that went out.

Sounds like a warranty issue. The bad news, 1 season of use and it went out on me.

Are these barrings something that needs lube?

wifi_guy

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 19, 2015

2

Hey guys, I wanted to follow up on this issue. So after I got the machine back I hooked up the blower and made sure all was well again. When engaging the PTO I noticed a bad vibration. So I disconnected the blower shaft and turned the PTO on without anything attached. It was whisper quiet, I couldn't even really tell the PTO was engaged.

So I started looking at the blower shaft itself and noticed it was bent. Now I don't believe for a second I could have done this due to the fact it looked almost pinched, like something was dropped on it. My blower was a demo unit. For all I know the blower shaft was bent when I originally purchased it. This bend in the shaft is what I believe damaged my PTO bearing.

So here is the kicker. The replacement shaft is a thinner lighter material than the original. Which in my opinion is going to be even more susceptible to bends.

I have attached two photos. In one of the photos you will notice it has a dent in it, it has the same dent on the opposite side of the shaft. Almost like something with large pitchers grabbed on it.

So, I guess moral of the story, I would inspect the shaft on a regular basis in order to avoid PTO part(s) failure.

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proper landscaping

· #8 · Feb 20, 2015

wifi_guy said:
Hey guys, I wanted to follow up on this issue. So after I got the machine back I hooked up the blower and made sure all was well again. When engaging the PTO I noticed a bad vibration. So I disconnected the blower shaft and turned the PTO on without anything attached. It was whisper quiet, I couldn't even really tell the PTO was engaged.

So I started looking at the blower shaft itself and noticed it was bent. Now I don't believe for a second I could have done this due to the fact it looked almost pinched, like something was dropped on it. My blower was a demo unit. For all I know the blower shaft was bent when I originally purchased it. This bend in the shaft is what I believe damaged my PTO bearing.

So here is the kicker. The replacement shaft is a thinner lighter material than the original. Which in my opinion is going to be even more susceptible to bends.

I have attached two photos. In one of the photos you will notice it has a dent in it, it has the same dent on the opposite side of the shaft. Almost like something with large pitchers grabbed on it.

So, I guess moral of the story, I would inspect the shaft on a regular basis in order to avoid PTO part(s) failure.

The new shaft looks to be extruded and has some form in it. This will be far stronger than the non formed steel tube and should not bend as easy.

jimslick

· #9 · Mar 19, 2015

how much play is there in the blower shaft , or should it be tight with no play.

KeviNH

· #10 · Mar 19, 2015

Torque your "gear carriage" bolts on snowblower

jimslick said:
how much play is there in the blower shaft , or should it be tight with no play.

I had a snowblower problem, when I checked, every one of the gear carriage bolts was missing entirely. Not sure when or how that happened.

Ketchn

· #11 · Mar 21, 2015

Wifi guy,
My shaft had a bad vibration and the yoke that attaches to the blower broke, it had vibrated since I bought it. My shaft also had the bend in it with a kink. It seems to be caused by raising or tilting the blower to much. I think mine was damaged when I bought it also as it was a demo blower.
By the way Bobcat wouldn't stand behind mine even though the mechanic and parts guy both thought there was nothing I could of done to break the yoke, they both thought it was cracked during assembly. It cost me $80 for a new shaft.

wifi_guy

Discussion Starter · #12 · Apr 21, 2015

Ketchn said:
Wifi guy,
My shaft had a bad vibration and the yoke that attaches to the blower broke, it had vibrated since I bought it. My shaft also had the bend in it with a kink. It seems to be caused by raising or tilting the blower to much. I think mine was damaged when I bought it also as it was a demo blower.
By the way Bobcat wouldn't stand behind mine even though the mechanic and parts guy both thought there was nothing I could of done to break the yoke, they both thought it was cracked during assembly. It cost me $80 for a new shaft.

Yeah mine was a demo unit as well. Some asshat before me most likely raised it up to far.

GroundsMechanic

· #13 · Dec 17, 2015

Not to bring up an old post but we had the same issue with our broom on our 3650. The carrier bearing housing broke causing a horrible noise. Come to find out the PTO shaft to the broom was bent. It seems as if, as mentioned above, that it was raised too far. They must have done this while it was running because the dent in the shaft was all the way around the shaft. I noticed that on the one good bearing assembly, the bearing was very loose inside the housing. This would cause the bearing itself to rotate inside the housing. Bobcat didn't have any bearings available anywhere so I went to my local Applied Industrial and ordered 4. They were better Timkin units. I tried finding bearings that had a solid mount instead of the stamped steel two piece mount but no go. The broom shaft was also not in stock anywhere and it took the entire winter to get a replacement. Mind you, this unit was brand new and this was the first winter we had it. Since we damaged the shaft I didn't even try to get anything warrantied. Finally got the new shaft and replaced the bearings and everything works better than new.

So be aware that if you need to replace those bearings, you might be better off going non-factory.

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dufunnel

· #14 · Jan 17, 2016

I just saw the same thing when I bought mine yesterday. There was a dent in the shaft and I told them to replace it as part of the pre-delivery service they were going to do. I looked at the range of travel in the lift and didn't see where it could touch, but tilting was another matter. It looked like tilting it with it raised all the way could definitely cause the problem.

Driftpinto

· #15 · 2 mo ago

Anybody have a part number on these carriage assembly, mine broke yesterday while using our mower.

thanks
Scott

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