Aargh!! Lubricating pto

[Beeenvenue]

1). Mohawk brave 5 rotary cutter. How in the heck do I get to the gearbox side U joint zerk? The shaft sleeve fits all the way to the u joint and the overall gearbox side guard extends so far up the shaft there is no way to get to it (I can稚 even see it). I took the guard off the first time and that assembly/reassembly took 45 minutes with much frustration. There has to be a better way. What am I missing?

2). According to Tractor Mike I also need to lube the insertion point of the pto inner shafts, but on my Kioti 3510 when I disconnect the tractor side of the pto I do not have room to pull the pto apart (too long to swing outboard when fully compressed and I don稚 have room to extend to full length before hitting the rear tractor framework. ). I don稚 want to have to drop the cutter and put it back on every time just for this.

Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks.

 

[RjCorazza]

The shaft itself shouldn't require grease but every several years or longer. I grease the shafts when new with a light coating, and they rarely need attention if stored under cover.
The PTO shields are all different, but I have never had one that was easy to remove for greasing the u joints. Some have access holes for greasing, and some I have drilled large holes into.

 

[Motorboatin]

When the implement isnt attached to the tractor I remove the PTO shaft to grease the U joint

 

[ericm979]

Take the cutter off and do it right. You only need to lube the pto shaft once a year. You should check the cutter's lube level at the same time, and if it has a slip clutch you need to make sure the plates are not stuck and that it's adjusted correctly.

The shaft should come off the implement once it's off the tractor. Mine have a release from a splined shaft just like the tractor end's got. Some implements have other types of connection to the pto shaft. It should be in the manual.

 

[dasranger]

Just went through the same thing with my KK 5 footer. Nothing in the manual and I couldn’t see how to take the Kutter end off. I ended up digging out a very old gun and eventually got some grease in there.

 

[BRMyers]

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that struggles with those stupid shields.

 

[Henro]

Could you cut a hole in the shield at the appropriate spot to gain access for the grease gun tip?

 

[Beeenvenue]

I can probably cut a hole but it will take an iterative process - if I had a hole to see where to cut a hole I could cut a hole to get to the zerk....

And thanks to those who responded that once a year or so is enough to grease the actual pto shaft internals. Since I already did the slip clutch before first use (frozen solid from the manufacturer) I’ll do the shaft internals next spring

 

[bigtiller]

If you slide the plastic protective "bell" cover that is over the u-joints, down and out of the way, you can grease the u-joint easily. The bell may have a small screw to remove or it may have 3 or 4 easily identifiable tabs to push in at the same time, in order to rotate and slide the bell out of the way.

Get one half of the driveshaft up on the bench where you can see and study it. This makes it a lot easier to figure out the puzzle.

 

[rkaufmann]

I replaced my original shaft cover with a Bare Co. PTO shield. Just pop out the red levers and you can slide either end of the shield back to expose the universals and then grease away. When done slide the covers back over the u-joints and relock the red levers They come in a small and large diameter version depending on your particular shaft and u-joint size.

Bare- Co Universal Small to Medium PTO Shield - S & H Farm Supply

Rick

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I NEVER let anyone ride on my rotary cutter, so I have no problem cutting what ever size hole I need in the guard, to get grease to either U-joint!!

SR

 

[Motorboatin]

Do people ride cutters??

 

[Drstrangeglove]

Do people ride cutters??

I wonder sometimes.

 

[kneedeep]

Change the zerk to a 90 or 45 degree to access it.
If I ever struggle to get my LocknLube on it, I change it and through the old zerk in the kit to reuse somewhere else.

 

[Overtaxed]

You think that's bad, try a batwing. There are so many lube points on my BW12 that it boggles the mind, and yes, about 1/2 of them seem to be covered by some sort of shield that needs removing. At least, on that cutter, it's not that bad to get them off, which, is a real good thing, because there are 4 PTO shafts on the thing that need greasing! Ujoints, CV joints, adjustments points, wheels.. It's like a 40 minute operation just to hit all the grease points, I'm pretty sure it has more than my small tractor with a backhoe on just the stupid cutter.

Rant over, back to the topic, some of my PTO shafts have a zerk in the middle of the shaft to grease the connection points between the 2 halves. Others I have to take apart and manually grease. Both are a PITA, but, as others have said, you don't need to do it that often, you're just preventing seizing with that grease, not actually lubricating a part that moves all the time. It's not like a wheel bearing or something that's getting action non-stop when you use it, only when you articulate the PTO shaft (generally going up and down on the 3 point). I grease mine in the spring and fall typically, or, for things I use less often, I just grease it when I put it up if I know it's gonna sit awhile. When I reconnect, I just make sure it's moving freely, I've never had one seize on me, so seems to be working OK.

Oh yeah, and if you don't have one, get a Lock and Lube. I actually have 2, one normal sized one and one extra long one on a different gun. The normal works for most things, but when I need the extra length, it's really nice to have (my zero turn has a zerk that's about impossible to get to without it, and it's real handy on other zerks to have a little extra length). Man, I use a lot of grease here. Like a Superfund site in the making when you figure all that grease winds up somewhere on my property as it oozes out.