B2782B Front Snowblower Mounting Problem

[TimP]

HI. All.

I attempted to mount my Front Snowblower today (Kubota B2782B) on my B3000.

This particular model uses, what is called, a "Sled" undercarriage mount.

It uses a long drive shaft connected to the Mid-PTO and a much shorter one from the sled to the Blower itself.

It has a rectangular piece of metal connecting to the blower instead of the usual splined PTO.

For the life of me, I could not get the rectangular connecting piece to go into the female connector. Both ends were a little rusty, but I've seen worse.

I greased both sides up well before I tried. Could only get it inserted about 1-1/2 inches before it just stopped. I had to actually bang it out to get it to release.

I then used a wire brush brush the inside (female side) and the male side. I also used a screw driver to probe the inside of the female connect to check for any burrs.

They seemed pretty good. But they absolutely refused to mate and the male part got stuck inside the female part and nothing I could do would make them separate.

Sadly, with that little drive shaft stuck, I could not use the front snowblower.

I was hoping to not have to call my local dealer to pick it up for repair, but I am at a loss on what to do.

I tried a few other things to separate them, but I am being too long winded as it is.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[bigtiller]

pictures would help us figure it out

 

[jfsawatzky]

Are both ends of the short shaft connected when you have the problem? Try disconnecting the other end first and then try to remove the short shaft at the blower. If you get it apart, try connecting the short shaft at the blower first and then connect it to the other section.

 

[TimP]

I'll try to get a few pictures to help show my problem.

But yes, BOTH of the "Short" drive shaft part are joined together.... and Stuck/frozen together.

They are joined with a rectangular style end(s). Female rectangle and Male rectangle.

They are Stuck-Stuck-Stuck !

The female end is the end coming from the blower and I don't know how to remove that part.

If I can figure out how to remove that part I can take it to a shop and I'm sure they can "uncouple" it and figure out why it froze together.

Also, I now see that while banging on the universal joint to get the pieces apart, the Grease Zerk came out.

I am so frustrated.

I am grateful for all the help/suggestions.

 

[TimP]

Are both ends of the short shaft connected when you have the problem? Try disconnecting the other end first and then try to remove the short shaft at the blower. If you get it apart, try connecting the short shaft at the blower first and then connect it to the other section.

Yes, that's my problem.

Both ends are connected.... and stuck. They won't move so I can't couple the splines of the shaft to the mount/sled.

The pictures don't help a whole lot as the shield are in the wa yof showing the ends of the couplers.

But both ends that mesh together are a rectangular hole. (Male & Female).

We jammed them together, and now they will not come apart.

Used WD40, Lube-Blaster but they are still stuck.

If I can figure out how to disconnect the one part attached to the blower, it would help a lot. I can take it to the dealer for him to get it apart.

 

[Williy]

Use a wedge and gently tap them into place first one side then the other or both at the
same time

willy

 

[BleedingOrange]

With my shafts, there is only one way they fit together. One of the splines is actually wider than the others, and has to fit into the corresponding grove of the other shaft. Are you 100% positive that someone didn,t force them together when they were mis-aligned ? Gently get them apart, and have a real good look at both ends that go together. After fighting with this problem the first time I put mine together, I marked both sides with a paint line and now they aren,t a pain to slide together.

 

[TimP]

Use a wedge and gently tap them into place first one side then the other or both at the
same time

willy

They are already tapped together. The problem is that they are frozen/wedged together and won't slide in and out of each other to allow connecting to both PTO ends. It's a odd rectangular male/female coupling and now I can't get them apart.

I attached a picture of the female end.

 

[TimP]

With my shafts, there is only one way they fit together. One of the splines is actually wider than the others, and has to fit into the corresponding grove of the other shaft. Are you 100% positive that someone didn,t force them together when they were mis-aligned ? Gently get them apart, and have a real good look at both ends that go together. After fighting with this problem the first time I put mine together, I marked both sides with a paint line and now they aren,t a pain to slide together.

This coupling isn't the usual splined type with a "keyway". It's a rectangular opening (male/female). Only one way to go together. But perhaps they were a little too rusty to go together. But I wire brushed them, greased them, and used some liquid wrench on them.

They will not move.

If I can figure out how to remove the end attached to the blower, I can prolly get them apart.

 

[jfsawatzky]

So the blower and front two pto peices are not mounted to the tractor and subframe? Do you have a jackall? Try and lash one end of the pto to the jack the other end against the blower and then use to separate them?
Initially I was thinking everything was attached to your tractor and subframe but the photos show otherwise.

 

[mikehengton215]

It sounds like the rust and tight fit may be causing the issue with the drive shaft connection. I recommend applying a penetrating oil to both parts and letting it sit for a while to loosen any services corrosion. If the parts still won’t separate, consider using a puller tool or reaching out to a dealer for professional help, especially if the shaft is stuck.

 

[TimP]

So the blower and front two pto peices are not mounted to the tractor and subframe? Do you have a jackall? Try and lash one end of the pto to the jack the other end against the blower and then use to separate them?
Initially I was thinking everything was attached to your tractor and subframe but the photos show otherwise.

The two PTO shafts are connected to each other (jammed) and attached to the snowblower, but not to the subframe.

I tried pulling them apart, tapping them apart, and spraying them with a penetrating oil.

Nothing seems to be able to get them apart.

I still need to see how to remove the PTO shaft from the Snowblower so I can just take the two stuck pieces to the dealer.

 

[TimP]

It sounds like the rust and tight fit may be causing the issue with the drive shaft connection. I recommend applying a penetrating oil to both parts and letting it sit for a while to loosen any services corrosion. If the parts still won’t separate, consider using a puller tool or reaching out to a dealer for professional help, especially if the shaft is stuck.clearing out any grit/particles in the fittings.

I gave them a good dose of spray but couldn't get the spray into them since they are stuck together.

I did spray coat them with some grease prior to putting them together. I did try tapping them together at first and was able to pull them apart.

That's when I gave them a good dose of spray before I put them back together and tapped them pretty hard in hopes of breaking loose whatever grit/dirt may have been inside the fittings.

I guess banging them together was my fatal mistake.

I did see that the grease Zerk was damaged and came out during the attempts to tap them apart.

I hope a new grease Zerk will just screw back into the hole.

 

[bigtiller]

The two PTO shafts are connected to each other (jammed) and attached to the snowblower, but not to the subframe.

I tried pulling them apart, tapping them apart, and spraying them with a penetrating oil.

Nothing seems to be able to get them apart.

I still need to see how to remove the PTO shaft from the Snowblower so I can just take the two stuck pieces to the dealer.

Can you roll the snowblower over far enough to see the bottom side of it? That way, you or someone here, could probably figure out how the pto shaft is secured to the snowblower

 

[leonz]

Here is the manual for your snow blower.

Page 30 shows items 18 and 19 which are the long bolt and nut that hold that half of the shaft.

I am glad I did not buy kubota with a front mount snow blower.

 

[CalG]

A slide hammer and some binder wire would have those shafts apart in less than 1/2 hour!

 

[zzvyb6]

I've used my vehicle hoist to slowly pull those shafts apart. I didn't want to yank them and possible bend them. When they do come apart, paint the male end and shove it in until they bind a little. Then pull it out and look to see where the paint has be scratched off. This may tell you that a surface grinder is all that's needed to round out a corner or 2. Yes I know the shaft ends are supposedly keyed, but check to see that the inner yokes of the U-joints at each end are exactly in phase (they look to be the same from both ends. If the shaft keying pin is removable, grind it off and insert the male 180 degrees from where it was. Perhaps the pin was installed incorrectly. If so, you would also have to change one end of the driveshaft yoke to preserve its phasing

 

[TimP]

Can you roll the snowblower over far enough to see the bottom side of it? That way, you or someone here, could probably figure out how the pto shaft is secured to the snowblower

It's 400 Lbs so not easy to flip it. I will have to wait for some help.

In the meantime, someone told me that there is a bolt that secures the shaft using a compression collar and a keyway pin held in place with an allen screw.

If I can figure out how to remove that metal shaft guard, it would be a lot easier. From the parts diagram, it looks like just some nuts/washers hold it in place.

 

[TimP]

Hi All. Once again, THANK YOU ALL for the help, support & Guidance in my quest to separate the two PT shafts.

It's been cold and rainy here the last week, so I didn't really have a chance to work on this problem. I did move the snow blower to a different loaction, then dismounted the "Sled" from the tractpr so I could mount my FEL as I would need it to load the blower on a trailer (if I had one) to take it to the shop.

After I moved the blower to a slightly better location to work on it, the first thing I did was try to release the Shaft Guard(s).

NOPE! feel like a complete idiot, but I could NOT see how to release the shaft guard. If I could to that, I could not move it over the universal joint, but it would allow e to better squirt my liquid wrench into the stuck parts.

SO I just blindly squirted the parts with a healthy amount of Liquid Wrench.

Next, I thought I would release/detach the female PTO portion from snow blower. How hard could that be?

It's a tight area, but I did manage to get the thru bolt and nylon nut removed. OK... I figured the rest would be easy. NOPE !!!

I was unable to remove (or even loosen) the set screw. I sprayed it liberally with Liquid Wrench too, but to no avail.

I actually bent my allen wrench trying to loosen it. I gave up any further attempts in fear I would strip the set screw.

What now??? I came up with the bright idea to hang the blower up in the air (just a few inches) by securing a chain thru the Universal joint to the male end.

Then hung it in the air using my FEL overnight. (Of curse I gave it a few more liberal sprays of Liquid wrench.)

While it was hanging, I tried whacking the shafts with a board in hopes the vibration would help the Liquid Wrench soak in, and maybe even cause the parts to separate. No luck.

The next day (Today), I sprayed the parts again as best I could, and whacked them some more.

As a last resort, I tried using my FEL to raise and lower the blower , rather forcefully (read "jerking action"), and prayed they would come apart.

SUCCESS !!!! They separated.... YIPEE !

Now I have to remember to go back and tighten the Bolt & Nut back up and see if the Set screw has loosened up at all.

I will see if I can purchase a wire brush on a long shaft to run into the female part of the shaft and hopefully clean it out some.

The male part of the shaft, I will go hard at it with a wire brush on a drill in hope I can clean it up as well.

Of course, I still have to figure out how to release the safety shield on the shafts.

I'll keep you all posted.

 

[TimP]

leonz, Thanks a bunch for the Owners/parts manual.

It helps a lot.