Bolens 1668 pto clutch misalignment

[CutTheHolesOut]

I have a Bolens 1668 that’s been working great for me. Last week I was mowing, then I shut the pto off for 30-45 seconds or so, and it didn’t engage when I tried flipping the switch. Upon further inspection, I found the pto assembly was very hot. Once it cooled down, it turned back on without any problem. I finished mowing for the 5 minutes I had left and all was good. Since then, I’ve googled what could cause that. I adjusted the clutch gap to 0.014” and mowed again today. It was still hot. The only thing I can think of now is that the belt is misaligned and rubbing on the pulley, causing it to heat up. But I don’t see a way to adjust the alignment. Looking for the advice of some of you more experienced folks to see what you would do in a situation like this. Thank you

 

[Mike1955]

You may be right, or maybe not. It’s possible that the windings in the clutch are getting hot. It’s also possible that the clutch is slipping also getting hot. I’ve never seen a miss alignment cause that much heat but it’s possible. Good luck

 

[CutTheHolesOut]

You may be right, or maybe not. It’s possible that the windings in the clutch are getting hot. It’s also possible that the clutch is slipping also getting hot. I’ve never seen a miss alignment cause that much heat but it’s possible. Good luck

Do you know how I would go about diagnosing any of those possibilities?

 

[TMGT]

I don't have experience with the 1668, just the older Bolens, but i would look at the motor mounts first and see if the engine has shifted. If not, I would check that the bearings on the lower pto shaft are still good and the pulley and/or shaft hasn't moved.

It doesn't appear that the clutch pulley has shifted.

As for the heat, electric pto clutches get pretty hot, but if the bearings in the clutch go bad it can cause aot of heat build up when the clutch is disengaged. So check the bearings in the clutch also. Outside of that it appears you have already corrected any air gap issues. Only other thing to do would be check the resistance of the clutch coil and makes sure the diode is working.

 

[Mike1955]

Cut the holes I guess just continue working with it. Turn the PTO on not under a load and see if it does the same. If you could hear maybe a hum it could be the clutch coil. Visual observation as best you can. Just check everything really good. You will find out something

 

[CutTheHolesOut]

I don't have experience with the 1668, just the older Bolens, but i would look at the motor mounts first and see if the engine has shifted. If not, I would check that the bearings on the lower pto shaft are still good and the pulley and/or shaft hasn't moved.

It doesn't appear that the clutch pulley has shifted.

As for the heat, electric pto clutches get pretty hot, but if the bearings in the clutch go bad it can cause aot of heat build up when the clutch is disengaged. So check the bearings in the clutch also. Outside of that it appears you have already corrected any air gap issues. Only other thing to do would be check the resistance of the clutch coil and makes sure the diode is working.

I didn’t even think about checking if the engine shifted forward. I hope not because the bolts are impossible to get to on these