Did I Dodge a Bullet?

[crashz]

Was bush-hogging this weekend with the L2501 for a few hours and hit a rock. A big, solid piece of NH granite. Due to the location I could not lift (my first response) the cutter as the front of the tractor inclining sharply as I went forward and therefore keeping it at the cutting height. By the time I realized that lift was no good, I was out of it. But it was 5-7 seconds of severe banging and horrible sounds /vibrations. I stopped the machine, let it idle down and realized the cutter stopped spinning. Was idling and panicked that the PTO was busted. But looked down and saw the PTO lever was in the off position. Hmmmmm...

Now, this cutter has a slip clutch that I admittedly have not adjusted. I think its rusted solid. Before its used again, I will fix this or add a new one.

I left the PTO off for a minute, checked the blades (a little rounder than before, but no major harm), got back on and fired up the cutter. All is well. No strange noises. Finished the job, went home and cut my lawn with the finish mower. Turned the PTO on and off as needed, maybe 6 or more times since. No problems.

Was this the ultimate piece of good luck? God's hand? Fantastic Japanese engineering? All three? I know I didn't shut it off.

Any thoughts or explanation on this? Anything I should check or maintain (other than fix that slip clutch!)? I just did the 50 hr service, but a full fluid change was not required. Maybe I should change it out? I'm thinking my local church could use an extra donation...

 

[ovrszd]

Unusual. Must have shocked it hard enough to dislodge the controls.

Definitely work on the slip clutch.

 

[Fallon]

You need to loosen & clean a slip clutch annually at a minimum.

When I did the maintnance on my tiller last year it was an eye opener. I loosened up all the bolts so they were flopping around loose & it wasn't loose at all. I jammed a 2x4 into the tiller tines & fired it up at an idle. There was a nice loud bang. The tiller cut over half way through the 2x4 before the clutch let loose.

Nothing but rust & junk glued it together enough to cut well over half way through a 2x4. Add that to the properly tightened bolts & it wouldnt ever slip. Make sure you loosen it up & run it a bit while slipping to polish off any rust & pitting.

 

[oldballs]

I like your slip clutch method Fallon...........not very complicated and does a good job from what I can envision.

 

[nybirdman]

You were lucky for sure;could have been real expensive.Now purchase a new slip clutch and service every year;about a 15 minute job.On mine ;I loosen and back into some brush to stop the blades,let it spin for a minute and retighten.
On my tiller;the same but just lower to engage the tines.

 

[ccsial]

You need to loosen & clean a slip clutch annually at a minimum.

When I did the maintnance on my tiller last year it was an eye opener. I loosened up all the bolts so they were flopping around loose & it wasn't loose at all. I jammed a 2x4 into the tiller tines & fired it up at an idle. There was a nice loud bang. The tiller cut over half way through the 2x4 before the clutch let loose.

Nothing but rust & junk glued it together enough to cut well over half way through a 2x4. Add that to the properly tightened bolts & it wouldnt ever slip. Make sure you loosen it up & run it a bit while slipping to polish off any rust & pitting.

That sounds like it could be hard on the PTO. I wouldn't try it with My L3400 HST as the PTO's on them seem to be fragile anyway. It is a good way to break it loose though.

 

[ovrszd]

That sounds like it could be hard on the PTO. I wouldn't try it with My L3400 HST as the PTO's on them seem to be fragile anyway. It is a good way to break it loose though.

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend any method that prevents the implement from turning. Put a load on it and if that doesn't work you might want to disassemble the clutch. They are amazingly simple to take apart.

 

[Oldoak]

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend any method that prevents the implement from turning. Put a load on it and if that doesn't work you might want to disassemble the clutch. They are amazingly simple to take apart.

With my Land Pride tiller, I just back off the bolts on the slip clutch the number of turns specified in the Owners Manual and with the tiller and tines firmly planted on the ground, then engage the PTO. Never failed to free the clutch every Spring.

 

[Fallon]

I'm sure it wasnt great for the PTO on my tractor. I wasnt expecting it to be that stuck together though. The slip clutch isnt that hard to loosen & what not, other than its underneath bracing on my tiller. I already leave the back of my 3pt tower bracket off permenantly so I can get to the PTO shaft grease zerks & get to both sides of the nuts/bolts on the clutch without 4' long arms.

As a FYI, there is a 2nd less common slip clutch. I've got one on my 3pt trencher. It's more or less a bowl containing the plates. The 4 bolts on one end are for compressing the spring. You tighten the nuts down, it compresses the spring. Then when the pressure is off the retention plate you can bend the sides of the bowl near the outer rim so the plate & guts come out. Not nearly as easy to service. It tends to not be that big of a deal in practice as it's easy to gradually increase the load until things slip. My L4060 has more power than the clutch will transmit & I dont have rocks & roots. Trencher - Google Photos

 

[repete]

I loosen the springs occasionally, let it slip some, and then retighten the springs. When I am tilling I will use a point and shoot thermometer to check the clutch temperatures under a high load and if it raises in temperature I know it is slipping and then go to do some regular tilling. If it cools down again I think I am good. Also, if you paint a line across the clutch pieces you can see if it has slipped.