Tiller howse 70 wide tiller - rebuild or replace rusty pto knuckle

[dsquires16]

I am a new owner of a very weathered looking Howse RTC70" rotary tiller. the gearboxes and bearings seem fine. The challenge is the pto connection to the tractor.
When I picked it up, the pto shaft was in two pieces, it looks like the tractor end of the pto shaft has been sitting well into the dirt for a long time. I power washed it clean to get all the packed dirt/mud and loose rust off. It took about a half can of wd40 to get the ring/release to move and the u joint to flex and I see the grease zerk is missing. used a can of break clean to flush out the joint but it is very crusty. So it does need a new universal joint. challenge is that the clips to retain the universal joint are gone, as in rusted away. the retention groves look like the do have what is left of the c clips. How rusty is too rusty? I'm guessing it is an exercise to dremel/wire brush the pto yoke's c-clip grooves, apply generous heat and then try to push them out. Any tips from you more experienced shade tree mechanics or professional mechanics?

I'll have to post pictures this evening.

 

[CincyFlyer]

For not much more than a hundred bucks, you can replace the whole PTO drive shaft.

 

[dsquires16]

Do you have a good source for a PTO shaft for just over a hundred? I was thinking it will be much more than just a hundred as it has a slip clutch end on the tiller. Maybe I should plan to remove the stock spline end to put on my slip clutch end. might have to have a backup u-joint in case I ruin it.

I've been looking at PTO shafts, they are all $200 plus that I can find locally and about the same when shipped from online.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[wolf515]

Not sure if they could help, but a local driveshaft shop might be able to rebuild for less than a new shaft delivered.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Now that you have the coupler moving, it shouldn't be too hard to clean out the snap ring grooves with a power brush and maybe a Dremel tool. I would just replace the universal joint rather than expense of the whole knuckle joint even if I had to pay someone at a machine shop to repair it, still cheaper than a new PTO shaft. Snap rings are cheap and U joint shouldn't be over $20

 

[dsquires16]

Thanks for the comments. Got it all cleaned up and apart. Broke my vise in the process of trying to push the old u joint out. I ended up getting it appart with a punch, socket and a small sledge hammer. It was really crusty with rust so I Emory paper polished the holes where the u joint cups go. Now I知 having a time finding the right size u joint. NAPA did not have the right size and neither did two other parts shops I stopped at. I値l try a driveline shop next.

 

[countrybumpkin]

Oh they probably had them, they just didn’t know how to find them because they couldn’t punch in the info on the keyboard.

 

[TMGT]

Does it have a slip clutch and if so what condition is it in?
When I bought my Howards tiller (JD 660) the pto shaft had a lose u-joint which wasn't a big deal but the slip clutch was toast/rusted solid.

Ended up costing a little over $100 for a complete shaft with slip clutch from Agri Supply, if you don't have a store nearby it cost a bit to ship it but still cheaper and faster then trying to repair the old one.

 

[dsquires16]

Does it have a slip clutch and if so what condition is it in?
When I bought my Howards tiller (JD 660) the pto shaft had a lose u-joint which wasn't a big deal but the slip clutch was toast/rusted solid.

Ended up costing a little over $100 for a complete shaft with slip clutch from Agri Supply, if you don't have a store nearby it cost a bit to ship it but still cheaper and faster then trying to repair the old one.

it has a 'yoke' style slip clutch with large center nut to tension. It looks patina rusty, but cannot tell if frozen up until the PTO shaft is rebuilt with the new u joint arriving this week.
worst case scenario, it that the slip clutch is rust frozen solid and will not slip. best case, I can loosen the large nut and allow it to slip before re tightening. I have no idea what torgue setting to use.
if the slip clutch cannot be slipped, I'll have to see about a new slip clutch that will slide onto a 12 spline shaft.

 

[dsquires16]

here is a better picture of the clutch