John Deere 345 pto clutch noise.

[QuantumRift]

Well, good to know. And yea, things can fall off...LOL...I first thought I could hold the drive belt and torque the bolt to 46-49 ft-lbs but no go. I pulled a plug and inserted several feet of rope into the cylinder and when the piston jammed against it and allowed me to torque the bolt properly. Then just move the engine a bit and the rope pulls right out, it was much easier for me than to be under the tractor on a lift and trying to squeeze the belt whilst holding a heavy 1/2 inch drive torque wrench....LOL.

Reviving this thread just to say thanks for all who contributed. My X540 PTO bolt broke off and like others, the bottom two pieces of the clutch fell off. I just went through the repair and this thread helped greatly. A few things to add:

First, nothing just "falls off" on a 10-yr-old machine...the upper part of the clutch was firmly attached to the shaft. I was able to get a 2-jaw puller on it, and it came off.

After grinding off the rivets on the brake, I was able to use M5 bolts to re-attach. They are snug in the holes, but fit well. When popping out the rivets, VERY important to be gentle. The edge of one of the magnets cracked just a bit; nothing serious, but definitely don't want to pound on it - magnets are brittle.

I struggled to keep the engine from turning over when I torqued the PTO bolt. Finally discovered I could grab both sides of the drive belt, squeeze them together real tight and that was enough to keep the pulley from turning.

Thanks again.

 

[QuantumRift]

Here's an update, and I apologize for not updating this earlier -

After the sheared bolt was removed, I installed another bolt and a new cupped washer, and it too sheared.

At that point, I took the JD mechanic's advice and ordered a new clutch and drive pulley. I purchased an "Ox Clutch" off eBay out of Oregon), and purchased a new drive belt pulley form another vendor on Amazon. The Ox Clutch was supposedly the correct clutch, but do to its construction, there was no way I was able to install it ($150). Anyways, to make a long story short, I had to return it with no issues, and I just bought a new JD Clutch at the local JD Equipment in Lancaster OH. They were within $3 of online prices so I just got it thru them.


The old pulley was very worn on its face (the side facing the PTO clutch), and it didn't take much to get if off the crankshaft. I cleaned up the crankshaft, and used new keys, and installed the new pulley and new clutch. I torqued the bolt (with new cup washer) to 49 ft-lbs and it's been working great ever since. I can see due to the wear, the bolt was taking all the torque when the old clutch engaged, and being against the pulley, sheared the bolt. Problem solved. Been mowing all summer without issues.

 

[tomplum]

Good deal. Thanks for the update.