I was mowing my 2 acre front yard and was half way done when I smelled something funny. I was coming down a hill and looked down to my left and noticed smoke by the PTO. I immediately pushed the PTO off and hit the brake. The engine suddenly died. I let it cool for hours and tried to restart after inspection and oil check. All appeared fine. There was no belt burn or markings, but it sounds like a grinding noise is occurring during the engine turning over. Any idea what I could be dealing with? It's an L130 with a 23hp Kohler engine. I keep it well maintained: oil, plugs, air filter, new deck spindles, new mower belt ( 20hrs), and new blades. It haz 220hrs and is 5 yrs old.
L130 Grind
- Thread starter Bfavro
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Johndeere3720
Padawan Tractor Learner, Advertiser
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2009
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- 3,965
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- NW Oregon
- Tractor
- Bobcat T62, MT55, E42R, E10, John Deere 4100
You could have a bearing out on your engine. My L118 has 260 hours and still is going strong. Regular maintenance was done early this year @ 30 hours. :thumbsup: Wanna take care of it. 
Hope you can get it fixed.
Hope you can get it fixed. jenkinsph
Super Star Member
I would check the pto clutch as they don't last very long. Mine lasted about 150 hours with frequent engaging and disengaging, now I am much more careful using it less frequently and hope to get more hours out of the replacement.
Spoke to the service area where I just recently bought another JD tractor. I was told that it sounds like 1 or more of the idler pulleys has gone and that the smoke was likely coming from the belt. I need to get up under there this weekend and see if this confirms. If so it should be a fairly easy and inexpensive repair!
BATTY54
Silver Member
Bring your deck serial number with you there are two different decks depending on year of the L130, two different belts and idler setups.
I found out the hard way bought a belt as a spare and went to use it a few years later guess what, early style belt it was too short. All worked out though, I bought another used L130 and it uses the early style parts.
I found out the hard way bought a belt as a spare and went to use it a few years later guess what, early style belt it was too short. All worked out though, I bought another used L130 and it uses the early style parts.
Just got back around to investigating this further. It appears the PTO clutch relay wiring got tangled around the PTO. All belts were fine. I thought that the tangle would explain the smoke and noise. I pulled the deck, reattached the wires appropriately, made sure they were out of moving parts way, and attempted to turn the tractor over. The wiring got "re"tangled around the PTO and I heard the noise again! The noise (previously reported as a grind) sounds more like a "bang" when I get someone to turn the machine over and I get underneath to observe/listen. I disconnected the relay wiring completely from the clutch and had it turned over again to see if I would still hear the noise. It sounds like the bang is at a single point in the PTO spin. The steering linkage appears really close. This is probably by design but it looks suspicious.
How do I know if the PTO clutch is bad? Would it make a noise (like this) in cranking the machine over...?
How do I know if the PTO clutch is bad? Would it make a noise (like this) in cranking the machine over...?
BATTY54
Silver Member
Is the hold strap still there? It is a metal bracket that goes between the frame and a elongated hole in the clutch also a plastic insert in the hole to cusion and stop the clunk noise when you engage the PTO. I seems by your description the clutch has spun tangling up the wires. The bearings in the clutch can go bad and do this also. Go to Yahoo Groups " L100 Club " there is a recent article about this very thing. The group owner posted his direction on lubing the bearings and replacing them also.
Link To Yahoo Group
John_Deere_L100_Club : John Deere L100, LA100 & 100 Series Club
Link To Yahoo Group
John_Deere_L100_Club : John Deere L100, LA100 & 100 Series Club
Last edited:
jenkinsph
Super Star Member
Most likely you need to change out the pto clutch pack and fyi it comes with a new strap to hold it in place. This is a common failure with these units.
I would recommend you limit the frequency of engaging and disengaging the pto clutch or you will be facing this again soon.
I would recommend you limit the frequency of engaging and disengaging the pto clutch or you will be facing this again soon.
Got a new PTO clutch today. The old one was definitely bad. I think a bearing is bad. It seems to turn and the strap pops in and out of place. That was the noise i was hearing. How do i remove the old one? The shaft just turns if i try to remove the center bolt. Do i need any special tools?
jenkinsph
Super Star Member
No special tools needed that I am aware of. I had one of my guys change out the clutch and he didn't have any problems. I will take a look at it in the morning to see what you need to do and post afterwards.
