3-Point Hitch L4610 pto issues

aries9245 · Jun 22, 2015

Good morning gents first time posting! Great site enjoy reading all your post ok I have a Kubota l4610 that just stared to chatter and pop out of pto with my bush hog running .. Any ideas what I could check to see if it's an adjustment or damage to pto gears .. Kubota dealer wants $1600 to rip open and fix what ever it is ? Any help would be appreciated..

Thanks again
Joe

Grandad4 · Jun 22, 2015

aries9245 said:
Good morning gents first time posting! Great site enjoy reading all your post ok I have a Kubota l4610 that just stared to chatter and pop out of pto with my bush hog running .. Any ideas what I could check to see if it's an adjustment or damage to pto gears .. Kubota dealer wants $1600 to rip open and fix what ever it is ? Any help would be appreciated..

Thanks again
Joe

Check the cable linkage for the engagement control first. My L4610 had a similar problem because the cable was not secure to the lever on the side of the transmission. That was long ago and it has been fine ever since the cable was secured in place better. Given the age of your tractor, if it has been out in the elements, the cable itself may be binding up. Periodic lubing with penetrating oil, WD40, etc. helps keep all the parts moving smoothly.

rbargeron · Jun 22, 2015

How would you describe the "chatter"? If your L4610 has HST the pto clutch is a spring-loaded jaw-type coupling. Could be as simple as a sticky linkage. Any noises when pto is disengaged? Does pto stay engaged if you hold the lever? Did the mower tangle with a rock or stump recently (before this started?) If gears are damaged they may still run but can cause more damage - best not to run pto under load until the problem is figured out. Good luck, Dick B

aries9245 · Jul 1, 2016

rbargeron said:
How would you describe the "chatter"? If your L4610 has HST the pto clutch is a spring-loaded jaw-type coupling. Could be as simple as a sticky linkage. Any noises when pto is disengaged? Does pto stay engaged if you hold the lever? Did the mower tangle with a rock or stump recently (before this started?) If gears are damaged they may still run but can cause more damage - best not to run pto under load until the problem is figured out. Good luck, Dick B

This all seemed to happen while brush hogging a field going over a few Russian olive bushes since then it does it frequently no noise when not engaged also no noise until under a load... Kinda a chatter then lever pops out.

rbargeron · Jul 2, 2016

Assuming its an HST machine, lube and adjust the pto cable for full throw as Grandad4 says above. Then try holding it fully engaged while mowing. Still popping out under load would point to coupling or gear damage. GST's have a hydraulic pto coupling but similar gears. Either way it may need to be split for parts in the mid-case behind the transmission. Good luck, Dick B

Grandad4 · Jul 2, 2016

aries9245 said:
This all seemed to happen while brush hogging a field going over a few Russian olive bushes since then it does it frequently no noise when not engaged also no noise until under a load... Kinda a chatter then lever pops out.

There are two detents in the channel that lock the PTO lever in either the "engage" or "disengage" position (or at least there are supposed to be such). Unless the lever itself or the cable is damaged in some way, it would be very odd for the lever to lift itself out of the detent slot and slide toward the other position. (There aren't any mischievious leprechauns lurking about are there? :laughing

Speaking of leprecauns, if you're lucky, it's something in that lever and cable mechanism, which ought to be fairly easy to repair, and Dick has covered the other, less fortunate alternative.

By the way, have you tried to physically secure the lever in the "engaged" position (using whatever is handy for that purpose)?