New Woods tiller problem.....

1734e · Mar 31, 2022

I'm very new to tractors and very mechanically dumb. Got me a 2019 Massey 1734E last summer with only 40 hrs on it, and not long after that I bought a new Woods RT60.40 5 ft reverse tine tiller for it. I didn't have a chance to put it on until a week or so ago with a neighbors help. He knows a little bit about tractors but wasn't sure how to measure the pto shaft so he helped get me get the tiller on and left me to decide what to do about measuring the pto shaft....I watched a few videos on youtube and decided to follow a video that showed measuring from groove to groove on tiller and tractor shafts making sure they were level with each other before measuring, took it to a hydraulics and tractor service shop down the rd and he cut it according to my measurements. Next day my neighbor came over to help finish attaching the shaft, leveling tiller and checking fluids. The shaft connected fine and everything seemed fine according to him and we started it up. On his advice i engaged pto with engine at idle and he said not to run it at a full 540 just start at idle and after engaged run it slow some above idle and not at 540. I was confused by this because what I was seeing in manual said run it at 540. So after I'm on my own with it I decide maybe he was just wrong and should run it at 540....I go about doing my first tilling ever and mistakenly doing so without reading through my manual which caused me to make some major mistakes. Some things I have learned after now reading the manual and watching some more videos is that 1 according to manual ....it being a new tiller and first run with it I should have done a clutch run in/slip clutch adjustment (still dont really know what that is or how to do it even after reading how to) 2 I started using it by getting tractor up to 540 ...tiller all the way up and engaging the pto too fast then lowering it into dirt. when done with a row I raised tiller all the way up still running until i got setup to do same on next row. I done about 4 35 ft rows like that on one garden and then took it to another garden and got a 50 ft row done and thats when i started hearing a clanking noise seeming to come from the top gear box. I shut it off and brought tractor back up to the house. The tines still turn and there isn't any hard vibrations or anything coming from tiller just the clanking noise. Guess I'm going to learn the hard way to read manuals and know a little more about what im doing seeing how its a pretty expensive fix to be making stupid mistakes and not taking time to know what im doing. My question is did I shear a pin or mess up something in the gear box or other? What's my next step? I'm sure from my faulty operation I've probably voided my warranty. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

jyoutz · Mar 31, 2022

1734e said:
I'm very new to tractors and very mechanically dumb. Got me a 2019 Massey 1734E last summer with only 40 hrs on it, and not long after that I bought a new Woods RT60.40 5 ft reverse tine tiller for it. I didn't have a chance to put it on until a week or so ago with a neighbors help. He knows a little bit about tractors but wasn't sure how to measure the pto shaft so he helped get me get the tiller on and left me to decide what to do about measuring the pto shaft....I watched a few videos on youtube and decided to follow a video that showed measuring from groove to groove on tiller and tractor shafts making sure they were level with each other before measuring, took it to a hydraulics and tractor service shop down the rd and he cut it according to my measurements. Next day my neighbor came over to help finish attaching the shaft, leveling tiller and checking fluids. The shaft connected fine and everything seemed fine according to him and we started it up. On his advice i engaged pto with engine at idle and he said not to run it at a full 540 just start at idle and after engaged run it slow some above idle and not at 540. I was confused by this because what I was seeing in manual said run it at 540. So after I'm on my own with it I decide maybe he was just wrong and should run it at 540....I go about doing my first tilling ever and mistakenly doing so without reading through my manual which caused me to make some major mistakes. Some things I have learned after now reading the manual and watching some more videos is that 1 according to manual ....it being a new tiller and first run with it I should have done a clutch run in/slip clutch adjustment (still dont really know what that is or how to do it even after reading how to) 2 I started using it by getting tractor up to 540 ...tiller all the way up and engaging the pto too fast then lowering it into dirt. when done with a row I raised tiller all the way up still running until i got setup to do same on next row. I done about 4 35 ft rows like that on one garden and then took it to another garden and got a 50 ft row done and thats when i started hearing a clanking noise seeming to come from the top gear box. I shut it off and brought tractor back up to the house. The tines still turn and there isn't any hard vibrations or anything coming from tiller just the clanking noise. Guess I'm going to learn the hard way to read manuals and know a little more about what im doing seeing how its a pretty expensive fix to be making stupid mistakes and not taking time to know what im doing. My question is did I shear a pin or mess up something in the gear box or other? What's my next step? I'm sure from my faulty operation I've probably voided my warranty. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

I had a woods brand tiller for over 20 years and always ran it at 540 RPMs. Pto operated implements are designed to run at 540. It is probably a good idea to engage the implement at a lower RPM, then increase to 540 as you start working the implement. That said, I usually didn’t follow my own advice and did engage the implement at 540. Never had a problem with the tiller and I just sold it to my neighbor still working fine. Yes, you are supposed to slip and adjust the slip clutch annually, but I did this infrequently. I doubt that you did anything to damage the tiller. I would ask your dealer to turn in a warranty claim on the tiller. Or perhaps the clanking is something simple. Is the driveline cover chain banging on the gearbox or is the clanking internal? The slip clutch should protect the gearbox from damage in normal operations.

1734e · Mar 31, 2022

jyoutz said:
I had a woods brand tiller for over 20 years and always ran it at 540 RPMs. Pto operated implements are designed to run at 540. It is probably a good idea to engage the implement at a lower RPM, then increase to 540 as you start working the implement. That said, I usually didn’t follow my own advice and did engage the implement at 540. Never had a problem with the tiller and I just sold it to my neighbor still working fine. Yes, you are supposed to slip and adjust the slip clutch annually, but I did this infrequently. I doubt that you did anything to damage the tiller. I would ask your dealer to turn in a warranty claim on the tiller. Or perhaps the clanking is something simple. Is the driveline cover chain banging on the gearbox or is the clanking internal? The slip clutch should protect the gearbox from damage in normal operations.

Thanks for replying.....I will have to check on the chain banging, and will check again if there is anything else that could be causing the clanking..loose tines or obstructions. It was operating fine at first no clanking just started to after around 40 minutes of tilling. I will make sure after I get to using it again that I will engage at a lower rpm then increase to 540. Thanks again

Dmacleo · Mar 31, 2022

One loose time can sound like the hound of hell are inside tiller.i know that for a fact on my woods 4ft unit.
Luckily 5 year gearbox warranty.

LD1 · Mar 31, 2022

Is there oil in the top and side gearbox? Sometimes implements are shipped dry and you have to fill them with oil before use

oldballs · Mar 31, 2022

After several successful years use of my tiller, I had the "clanking" noise just recently. It functioned...tilled just fine. After finishing, I looked the attachment all over. Turns out that the plastic safety cover had come loose on one end. The inside was mangled. It looks like I'll have to buy somenew parts for the shield, a whole new shield or just leave the darn thing off.

Cheers,
Mike

JWR · Mar 31, 2022

Is that clanking all the time or just when the unit is raised high ? Most if not all 3pt implements can create a fairly loud clanking noise if you raise the 3pt hitch too high while running. This causes the U-joints in the driveline to be at an extreme (greater) angle and they make a noise. Try lowering the tiller to just above the ground and run it at the std 540 rpm. If it still clanks then you have something loose to be investigated.

sea2summit · Mar 31, 2022

JWR said:
Is that clanking all the time or just when the unit is raised high ? Most if not all 3pt implements can create a fairly loud clanking noise if you raise the 3pt hitch too high while running. This causes the U-joints in the driveline to be at an extreme (greater) angle and they make a noise. Try lowering the tiller to just above the ground and run it at the std 540 rpm. If it still clanks then you have something loose to be investigated.

Also, did you grease the U-joints? Do you feel any slop (if you turn the shaft by hand with the tractor off does it rattle or skip)?

Dmacleo · Mar 31, 2022

just gonna reiterate this.
5 year gearbox warranty.
make your dealer look it at.

Buckeye Guy · Apr 1, 2022

Does the clanking noise sound in sync with the RPM, for example if you slow the engine down does the sound slow down too? Can you isolate the sound to just the top gearbox, or could it possibly the the top ujoint on the PTO shaft? Roughly what is the angle of the shaft? Had a horrible sound coming from another implement and it turned out to be the ujoint.
Following, I am fairly new to tilling myself but haven't had anything like that yet