Oil Instead of Grease for PTO Shaft

[aesmith]

Hi,
I just had to cut the shaft to length for our topper, and while I was in a PTO mood I checked and cleaned the shaft for the snowblower as well. What struck we was how sticky the inner section is with grease on it. It would be really easy to pick up grit and if that gets into the outer tube it would be a real PITA to clean out. So I was wondering if it would be OK to use gear oil instead of grease for the tubing, that way it would be easy to wipe down when I'm handling it, and if I got crud into the outer tube it would be easier to flush it out.

Any thought?

Thanks, Tony S

 

[Reb954]

Oil will just run out, grease is sticky so it will stay where it will do some good.

 

[jeff9366]

Centrifugal force of rotating PTO shaft will throw off oil in warm climates.

Maybe in relatively cool Scotland relatively high viscosity gear oil would hold for awhile. (?)

 

[mcfarmall]

Decades of using grease on PTO shafts is pretty good evidence of what works best.

Regardless, you would be wise to slide the shaft apart annually to clean and regrease it anyway.

 

[BRMyers]

Has anyone used PTFE spray on the PTO shafts?

 

[RickB]

Oil is fine so long as you keep applying it. Fluid Film works. Over time, grease will have to be cleaned off due to becoming thick and sticky. Anything with any lubricity will be better than nothing. Oil on the inside surface of a tube will not be flung off by centrifugal force.

 

[TheMan419]

Oil is fine so long as you keep applying it. Fluid Film works. Over time, grease will have to be cleaned off due to becoming thick and sticky. Anything with any lubricity will be better than nothing. Oil on the inside surface of a tube will not be flung off by centrifugal force.

Yep. I oil the PTO shaft every time
I use it. There is generally still oil there from last time.

Usually it is the bush hog. Gets oiled and run for 4 hrs or so.

 

[aesmith]

Thanks guys. Just a thought really, both the drive shafts I was working on have been cleaned, regreased and reassembled for use now. It just occurred to me while I was doing that, it would be a lot easier cleaning old oil rather than old grease. Next time I think I'll try gear oil on the topper's shaft. I'll leave the snowblower greased until I know what I'm doing, I like to leave that prepped and ready to hook up right away.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I use Fluid Film. I take the driveshaft apart after every use and wipe the inner part down with fresh oil. Also wipe down the PTO stubs on tractor and implement. And squirt some in the lock buttons too. Everything stays clean and easy to use.

 

[aesmith]

Thanks again. I wouldn't want to use anything that means I have to strip the shaft down after every use. On mine you can't actually get at the inner to wipe it down except by removing the outer shield which is a bit of a pain on these, with the possibility of breaking one of the plastic clips each time.