Snowblower PTO Shaft on Snowblower

[Kbauer]

Hey everyone, been a lurker for a while but finally needed a hand with something that i couldn't already find asked in another thread.

I was given a 3 point snowblower by a friend. it functions perfectly other than the fact that someone has welded in all of the splines on the shaft! so the shaft on the snowblower is smooth(ish). i was wondering what i could do to either get it splined again, or attach a pto shaft to it so i can actually use it this winter.

I can take some pics if it helps.

my thoughts were either get a machinist to take out the welds and put the splines back in, or get an adapter welded on to give me the splines that way. or figure out how to get a smooth end on the shaft and use a bolt to connect it.

This is my first tractor (2010 NH Boomer 8n) so my terms might not be correct on everything but i'm getting the gist of it all.

Thanks for any help!

Ken

 

[Stonehaller]

If you can get a machine shop to grind the shaft true and cut a keyway in the shaft then you could get a smooth bore, keyed yoke to go on the shaft. The trouble with the shaft having been welded on is that is difficult to machine. Or, if you can get the shaft trued and get a hole drilled through then you may be able to use a smooth bore yoke with a shear pin hole in it. You may want to check the cost of a new shaft from the manufacturer verses the machining cost.

PTO shaft with smooth bore yoke on one end: Tractor Pto, Pto Drive Shaft | Agri Supply, 31361, Pto Shafts

Smooth bore keyed yoke: TX10061-5421 TX1610 1 3/8 X 6 SPL X 1" S

 

[bubbacuse77]

You can buy a new shaft, or you can go to any implement dealer and have them cut the current universal joint off the shaft and weld a new one on that has the splined connection for your blower.

 

[oosik]

I would go with a new shaft. It is very difficult to weld a new u-joint back on and maintain the specs of the original shaft. Its not simply a "clamp on" and weld up job. A little wobble can create a lot of problems.

 

[LD1]

Hard to say without pics...I am not sure what you have at the moment.

1. Is the splines just welded up?? Or is that half of the PRO shaft/yoke welded onto the splined shaft??

2. IF only the shaft has been welded, what does the PTO shaft yoke look like? Is it smooth bore?? or splined??

3. why was it welded?

Some pics would help great, but re-machining the splines is going to cost a fortune. Would be cheaper to get a new shaft.

I like the idea of having a machine shop just machine it round, to a common dimension like 1-1/4", and drill a hole through it. That shouldnt cost much, and any good machine shop wont have a bit of problems machining the weld. I have done it hundreds of times.

At that point, once you have a round shaft again, you can either use a PTO shaft with the shear pin as mentioned, or you can use a slip clutch made to fit the 1-1/4" round shaft...

 

[Kbauer]

I think i'll go with a new shaft since this is my first implement, i don't own a shaft for anything and the blower didn't come with one.

the shaft itself is in tact. it's just the splines that are filled in, I have no idea why it was welded as it came from an auction originally and then was given to me. the shaft does have a hole drilled into the shaft so it must have been used with a shear pin.

Thanks for all of your help! i'm in Canada so i'm not sure if Agrisupply ships up here but i will check it out or ask around locally. but that is definitely the route i will take.

Ken

 

[LD1]

It would either have been used with a shear pin, or with a slip clutch. You can get a slip clutch that uses a shear pin hole to hold it, just dont use a grade 2 shear pin, you use a higher grade bolt since the clutch would be what protects the driveline.

Like this: Slip Clutch Pto, Pto Parts | Agri Supply, 32323, Pto Slip Clutch

 

[Kbauer]

In case anyone was curious what this looked like, i also don't know who the manufacturer is either.

 

[LD1]

It almost looks like there was never any splines on there. But perhaps a siezed on PTO yoke that was torched and pounded off?????

 

[bubbacuse77]

This is why pictures are helpful. My understanding was that the actual PTO shaft was welded. I can buy PTO shafts that are smooth bore to fit over your blower shaft. Then you install a low grade bolt in the hole as shear bolt. Don't but a grade 8 in there or you could end up with some issues if something gets jammed in the blower, like a large chunk of ice.