PTO shaft replacement(Caroni TM1900 flail)

[King of the Road]

The top link fell out of my 3 point hitch yesterday and the result was a split PTO shaft(female tube).

My trusty tape measure tells me that the shaft will be a 32"-40" replacement shaft.

Tractor Supply wants $300 or so and Northern Tool wants $89($79 plus $11 shipping on Ebay). It's a non instore item.

My DK50 tractor has 37.5hp at the PTO. The Northern Shaft is rated for 35hp. I guessing the less 1% hp above the rated hp won't be a problem.

Am I missing anything, or will this shaft swap in for my old shaft?

Braber Equipment General-Purpose PTO Shaft Assembly — 32in. Collapsed Length, Model# 69.885.049 | Tractor Accessories| Northern Tool + Equipment

I tried the Caroni site, and my I Talian is a little rusty, so I was SOL.

I also tried a search here, but "PTO Shaft" brings up a zillion threads.

Do shafts have to be balanced?

I could cut the tubing behind the yoke, flip it around and weld it back up.

 

[greg_g]

That's a Series 4, and could be a little fragile (think twisting) - especially if you've got nice tight V-belts. I'm thinkin' there's a good chance that Northern spec'd it at 35 engine hp, rather than PTO hp. I've got a 24" Series 5 (47 hp) on my 74" flail mower. Unfortunately I couldn't find a factory 24" incher (22" is more common), so I ended up getting a 29" Series 5 from Rural King - and cutting 5 inches off.

Was that 32"-40" measurement end-to-end? If yes, that's the incorrect method. Remove your current shaft and raise the implement to to a height where the input shaft is exactly level with the PTO output shaft on the tractor. Measure from the center of one shaft groove to the center of the other shaft groove. Subtract four inches. Shop for a PTO shaft as close to that length as possible. It's always better to get one a little longer (and cut it down) than it is to buy one that's too short.

But balanced? Doesn't really apply to PTO shafts. What you're shopping for will seldom spin more than 540 rpm. As long as they're straight to the point where they fully collapse and extend without effort - and the U-joints are healthy - balance shouldn't be an issue.

//greg//

 

[leonz]

Sorry to hear about your damage,

I suppose you could also check the agrisupply catalog or cal them for a new one.

Anothe option is finding a drive line repair shop in your area as they will be
repairing/replacing drivelines too.

Another supplier is ag supply online also.