# Stuck PTO



## Don1963 (Jun 18, 2018)

Hello, I have a 8122 that blew a main bearing, I finally coughed up a grand and put on a new rebuilt kohler engine. The tractor set for about 2 years, after I got it running now the PTO is stuck. I have read on the net that you can over fill the trans and mow tall grass and it may bust loose. The problem is with the drive shaft in the engine just will not start. It starts good without the load from the blades on it though. I did try bumping the starter with the drive shaft loose and hanging out to the side with no luck. The old starter may be a little weak. Do you guys know if you can pull start these mowers, or any hints to try to unstick the pto, The tractor and pto was working great until the engine lost that bearing....Thanks for any help...


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## Don1963 (Jun 18, 2018)

Don1963 said:


> Hello, I have a 8122 that blew a main bearing, I finally coughed up a grand and put on a new rebuilt kohler engine. The tractor set for about 2 years, after I got it running now the PTO is stuck. I have read on the net that you can over fill the trans and mow tall grass and it may bust loose. The problem is with the drive shaft in the engine just will not start. It starts good without the load from the blades on it though. I did try bumping the starter with the drive shaft loose and hanging out to the side with no luck. The old starter may be a little weak. Do you guys know if you can pull start these mowers, or any hints to try to unstick the pto, The tractor and pto was working great until the engine lost that bearing....Thanks for any help...


Oh yea the pto lever has no resistance at all but I can hear and feel it bumping around inside the trans, its travel is set to the manual too.


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## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

I believe you have been mislead regarding the PTO. They use a mechanical PTO with a shift yoke that engages a cone clutch, and then a gear driven PTO shaft. Go here and select your tractor, it will show you the PTO components: http://www.partstree.com/parts/sear...8122&msclkid=4eb4d391c6761a64d09e88b9bf32d593

The usual culprit on these mowers is the PTO yoke (shifter) shaft is loose from the PTO lever linkage, so no engagement takes place. If the shift shaft assembly is frozen from rust, it is best to drain and flush the transmission, then work it by hand until it frees up the shift shaft. Since you hear it bumping around inside the transmission, you may have a broken compression spring preventing clutch engagement, and allowing the internal PTO shift yoke to just flop around. It could also be a stuck cone clutch, or a rusted PTO shaft that is preventing it from sliding into engagement, but the compression spring has definitely failed. In those cases disassembly and correcting the problem is the solution.

The Gravely is one of the last of the real quality mowers, so it well worth fixing it correctly.


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## Don1963 (Jun 18, 2018)

RC Wells said:


> I believe you have been mislead regarding the PTO. They use a mechanical PTO with a shift yoke that engages a cone clutch, and then a gear driven PTO shaft. Go here and select your tractor, it will show you the PTO components: http://www.partstree.com/parts/sear...8122&msclkid=4eb4d391c6761a64d09e88b9bf32d593
> 
> The usual culprit on these mowers is the PTO yoke (shifter) shaft is loose from the PTO lever linkage, so no engagement takes place. If the shift shaft assembly is frozen from rust, it is best to drain and flush the transmission, then work it by hand until it frees up the shift shaft. Since you hear it bumping around inside the transmission, you may have a broken compression spring preventing clutch engagement, and allowing the internal PTO shift yoke to just flop around. It could also be a stuck cone clutch, or a rusted PTO shaft that is preventing it from sliding into engagement, but the compression spring has definitely failed. In those cases disassembly and correcting the problem is the solution.
> 
> The Gravely is one of the last of the real quality mowers, so it well worth fixing it correctly.


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## Don1963 (Jun 18, 2018)

Man, I had to take apart another transmission to see that I just wasn't adjusting it correctly. I had the lever just in the normal range of the play in the yoke, on the trans I took apart I took a pipe wrench and realized how much pressure it actually takes to compress the spring, after actually making the shifter have some pressure on the lever the pto come right out of gear...Guess some people just need to see it...HaHa…. Thanks...


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