# Pto shaft wont telescope in or out



## alexl12 (Jan 25, 2014)

i have a bush hog i bought at auction and the pto shaft wont telescope in/out. what should i do?


----------



## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

try lubricating it with some form of penetrant. Be sure nothing is bent or damaged. I'd remove it from the implement and get it on a bench to examine it better. Can you put up some pictures?


----------



## oldguychuck (Oct 12, 2012)

I remeber years ago my father in law had that problem. He parked the tractor in low gear, brakes on. Then he hooked the 4x4 farm truck to the back end of the PTO inside shaft and pulled carefully with the truck. Sprang free in a few seconds.

was clogged with thick dirty yellow greasy stuff. Cleaned it all up, then put a straight edge on both the external and internal shafts to be sure they we straight.

Good to go in under an hour....

oldguychuck


----------



## alexl12 (Jan 25, 2014)

i will try and get pictures. the bush hog is an alamo brand and it was owned by a city. so i think it honestly was never removed from the tractor until the auction. ill try to get pictures. and if i did chain thing would a strap be better instead? thats my last resort honestly


----------



## tcreeley (Jan 2, 2012)

I bent my PTO shaft and it stopped telescoping in and out. It wasn't a bend you're likely to notice. Like someone said- look it over on a bench.


----------



## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Generally,you'll find it's due to rust/old grease. There should be some way to get some PB Baster,or other rust breaker down the shaft.
I had the same problem when I got my Bolens,and PB Blaster did the trick.


----------



## alexl12 (Jan 25, 2014)

yea i was gonna try PB. i kinda feel the safety cover could be part of the problem too. ill try to get a picture this week. i use the tractor and bush hog on an old farm my family has in a county next to the one i live at so its a good 45 minute drive.


----------



## Fluid (Nov 28, 2013)

Have you tried heat?


----------



## alexl12 (Jan 25, 2014)

i havent but it has a plastic safety cover and i thought heat would melt it


----------



## Fluid (Nov 28, 2013)

What brand is it? Can you tell if there are marks or damage to the cover? With the cover on you can't see if the shaft is bent or not. If there is reason to believe the shaft is bent, you will have to repair or replace. You don't want to use a bent shaft because it can damage other parts of the cutter or come off and hurt or kill you and others. If you can split the cover enough to get some heat on the female part of shaft that will melt the grease enough to slide in & out. You can use zip ties on the cover to hold it on the shaft after you've repaired or replaced what ever is binding the movement of the shaft. Does it have a quick release on both ends? Good Luck


----------



## alexl12 (Jan 25, 2014)

ill try all of these. it has a quick release. but itll move a little if a big person is pulling on it and im not big by any means


----------



## Fluid (Nov 28, 2013)

alexl12; Just wondering if you were able to fix the problem with your PTO shaft? Does it work like you want it to? If you did fix it, what was the problem and what did it take to make it right? Let us know if you would.. Thanks


----------



## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

The shaft for my blower was seized this fall. poor maintenance on my part. Although I could move it in and out, it was a chore, and I didn't have enough leverage to hook it to the PTO. 
I eventually unhooked the snowblower from the three point hitch, and then backed the tractor up far enough to hook the shaft onto the PTO. Then I slowly drove forward and freed up the shaft, backed up and rehooked the blower up. I'll be putting that PTO shaft on the bench this spring and getting it sorted out before I bust something!


----------



## oldguychuck (Oct 12, 2012)

Great system !

oldguychuck


----------



## alexl12 (Jan 25, 2014)

hey guys. no i havent been able to get up to the farm to get it off. we've had a lot of rain/snow and its been hard to get up there but i will be in the next few days. ill let yall know what happens wen i get working on it


Sent from my iPhone using Tractor Forum


----------



## alexl12 (Jan 25, 2014)

everyone. either this week or next week imma take the shaft off and pull it apart. ill post pictures as i go. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tractor Forum


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

remove shaft, put in vice, add oil to joint, tap around with hammer to free up


----------



## alexl12 (Jan 25, 2014)

tractor beam said:


> try lubricating it with some form of penetrant. Be sure nothing is bent or damaged. I'd remove it from the implement and get it on a bench to examine it better. Can you put up some pictures?









thats what i got so far


Sent from my iPhone using Tractor Forum


----------



## alexl12 (Jan 25, 2014)

well everyone i got it fixed. i hooked a comealong to a fencepost in the concrete and the shaft. i pulled the shaft apart and there wasnt hardly any flakes of rust that came out but there was old grease on shaft so i used a die grinder with a pad and removed it. i put antisieze on the inner section of the shaft and slid it back together. then made sure to lock safety cover back on and it works great now. it slides very smoothly and with little effort. thanks for all of yalls help i used a little of what all of yall said. great advice from all and will be using forum for more advice. take cAre


Sent from my iPhone using Tractor Forum


----------



## Fluid (Nov 28, 2013)

Glad to hear your got the shaft fixed. Its good it wasn't bent also, now you will be set for cutting when the weather warms up.. Good job alexl12


----------

