Rust locked PTO shaft

[Mark T]

I was given an old Sears bushog that had been sitting outside for a decade - it even had small trees growing on it.

My Dad and I got it cleaned off. We loosened the blades and the gear box still works. We had to use WD40 to end the rust lock on the back wheel, but that now turns. However, we have not been able to get the pto shaft to slide back so we can attach it to the take off on the tractor. We sprayed along the edges with WD40 and tried hammering on the bell guard, but have had no luck.

Any suggestions?

[MELOC]

is it possible to heat it with a torch without harming anything?

[MELOC]

oops...

[7thswan]

My Dh uses something called Kroil (sp). other than that, ya heat.

[Pony]

It will take a while, but you can use a penetrating oil like Kroil or Gibbs to loosen it up.

This isn't going to happen immediately. You have to apply the oil every day or every other day or so, giving it a chance to soak in. After a couple or three weeks, you can start heating and banging away. We read about a guy who took an old Jeep with totally rusted bolts on it. He did the frequent spraying with Gibbs, and within a month had every single bolt removed and not a single one broken.

Good luck!

[TnAndy]

Piece of 3' long 4" PVC pipe with a cap glued on one end. Prop open end upright, fill with diesel or kerosene ( which is what Liquid Wrench is ), and stick the PTO shaft in it. Come back in day or two......beat and heat may still be required, but probably less of them.

[Old Vet]

Soak it with WD 40 or some other rust remover and if that won't do use heat sparingly. You don't want to get it hot enough and remove the temper.

[Katey]

Is this something with a grease fitting on it? If it's locked up solid you might persuade it by pumping grease into the chamber.

[T-Bone 369]

Originally Posted by TnAndy

Piece of 3' long 4" PVC pipe with a cap glued on one end. Prop open end upright, fill with diesel or kerosene ( which is what Liquid Wrench is ), and stick the PTO shaft in it. Come back in day or two......beat and heat may still be required, but probably less of them.

Have done this in the past and it works pretty well.

[oneokie]

Originally Posted by Mark T

We sprayed along the edges with WD40 and tried hammering on the bell guard, but have had no luck.

Any suggestions?

Position the shaft so that the penetrating oil will flow down between the outer and inner shafts. If the shaft is square, you need to hammer the full length of the outer shaft on all four sides while applying the penetrating oil.

If it is a tri-lobal shaft you will need to hammer on the three sides and the ribs.

Use plenty of penetrating oil. After several days, apply some type of winch to the end that connects to the tractor shaft and apply tension while hammering on the shaft and applying more penetrating oil.

You may have to do this several times.

[DaleK]

Unhook it from the bush hog if you can. Tie the end with the inner shaft to a tree or a branch or whatever you can find. Hang a heavy weight from the other end. Pour as much penetrating oil down inside the outer shaft as you can and leave it. Add more oil until it lets go.

[farminghandyman]

Remove

soak as suggested, (do so for a few weeks)

remove the crosses and the end yokes

take to a machine shop that has a good press and press them some if there is any room to compress, if the yokes and crosses they should be able to put some thing (shaft, square shaft) down in the one shaft and press the other out.

Don't beat it to death, you will just bend some of the yokes and have to replace some parts or a section of it.

[Ross]

Could just be solidified grease. Our haybine had that when we got it. Remove it from the mower it'll be easier to work on. Soak it as best you can but odds are you'll need heat to get it sliding again. It might be faster to just cut of the shafts and weld on new ones

[doc623]

If it weren't for the distance you could have mine as my gear box is shot. And I can't find replacement gears.
Maybe you could find a replacement.

[agmantoo]

I would be partial to a long soak in PB Blaster. The PB Blaster is available at most auto discount stores. Take out the grease fitting and fill with the penetrant.

doc623
Did I give you a link to a low cost total gearbox for a complete replacement?

[Hank]

I second the motion for PB Blaster. This is real good stuff!! I have used it on things that I never thought would come apart, but it did the trick. Much better than WD 40
IMHO.

Hank
http://www.doublemfarmandchuckwagon.webs.com

Remember, there is no wrong way or right way, just your way and my way and the fun of sharing ways.

[poorboy]

Google Ed's Red homemade firearms bore cleaner..Works better than wd40 for me!

[texican]

Do everything everyone's said up to now. Then do it again.

Then get a 10lb sledge hammer and whomp on it. Then whomp on it some more. After it's obvious it's not going to come off, really start whompin' on it. It won't fix it, but it sure feels good!!!

Then go and buy another shaft.

Like dogs, there's no such thing as a free bush hog.

[rambler]

WD-40 is good for stopping squeaks and was designed to get rid of water (WD = Water Dispersing), but it is _not_ a good penetrating oil. Get something that eats into the rust a bit - what others mentioned.

It is possible the mower got a twisted shaft, and you won't get them apart. Could be why it was parked?

I'd be tempted to position it by the tractor, hook up the pto and run it a bit, the vibration & twisting might loosen it. But that could be dangerous if you are new to machinery, so don't try anything foolish.....

I had a 3pt implement that nothing moved it. Had to cut the shield off & heat it up hot to get it to pop apart. PB Blaster, using it, beating it with a hammer, nothing helped.

-->Paul

[Jalopy]

Take the entire shaft off the bush hog hang it from a beam or tree limb and hang a whell weight or other heavy object from the bottom portion and just keep oiling and spraying and adding weight. Gravity will do the work. It will take time but you will not harm anything or anyone. I have seen people use similar methods to free stuck engine cylinders and crankshafts also.Just take your time it took ten years to get this way it will take some time to free it.