Bent PTO shaft.

canon5571

I was looking for peoples opinions on whether a pto shaft can be straightened successfully and if its safe to use afterwards.
I had borrowed a neighbours dung spreader and the lift arm caught it when I was turning in the yard, of course these things always happen with borrowed machines
A few lads have said that it could be dangerous to use again after its been heated, that the heat might make it brittle?

bob charles

canon5571 wrote: »

I was looking for peoples opinions on whether a pto shaft can be straightened successfully and if its safe to use afterwards.
I had borrowed a neighbours dung spreader and the lift arm caught it when I was turning in the yard, of course these things always happen with borrowed machines
A few lads have said that it could be dangerous to use again after its been heated, that the heat might make it brittle?

you had a lend of it so best buy a new one. I would be far from impressed if someone borrowed something from me and returned with a "straightened" pto shaft

delaval

canon5571 wrote: »

I was looking for peoples opinions on whether a pto shaft can be straightened successfully and if its safe to use afterwards.
I had borrowed a neighbours dung spreader and the lift arm caught it when I was turning in the yard, of course these things always happen with borrowed machines
A few lads have said that it could be dangerous to use again after its been heated, that the heat might make it brittle?

Honest thing is buy a new one

canon5571

He knows all about, I told him I'd repair it or get him a new one, he wont hear tell of a new shaft, he wants to straighten it himself, but I dont want him using it again if it could be dangerous. I'll probably just air on the side of caution and invest

Rovi

If it's got a reasonably gentle bend in it that is just stopping the tubes from sliding together, I'd be happy enough to straighten it with an hydraulic press.
If it's bad enough that it needs to be heated or has a kink or visible distortion of the tube profile, I'd replace it.
You can replace just the tube on it's own, reusing the yokes and cover and all the other gubbins.

moy83

Id buy a new one for the sake of it . The shaft as rovi said can be got seperatley and it not the dearest part to buy . I find if there is any sort of bend it is always sticky to put on after

onyerbikepat

You probably damaged the bearings in teh knuckles (universal joint) aswell.

visatorro

Pto shaft's are too dangerous to be second guessing. Just replace it

dzer2

He wouldnt even know about it if it was me I would have bought a new one and put it on. The man was good enough to give you a lend of it. If you cant leave it back in the same condition you got it in, leave it back in a better condition. This will always serve you well as the man will always let you borrow machinery you need

jomoloney

done the same myself not so long ago , replaced the tubes and a few minor bits for less than a third of the price of a new, against the advise iof the experts on here

end of season checked over and pefrect & stored away for the winter

freedominacup

Buy him a replacement shaft and if you think there's no damage to the yoke ends buy two lengths of shaft that suit the yokes and you'll have a workable shaft yourself for a little over the price of a new one and a happy neighbour who will be happy enough to loan you a machine in the future if the need arises. All that normally holds the shafts into the yoke ends is a split pin. The crosses for the yoke ends can usually be bought off the shelf in any good parts store.

JohnBoy

if it was my own machine i'd look at the options, but for a borrowed one I'd replace.

freedom probably has the best of both worlds.

blue5000

freedominacup wrote: »

Buy him a replacement shaft and if you think there's no damage to the yoke ends buy two lengths of shaft that suit the yokes and you'll have a workable shaft yourself for a little over the price of a new one and a happy neighbour who will be happy enough to loan you a machine in the future if the need arises. All that normally holds the shafts into the yoke ends is a split pin. The crosses for the yoke ends can usually be bought off the shelf in any good parts store.

+1
If you had to hire in someone else to spread your dung how much would it be.

loveta

If its only the profiles on the shaft that is bent and nothing else damaged you can buy them and put them in its far from rocket science but if it was a poor brand of shaft you will prob buy the same for small bucks and no getting you hands dirty..

canon5571

Thanks for all you replies. Theres no movement between the 2 shafts, she too far gone. I'll be in town during the week, so I'll have a look to see what I can get.

rancher

canon5571 wrote: »

Thanks for all you replies. Theres no movement between the 2 shafts, she too far gone. I'll be in town during the week, so I'll have a look to see what I can get.

The last PTO shaft I bought for my dungspreader was only €120 complete, They are very prone to being bent, bad design and the fact that you're usually using them in tight yards

Figerty

Problem with straightening it is that you never know if it's perfectly straight. That leads to vibration and that is the killer of bearings. Although to be fair you won't get a machine more out of balance than a dung spreader.

New one to be safe. keep the receipt and put it against the tax bill. You wouldn't forgive yourself if anything happened down the line.