International 300 Utility Gas PTO bogging with load applied

jamarino28

New User
Good morning,

After adjusting the bands under the cover plate i have some questions regarding some PTO issues. If they are related, or is there another adjustment i can do.

I had originally an issue with the PTO engaging with the lever depressed (off) it would hold in the off position and then turn on when moving or actually whenever it wanted. I have adjusted the bands so that the PTO is engaged when the lever is pulled up and disengages when lever is depressed. My first question is how freely should you be able to turn the PTO shaft when adjusting the bands. As directed i have run a pole through the hole on the PTO shaft and can spin the shaf when Lever is engaged (pulled up). I need to apply some force to it in order to turn but it does turn just with some muscle behind it. Should the PTO shaft spin completely free when making this adjustment or should there be some force required still to turn?

Question 2 is i am still having issues with my PTO bogging down when cutting 2' to 3' tall grass/ weeds with a 5' deck in 1st gear at high idle. I do not have the deck dropped extremely low to the ground. The PTO has no problem pushing though previously cut 1' grass. If i am going for any fresh grass/ weeds not previously cut the PTO struggles to continue turning at a high speed.

The tractor was part of a house purchase and seems to start fine. I have a loader on it as well. On the hood of the tractor it says torque amplifier but i don't really understand where the lever is to engage that mechanism. I have done some reading on the TA and have the idea there should be a lever on the left side located near the drivers Knee. Is this correct? i do not have a lever just a emblem on the hood saying Torque Amplifier.

Any idea on some thing i can check, adjust, or dive into to correct this issue. Thanks for any help i really appreciate it, already multiple members on here have helped me tremendously.
 
Rick,
The linkage on well used PTOs on the utility series become dysfunctional after years of use.
Two suggestions:
Make very sure there is no lost motion in the hand lever pivot and rod mechanism. Be certain the hand lever moves the PTO lever from the middle both ways.
Adjust it like this, after there is no play in links.
Move the lever exactly half way between the locked on position and locked off position (little flipper catch on lever.
Take off the little dome metal cover from the adjust screws.
Loosen the jamb nut, and tighten the front (away from you) screw until it is just a bit tighter than the point at which it begins to feel tighter as it is screwed in (maybe a eighth turn) then back it off until the PTO shaft will turn with least drag (about 3/4 turn out) and tighten the lock nut while holding the adjuster.
Do the same for the closer adjuster.
If the screws go into the jamb nuts and get flush with the top surface of the nut, the bands are probably worn out, and may be operational for a while, but plan on a rebuild.
Now (tractor off) push the the lever down toward the brake footplate. As it goes down, it should get harder to push when it is about 4" (or so) away from fully OFF. and be noticeably harder to push for the last inch, but not real hard. (this is the brake band tightening on the drum in the PTO unit.
Then pull it up and do the same feel.
The ON position should feel the same way.
The shaft should turn pretty free when the lever is half way, and not at all when in either ON, or OFF. (tractor shut off)
If it slips now, it needs a rebuild. JimN
 
Thanks Rick,

I will give this a try after work today. Do you have any advice on how to remove any lost motion in the rod mechanism. Currently i really have to pull up on the lever and then latch it in and really push down on the lever to disengage it. It doesn't seem right and i am sure the linkage is out of adjustment. Any ideas or experience on how you went about this would be much appreciated. Also could this adjustment for the linkage and band adjustment be the source of the problem for the PTO bogging when running through heavier materiel. Thanks once again
 
I just found this posting looking through past posts on the board. I am making an assumption here. With this statement could this be the reason why the PTO is bogging when under a heavy load

Re: 300 PTO adjustments in reply to Wes in Ohio, 05-17-2006 20:38:09
Actually Wes has it backwards: the top (forward) band is the PTO drive, the bottom (rear) is the brake. The screws in the photo look as though they"re screwed in just about as far as they"ll go, so it"s probable this unit needs new bands.
Big thing on the adjustment is to make sure (engine off) that the PTO shaft rotates freely with the control lever more-or-less in the middle postition -- I like to adjust it so that the drive band is a bit tighter (shaft rotates freely with the lever about 1/3 of its travel up from the braking position). This helps prevent the drive band from slipping under heavy load. Best technique I"ve found is to turn the individual screws in until the shaft won"t rotate properly, then turn that screw back out just enough to allow the shaft to turn properly (lever in middle position).

This is a fussy adjustment at best, and worn bands make it worse. Take your time and good luck. The adjustment is described pretty well in the Operators Manual which is well worth having.
 
The lost motion mentioned in my post is the most important thing involved. The levers loosen on the shaft, and that lost motion prevents any correct adjustment of the bands. Following the instructions I wrote will make it work if it has bands and is not broken inside the housing. Jim
 

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