Replacing drive and pto shaft seals on TO35

I started this project a few months ago and it kept growing and I kept having less time for it. So today and tomorrow we are getting a LOT of rain so I had a chance to get back to it today.
I already had removed the PTO drive shaft which was NOT a lot of fun with all the snap rings etc. which reminds me I need to replace one I broke.
So today I took apart the input shaft housing and replaced the two seals (main drive and pto). The PTO seal was definitely the culprit, it pretty much fell apart, definitely rotten.

So for anyone who knows they have a trans leak and don't want to be bothered, I'd say now that you have it apart, probably to fix the clutch, it's well worth it to replace the seals. It's a bit more work but I'm pretty confident that in the long run it will be well worth it. Because of this leak the starter and clutch both had to be replaced/rebuilt and had I left it like it was I would have been throwing money down a hole to replace those parts.
Here is before I cleaned up the leftover mess.


And after



And the input shafts and housing taken apart and ready to pop out the old seals. This was the easiest part of the whole job, took maybe 20 min.

I'm sure you're glad to get that job done. Lots of steps to follow to get that lower shaft out. I have done two in the last year and it gets faster the 2nd time, but those snap rings still aren't fun. Like you said, its worth it though if you don't want your nice new clutch getting an oil bath.

Dan

I would definitely do it again if necessary. I think the worst part was getting it apart, going back together should be easier.........I think.
I decided to order a new bearing for the PTO drive shaft, it was pretty rough feeling. It might have survived but again, I'm at this point now I might as well do it. All these little things sure slow down progress but I think it will be worth it in the end.

Inno I did mine and after getting it back together it still leaked and I think it was because the part of the shaft where the seal rides was rough and had I polished it with emory cloth it woulda worked.Seems like I remember the manual said the top cover needs to come off in order to get that lower gear back forward and a snap ring in place but I used a socket with a bolt thru to push the snap ring in place. Been a while ago.

I'll have to look into that. I see in the parts diagram there are a couple of snap rings on that shaft. Funny it came out really easily which led me to believe there weren't any snap rings on there. I only have the I&T manual so there are some gaps in the knowledge there. Maybe I'll pull the steering cover as a precaution. It wouldn't be too big a job at this point, just more time. sigh
I checked the shafts where the seals ride and all looked pretty smooth. I oiled the shafts up before putting it back together so hopefully the seals are good. I'm sure if it does leak it's got to be less of a leak than I had with that old seal in place.

I did take a few pictures of the lower shaft removal process. Meant to take more but I tend to forget along the way to pick up the camera. These at least show the two snap rings. I think some people get to the thrust washer after pulling the bearing retainer and don't realize there is another snap ring behind it.

Dan

Oh I see what 2 Tractors meant. At first I thought maybe there were more snap rings inside the transmission but I couldn't figure out how. I think better in the morning so it all makes sense now.
Thanks for the pictures Dan, I meant to take more too but once I started fighting with those snap rings I was focused on that and not photography.