JD Seller- 2020 JD update

I was up at their place last night, he had the top cover off, and I forwarded what you posted, and reiterated this with him, all of which makes sense. He does know that the pto shaft needs to come out to get a better view from the end through the bore in the casting, but elected to take the top cover/rock shaft off first for some reason. In the 2nd photo where the LED light is concentrated is where I can see a brownish/rust colored tab move when the lever is moved, shaft does not connect to the rear, and only the rear spins, front shaft does not move. You can just see the splines in the photo.

I will say that its crowded in there LOL !

Question I have is, I suspect the shift collar, as the control lever linkage is intact, I had him spin the shaft while I moved the lever and used a focused LED light and I could see a brown, maybe slightly rusted tab, move back and forth down under the gears and shafts up top, it is difficult to see, but it sort of appears there is no collar, or possibly its destructed itself ? I looked from both vantage points, and it would appear if it were intact, you should be able to see it, and when that lever is moved it should move that collar as shown in the diagram over the rear shaft connecting the two. I was just wondering what you would think given the above.

The photo above you can't see much below, but in this aluminum looking sump under a spring, there was a table spoon or more of metal fines, it looked like anti-seize, but a magnet picks it up. I am wondering what bearing or what could be suspected, this I don't like, tells me there is a serious problem or will be. I did hear a pump whine with this tractor and that does appear to be part of the hydraulics, possibly the pump ?

With the top cover off, I see what you said about those other parts, best to replace as you said.

I don't believe his book is all that good, I think he definitely needs one like you suggested, given the condition of tractor and the shop I have tried to suggest to these people, go and put 2k or a tad more into her, get it all out on the table, pto, hydraulic pump, they've not fixed the charging system, run it off battery, its idiotic, but no insult to them, good friends and family, I just hate dealing with them on this, the mentality about keeping something in good repair differs, I don't budge on that, tell them bluntly, this time he's got no choice, so I said, take it to the shop, they exclusively work on older equipment that is constantly in use on all the farms nearby, we are fortunate to have such a business, not something you find often today, reasonable and top notch work, honest and hard working folks that do the right job from a garden tractor to a large piece of equipment, I would send anything I own to them, and I am a bit fussy!

I thank you for the help you provided in the earlier post, I am more curious about the mechanical issue here as something to learn, likely it will get sent out for repairs, and hopefully be done, she's not all that pretty but with some money spent now, she will last for years, its a pretty darned good tractor.

Billy if the book he has is the 1/4 thick IT manual then he will be lost soon on the tractor. Those IT manuals are fine for someone that is familiar with the tractor but not for someone that needs more "base" information.

If I remember correctly, he has just the two stage clutch style PTO. The 2020 is kind of a pain in that there is about 3-4 different PTO setups that you could have.

Without seeing the tractor and having the book handy it is hard to tell him exactly what is wrong. I know it is in the shift collar area. It could be the collar maybe broken in two pieces. They then can fall clear off. He should take the rear PTO quill out so you can see better. Also remove the sump screen and look across there.

If he keeps tearing it apart he is going to be stuck fixing it himself. No shop I know of will tackle it after he takes it apart. HE can easily mess more up than he knows by just not knowing what to do.

So quit now and have someone repair it or buy the better books and study what you have.

The JD 2020 just did not have a lot of PTO issues. I bet that it has been 15-20 years since I have had to work on one for the type of problem he is having.

I actually have the serial number, but like you said, agree, not the right book, I prefer factory originals used or new myself. In this case, he just took the top cover off, had a new gasket and put the top cover back on, he knows exactly what you mean, its really a job for the shop with experienced hands and no one likes when other hands that are not so experienced tears in first, I do the same, if its over my head, put it back together, explain it to them, anything you see or noticed before the repair, while you looked at it, etc. I do not like I&T manuals, they are like the Chiltons of tractors, I find with the older stuff, the factory shop manuals, are best and have served me well with lots of repairs.

I was wondering what the heck that darned pile of metal fines could be, something has to be up with that for sure ! LOL ! thanks again, much appreciated !

Yes 2 stage clutch on this one, forgot to add that.

Finding some filings in the transmission is not uncommon on most tractors. Few have fully synchronized gears. So much of the stuff you see is just from grinding while shifting. HE could have something going wrong but just a few like you see is not uncommon.

To really know you would need to pull the sump screen and look at the bottom of the case to see how many are there.

How are the brakes? If the linings are worn off from the brake discs, the metal-to-metal wear will produce plenty of metal particles in the system.

I mentioned it above, in that aluminum or magnesium looking sump, was a heaped tablespoon of metal fines, looks just like anti-seize, it has wet brakes, not all that familiar, but like JD said, small amount over the years, typical wear, not such a big deal, but there was a deposit in that sump which has a drain and a steel tube running up to the bottom, it looks like excess.

If the PTO shaft doesn't engage, it's likely the sliding collar. I replaced one and the new collar is built heavier than the original one. Requires splitting the tractor. All that oil tubing and that top gear has to come out, plus the input shaft and assorted parts. I used a John Deere service manual and it wasn't too bad. Just be meticulous and take notes.