PTO clutch tension bolts vibrating loose after rebuild

[bfowler88]

I just rebuilt my pto on my 106 but within minutes of running one of the bolts begins to vibrate loose. Ive pulled it multiple times and cannot seem to keep them tight. The nuts are to thin to get two wrenches on to really tq them. Ive tried loctite and then safety wire on the remaining threads but nothing has worked. I'm thinking of going to a nylon lock. I'm tired of pulling this pto over and over again . Ive followed the book line for line but just cant get the lock nuts torqued enough due to how thin they are. Any tips?? Thanks in advance

[Jeff in Pa]

Buy an inexpensive wrench and belt sand / grind it the same thickness as the nut. Use it on the bottom ( against the plate ) and use a normal thickness wrench to tighten the other nut to jam it as designed by the factory.

Nylock will eventually work loose ( I tried them and they worked for a year ). You may have luck if you can find the mechanical lock nut that are "squeezed" on three sides.

[DoubleO7]

yep, you pretty much have to sacrifice an open end wrench as Jeff described.
One is the jam nut which has to be torqued in tight to the first nut in order to do it's job. Otherwise if only "one wrench tight" both can turn out in unison.

What do you mean when you say you "safety wire on the remaining threads " ?

Sounds as if your wrapping "safety wire" into the root of the remaining/exposed bolt threads.

I do not think I have ever seen a safety wired nut, although they exist.

[zippy1]

Originally Posted by Jeff in Pa

Buy an inexpensive wrench and belt sand / grind it the same thickness as the nut. Use it on the bottom ( against the plate ) and use a normal thickness wrench to tighten the other nut to jam it as designed by the factory.

Nylock will eventually work loose ( I tried them and they worked for a year ). You may have luck if you can find the mechanical lock nut that are "squeezed" on three sides.

[sawdustdad]

Yep, grind a wrench thin enough to allow you to hold the bottom nut when tightening the jam nut. And torque it pretty tight. I've never had one come loose. Locktite is not a bad idea, but I've never needed it.

[sir_lancealot]

You can buy a thin wrench, or a set of them, for next to nothing.

[bfowler88]

Originally Posted by Jeff in Pa

Buy an inexpensive wrench and belt sand / grind it the same thickness as the nut. Use it on the bottom ( against the plate ) and use a normal thickness wrench to tighten the other nut to jam it as designed by the factory.


Nylock will eventually work loose ( I tried them and they worked for a year ). You may have luck if you can find the mechanical lock nut that are "squeezed" on three sides.

great idea , i will either buy a thin set or grind one. Thanks!

Originally Posted by DoubleO7

yep, you pretty much have to sacrifice an open end wrench as Jeff described.
One is the jam nut which has to be torqued in tight to the first nut in order to do it's job. Otherwise if only "one wrench tight" both can turn out in unison.

What do you mean when you say you "safety wire on the remaining threads " ?

Sounds as if your wrapping "safety wire" into the root of the remaining/exposed bolt threads.

I do not think I have ever seen a safety wired nut, although they exist.

Yes sir i have a couple exposed threads and ran safety wire around it in hopes it would keep the nut from rotating off but it failed as well. The sacrificial wrench sounds good to me.

Originally Posted by zippy1

I agree!

Originally Posted by sawdustdad

Yep, grind a wrench thin enough to allow you to hold the bottom nut when tightening the jam nut. And torque it pretty tight. I've never had one come loose. Locktite is not a bad idea, but I've never needed it.

I thought the loctite would be the ticket myself as well but not so much. Thanks for the post.

Originally Posted by sir_lancealot

You can buy a thin wrench, or a set of them, for next to nothing.

sounds like a job for harbour freight! Thanks

[jbrewer]

Originally Posted by sir_lancealot

You can buy a thin wrench, or a set of them, for next to nothing.

Look for "Tappet wrench" which is a fancy name for thin wrenches. I don't know if Chinese Freight carries them or not, but that name should help with the searches.