John Deere 316 Rear PTO Shaft Too Short

The tiller is not the 48 mechanical tiller, guess I should have mentioned it is the 30 inch hydraulic tiller with the 12 inch extension which I do believe is supposed to be able to fit the tractor, no?. Was purchased from the son-in-law of the PO who had passed away but seller said the tiller was used lots to till the PO's garden. Had the tiller mounted up fine, belts installed, etc.

Everything matches and mates up good at the rear of the tractor. The shaft Im referring to is the splined shaft underneath the fender assembly. The long shaft going through the electromagnetic rear PTO clutch isnt long enough to reach the gear box near the middle of the tractor. Searching around I have seen other tractors with this style PTO set up with the shaft closer to fully engaged like how I have it held in the picture below.

Picture taken from google images of the same tiller I have mounted on a 316 like mine. Have seen other 316s with the same tiller mounted. What would have been done to make it work on these other units? Called the seller again and he assured me his father-in-law did lots of tillimg with this set up on his own garden and for some ladies in town. I believe he may have done some repairs to the pulley setup as the manual came with a parts diagram for the rear pulleys.

Heresa pic of the entire drive assembly off the tractor. I know this assembly appears to have the newer updated shaft which isnt splined all the way to the end. Im curious if it perhaps originally had the original shaft that was spline to the end which would engage the splines on the output enough to run it? Thanks for your replys, hoping we can get this figured out!

The splines on my shaft are recessed about 3/4 of an inch and any google images of the required AM102981 shaft appear to show splines closer to the end of the shaft.

Heres mine with the deeper splines



Heres a google image that shows splines closer to the end. Is it possible this is the incorrect shaft?

I disassembled the clutch assembly and definitely found myself to be missing some pieces!



Snap ring (Part 23) was not there which resulted in the clutch armature being pressed too far on to the shaft which will give an extra 5/16" length once installed and was also missing part 12 (Locking Washer) which I believe will also space the entire assembly even more. Thank you very much for all your input, definitely helped point me in the right direction!

Thank yah, Im definitely familiar with a bit of casual repair work, having worked on drilling rigs with numerous other guys handling the equipment, Ive found myself in the past of making the joke of "fixing someones fixing" quite frequently. I'd always had more experienced guys at work though that I could go to when a question arises. Was definitely looking for some experience for some input before going ahead with the disassembly juuust in case it may have been something obvious externally, and to have the confidence of knowing I can talk to someone with experience.

The parts diagrams had me a little nervous as they can get a bit confusing with how many parts they display and the overall layout of them at times can be overwelming but this was relatively simple once I dug in.

I've already found a few other things on the machine that had been improperly repaired but repairs were simple and not as involved of a job as this one, but I assumed there was a definite possibillity of some dodgy old farmer "good enough" fixes like elsewhere on the machine. Having the input of someone that was familiar with the machine gave me the confidence to go ahead with the tear down. Knowing theres someone out there that may be able to help if I hit a road block is a big boost and your input was greatly appreciated! Will definitely be watching this forum and be posting here again should I find other issues. Thanks again!

bloodrunsgreen said:

How was the rear mounting plate (by pulleys) attached to the rear of the tractor? There has to be something to give support and for tension on the pulleys. I believe that is where your issue lies.

I found this which shows pulleys/mounting bracket, which has to bolt to the rear axle of the 316, just like the gearbox of the 2000 RPM PTO.

https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/79553/referrer/navigation/pgId/43955384

Clutch:

https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/79553/referrer/navigation/pgId/43913158

More investigation, downloaded all the Owners Manuals for the 30 Hydro Tiller, to find that yours was originally for the 420/430 with rear PTO option, I have attached the pdf

Click to expand...

Yes I have the correct Part 1 mounting bracket shown in the parts diagram. The shaft that goes

bloodrunsgreen said:

How was the rear mounting plate (by pulleys) attached to the rear of the tractor? There has to be something to give support and for tension on the pulleys. I believe that is where your issue lies.

I found this which shows pulleys/mounting bracket, which has to bolt to the rear axle of the 316, just like the gearbox of the 2000 RPM PTO.

https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/79553/referrer/navigation/pgId/43955384

Clutch:

https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/79553/referrer/navigation/pgId/43913158

More investigation, downloaded all the Owners Manuals for the 30 Hydro Tiller, to find that yours was originally for the 420/430 with rear PTO option, I have attached the pdf

Click to expand...

I have the correct Part 1 mount bracket shown in the first diagram. Problem came from a replacement shaft Part 2 in the second diagram being installed incorrectly without thr snap ring installed which hold the clutch in place. The clutch had been slid on to the shaft too far to the rear of the tractor which resulted in the shaft being too short to reach the drive output under the fender assrmbly.

Im hoping with the snap ring installed, the clutch will sit closer to the rear of the tractor and the shaft will then reach far enough to the front of the tractor to engage the splines. Still nervous that the splines inside the shaft may be recessed to deep to fully engage. Do you perhaps know how far back insode the shaft that the splines should be cut? Mine seem very deep compared to pics of new ones online.

bloodrunsgreen said:

That is something new in the design. My originals has the splines start at all most the outer edge and a replacement some 11 years ago was the same way.

Click to expand...

yes i know It is an update from the original design with an added greasable zerk, however, in comparison to online pics, my splines appear much deeper recessed in to the body compared to the ones i see online. My shaft is only going to engage the output shaft splines by about 1/4 to 5/16 of an inch which I feel is much too short and am worried Im at risk of stripping the gearbox splines under any sudden, heavier load.

Pic again of mine and then a pic taken off the internet. Same greasable shaft but my splines appear much deeper.





I have a new shaft ordered to compare myself as I really dont feel confident that 5/16" is near enough spline engagement to be strong enough for the possibly tougher tilling I plan on doing