Cleaning up the old PTO

It has been a while since I have been able to work on my Power King. Last night Rocco, my Wire Hair / Lab mix, helped me get the front PTO cleaned up.






One of the interesting features of this antique tractor is the fact that you had the ability to hook up many unique attachments to it and turn them on and off with a flip of a switch located on the tractor's dash.

The PTO on this model is an Electromagnetic Clutch assembly. When you flip the switch on the dash it completes a circuit to allow voltage to the Clutch. This voltage energizes the coils within the clutch assembly. As the magnets pull together they create fiction between the rotor of the clutch, which is keyed and bolted to the engine drive shaft, and the clutch stator which is tethered to the tractor frame. When the magnets engage, they allow the pulley to begin to spin at the same speed as the engine RPM. When the switch is turned off, it opens the circuit and an internal spring forces the clutch surfaces apart then pulleys will no longer spin.


My PTO clutch needed a little TLC. Warren, a friend of mine from Young Life, and I spent some time with some sandpaper cleaning all of the visible surfaces. I took it apart and cleaned out the dust and dead bugs (and the ones that were still alive too). After we got it looking smooth and clean we applied some beautiful Rust-oleum gloss black paint. I plan on picking up a new key this afternoon and putting it all back on the tractor tonight.