1250 Bad shaking when front PTO engaged

[twisties]

OK, had some time to mess with this today. Posted some pics at the end and if I'm smart enough I'll post some links later to some very short videos I took.

Just for grins, I started it, lowered the deck on the ground, engaged PTO, ran just fine for about 10 seconds. Disengaged PTO, reengaged PTO, ran fine again for about 10 seconds. Disengaged PTO, drove over to the yard, reengaged PTO, cut about 20' of grass and it started bucking so I stopped moving. Just let it sit there to see what would happen and after about 15 seconds it smoothed out, started to roll again and 5' later started bucking again. Decided to take it back to the garage and make some of the checks people had recommended.

In the order that suggestions were made:

Put it up on ramps, checked the blades. While they are incredibly dull there are no missing chunks, pieces etc. They all seem to spin freely with no binding.

Took the drive belt off, checked the mule drive pulleys. They spin freely, no binding and appear to be aligned fairly well.

Have not taken the deck off yet, but the belt appears to be in fine shape, pulleys all seem to be as they should. Certainly nothing binding or anything like that.

Checked all four of the bolts holding the cradle to the frame. None were loose. The person I bought it from had used Nylock nuts which was a good idea.

Pulled the driveshaft cover. U-joint seemed tightly affixed at both ends, no play.

Checked the flex coupler at the front of the driveshaft, it also seemed tight, no play.

All the PTO adjustment nuts/springs are present and I've got the air gap set correctly.

Started it with side covers off, hood open, drive shaft cover off. As expected smooth. Engaged PTO with deck down, ran it for about 10 seconds, smooth, disengaged PTO. Reengaged PTO, started to buck, let it run for a few seconds for the video, disengaged PTO, still bucking, dropped the engine speed to idle, quit bucking.

Thoughts on where to go from here?

Edit: Darn it, pics are all upside down. I've tried rotating pics , no luck. Sorry!

[twisties]

First video running, PTO not engaged

https://youtu.be/SvlgtaIdMGc

Second video PTO engaged, running normally, you can hear when I engage it.

https://youtu.be/VJ32TzsokH4

Third video, PTO engaged and bucking. Near the end I disengaged the PTO, it's still bucking until I drop the throttle.

https://youtu.be/y72DxgpXRHY

[R Bedell]

The PTO Clutch Assembly does NOT look like a Cub Cadet PTO. Not saying that is the problem, but it sure looks weird.

[twisties]

No idea. On closer inspection it does appear there are some incorrectly sized flat washers where the adjusting studs are. There's a gap where I circled it.

[ol'George]

It sounds to me like the engine don't have enough power to do the job,
like the carb is lean or the gov. is not kicking the butterfly open.

[GERKS 149]

That coupler at the hydro pump end isn't factory. Should have a fiber/rubber disc like the front. Thought I would mention it, but looks like a nice part.

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by ol'George

It sounds to me like the engine don't have enough power to do the job,
like the carb is lean or the gov. is not kicking the butterfly open.

I agree.

Get the Kohler manual we linked you to earlier. Go through the governor set up. Readjust the governor control, make sure the springs are set in the proper holes. Then, check and adjust the timing, tune the carb, and if it needs it, tune up the engine. Sounds like for sure the governor needs adjusting, timing is off and likely it isn't getting enough fuel.


Oh.... next time you make some videos for us to help you diagnose, it really helps if they are longer. One was only 5 seconds. As a mechanic, believe me, that is barely enough time for my ears to even realize I'm listening to a running engine. In now way is it long enough to diagnose. Videos need to be a bare minimum of 1 min long.

[twisties]

Sorry about the shortness of the videos. With the upload bandwidth available in podunk Tennessee even the 5 second videos took almost 10 minutes to upload, each.

[twisties]

This may be an ignorant question but after looking at the deck manual and the tractor again I noticed it has no idler ratchet. While I don't think this is the problem, what's the implication of not having one?

[Dart1917]

The idler ratchet just lets you push the idler back and hold it there to release tension on the belt when removing or installing the deck. It won't affect the operation if it's not there.

You said the cradle bolts are all there and tight but are the bolts holding the engine to the cradle all there? Can't tell from your pics.