B6000 Dies When PTO Turned On

[woodsnhills]

I've been having quite the couple weeks with my B6000, had to replace the seat because old one's bracket rusted off, just replaced front tires and tubes, and have been working on getting everything working so I can mow.

The latest issue is that when I flip the switch to activate the front PTO clutch (and by extension, the belly mower), the tractor dies. This has never happened before! I can move the deck belt by hand and it seems that none of the pulleys are binding. When the PTO clutch is activated, it looks like it tries to spin but then sparks fly out and the motor gets bogged down.

It's been one problem after another and I'm quickly losing patience. Would really appreciate any troubleshooting tips or ideas!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Sounds like you need to pull the clutch and check for damage and or a bearing that is out and binding.

 

[woodsnhills]

Makes sense. When I have a chance I'll try pulling the clutch and look over it. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions too.

 

[D2Cat]

Just for clarity, I'm pretty sure North Idaho Wolfman is referring to the electric clutch up front, not the mechanical clutch.

 

[woodsnhills]

Had a little time to look at this last night. Removed the belt and found that the PTO clutch moves freely and could engage it without problem, so then inspected the pulleys on the mower deck. One of them was completely frozen up. Took it off and found the whole spindle assembly was shot.

So now I'm looking for a replacement spindle assembly and related parts for the Woods 304k mower.