Vortex tip of the year

[Mikey P]

Go outside and check/tighten your PTO mounting bolts.

Demien found out about his neglect the hard way..

 

[Brian R]

I figured the tip would be to get rid of it like everyone else is doing.

 

[George V]

You think the oil leak from the pto gasket would have been a clue.

Btw, who's damien?

 

[Demien]

I don't know about neglect????? I asked if you have ever checked your pto mounting bolts and you had never checked yours!!!

So i had a small transmission leak, thought it was coming from the transmission pan. On a job last week I loose what looked to be about a quart of ATF.

While under truck thought I would check the pto bolts and found them super loose. Some were so loose I could turn them by hand. tightened all but one (pto bolts are a bitch to get to, the trans mount wraps around the pto) The end plate bolts were also a little loose as well.

After tightening everything pto still leaks. Looks to be either a micro crack in the pto body or a busted end plate gasket.

At the end of the season we will pull end plate and replace gasket.
Hope it works!!!!

Demien

By the way we also disconnected the e-brake switch (if you follow the hand brake down toward the floor their is a single wire connector) i can now use the parking brake with the unit running (engine brake nor the transmission pin engage) I feel a little better about parking on a hill with the parking brake engaged!!!!!

 

[George V]

Yeah,

My 99' 777 was leaking AFT from the PTO gasket. Torque'd the studs slowed the leak but the PTO had 110k miles and over 6k hours on the POS Muncie. It started slippin so bad had to replace. Upgraded to the chealsea PTO.

Durring the swap-over discovered a couple thrust washers had disentigrated and the casing was spitting metal into the tranny.

$1500, 6 hours, and a case a beer later and that beaatchhh was fixed and running tits up again.

Good luck!

Give me a shout if i can help,

 

[Mikey P]

Mine is nice and tight, I'd like to think my regular mechanic has been keeping on eye on it.


Don't get all sensitive on me Demien.

I'm a real prick in print.

 

[George V]

Demien,

If you're running an older truck w/ the Muncie PTO good luck getting a wrench on them bolts.

I had to MODIFY a COMBO WRENCH with a GRINDER to get mine out. Even removed some mounts in order to lower the tranny enough to get it out. Good times!!!! Good times indeed!!!

Altogether, think it took closer to 10 hours and a couple cases of beer now that i think about it.

The good news is that anyone with about a 2000 or newer V already has the Cheaslea PTO. so should be a peice of cake.

 

[Demien]

Thanks George !!

It is a cheaslea pto (2004). I had the unit drive shaft (u joints worn completely through the steel) go out. I think the stress from the drive line as well as the pto being loose is what cracked the body or tore the gasket??
When we replace the gasket we will do some reshaping of the transmission mounts to make retighting of all the pto bolts possible. The way it sits now my mechanic and I spent about 4 hours tightening the 5 mounting bolts!!!!
Demien

 

[Mikey P]

What wrenches did you use on that damn thing?

 

[Demien]

We actually used 5 different types of wrenches. No Fun!!!!!
We couldn't get much swing from any of them. We were unable to tighten one of the bolts.
Demien

 

[Mikey P]

you type perty.