Snapped PTO winch main shaft

[Offender90]

I bought a PTO setup some time ago, pulled the winch apart to replace the seals / check internals and this is what I found:

Worm gear set housing

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/8718/29092009172.jpg

Worm gear flange

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/5877/29092009173.jpg

The main shaft is snapped clean, and appears to be jammed in both the drive flage and the gearbox housing. In addition, there is some wear on the teeth of the worm gear (on approximately 120 degrees of the gear), but that's nothing major. Otherwise the winch is intact, and more importantly, the PTO drive and all driveshafts are in good order.

What are my options for replacing the shaft?

The winch is an ex-army one, which I'm told has a different gear housing cover to give it greater oil capacity (see below).

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/8946/22092009158.jpg

Ideally, I'd want to do it on the cheap by finding a donor Thomas PTO winch (from which I could also pull out the worm gear and any other spares) but am not sure if the parts are interchangeable. Any thoughts?

Also, any suggestions for pulling the jammed shaft out of the flange and housing?

Cheers

Bojan

[windsock]

Wow, the mind boggles at the loading that could have caused that shearing off like that.

Just been in contact with Winch Industries lately. very helpful folk. maybe they could assist with a new shaft? Website here (http://www.winch.com.au/winch/contact/contact.html)

They were very quick to respond by email for my enquiries. Worth a go... :)

Cheers,

Phil

[long stroke]

So much for the shear pin on the shaft:eek:

[Offender90]

Wow, the mind boggles at the loading that could have caused that shearing off like that.


The only thing that comes to mind is the PTO was used "in gear" and tyres got some purchase, got several meters up the slope and then let go, resulting in a huge shock load on the main shaft.


So much for the shear pin on the shaft:eek:

Tim, my understanding is that the shear pin is on the driveshaft rather than the main shaft, so I don't think it would help in the situation above. The shear pin will protect the winch internals from overload from the engine side, but not the winch drum side. The bottom mount PTO drive that I have has an overload protection (slip) clutch instead of the shear pin, but either way, I doubt the damage would have been caused that way.




Just been in contact with Winch Industries lately. very helpful folk. maybe they could assist with a new shaft? Website here (http://www.winch.com.au/winch/contact/contact.html)

They were very quick to respond by email for my enquiries. Worth a go... :)

Cheers,

Phil

Thanks Phil - that is my other option. There is a truck wrecker near my place that had an electric motor driven Thomas winch I was hoping to use the internals out of, or one of the eBay jobbies instead. It would be the cheaper option if the internals are suitable. Otherwise it will be either winch industries, or advanced trailer spares. I think both do spare parts for them.

If anyeone with a Thomas PTO could measure out the following dimensions, I would greatly appreciate it as it might save me a trip to the wrecker.

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/2211/22092009159e.jpg

A - gear housing to endplate distance
B - external drum width (including the sidewall thickness)
C - centreline of dog clutch engagement lever to the "drum end" of the casing
D - centreline of dog clutch engagement lever to external end of casing

Cheers

Bojan

[rovercare]

They are only a keyed shaft if I remember right, so would be actually quite cheap to replace, even even getting the keyways cut by a machine shop

[Offender90]

Thought I'd post an update. The parts are interchangeable - the main shaft is ~496mm long in both the army and civvy PTO winches. Also, all parts are still available for the Thomas winches from Advanced Trailer Spares in Brisbane, although a bit pricey.

I got quoted $330 for the main shaft and $290 for the bronze gear (ex GST). Given that I'm not in a real hurry to get one, I'll be looking for a complete s/h unit to pull the spares from.