The trucking industry is known for its versatility. The sundry functions a truck performs keeps things interesting when it comes to vehicle maintenance, but sometimes power take-offs (PTO), the very devices that enable truck versatility, require diligent maintenance or repair.
PTOs are devices that connect a vehicle’s drivetrain to a piece of auxiliary equipment, such as a winch or a crane. They make possible the use of a variety of equipment from cranes to emergency vehicle apparatus. Without them, trucks would be confined to providing the most basic transport functions.
Before addressing a PTO maintenance problem, make sure the correct unit is being used for the job. Improperly-speced PTOs are trouble waiting to happen; they can cause major damage and pose immediate safety threats.
Talk to your customers to learn the primary use of their PTOs, then check to see that they’re using correctly-speced PTOs.
This will save them from longer downtime and all the expenses associated with that occurrence. According to John Hylton, application engineering, Allison Transmission, “The PTO gears are in constant mesh with the transmission gears after installation. If the gears do not mesh at installation, the wrong PTO has been installed.”
Don’t assume that a PTO intended for a specific purpose will suffice for another. With PTOs, obtaining the correct gear meshing from the start is crucial.
If a driver reports PTO noise, it’s likely the PTO’s gears are not merging properly. A complaint of a rattling noise likely means that the gears are too loose, which creates a wear pattern at the tip of the teeth. Whining indicates an overly-tight gear fitting, confirmed by a wear pattern found at the root of the teeth.
