# John Deere 2440 PTO question



## DutchAcres (Jun 11, 2008)

I've got a 1979 John Deere 2440 - 60hp at the PTO. 3,000 hours. Bougtht it for $8,000 w/ front loader, orchard fenders and rear wheel weights.

I bought a snow blower for it, and I'm having some issues with the blower. It doesn't throw very far.

I think maybe the problem is that my PTO has a 6-spline shaft installed, and is running at 540 rpm.

I have an operator's manual, technical manual and parts manual for the tractor.

The Operator's manual says:

"Two PTO stub shafts are provided for dual PTO units. For 540 rpm operation, a 6-spline shaft is used; for 1000 rpm opreration, a 21-spline shaft is used.

To change dual speed power take-off to the other speed, remove cap screws or snap ring fastening the stup shaft to the pilot and remove shaft from tractor. install desired stub shaft and secure with cap screws or snap ring." Pg.38

Here's are my 2 questions: 

1)Why would changing the number of splines on the shaft change the rpm speed? Wouldn't it simply provide a more positive connection between the shaft and the attached implement? 
2) Is there also a PTO selector lever/switch somewhere on the tractor? Seems there HAS to be, but the manual doesn't show one.

I don't have the 21-spline stub shaft, but I found them at the parts dealer ($785) and on ebay ($200).

Any ideas? Thanks for the help!


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Could the stub shaft have a gear on the end you can't see that meshes with a different gear? I have a couple Belarus that can be switched between 540 and 1000rpm with a simple loostening of a bolt. I have a White 4-150 that has a pto that works like you describe the John Deere.

Is the snow blower set up for 1000rpm. Few are. To blow snow, you have to get the tracttor's engine reved up, while driving slow. 
Is your snow real wet? Is the snow blower two stage?


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## DutchAcres (Jun 11, 2008)

The blower is a 2-stage blower, 7 ft wide.

After looking carefully at the pictures in the parts catalog, I thing you're right about the shaft being longer on the 1000 rpm shaft - it must engage a different gear internally.

The snow is medium-heavy, I guess. It's been in the high 20's and we're getting a few extra inches every 3 days right now. The 1st snow was 16 inches of wet, heavy stuff, but I used the back blade to push that out of the way because the blower wasn't working at all. 

There is a chance that maybe I didn't have the engine rpm high enough. I'll put it up between 2100 and 2400, go real slow, and see if that makes a difference. I should expect the chute to chuck it out 20 plus feet at least, right?


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

Your right the shafts engage differently in the transmission. You should have a line on your tach for rated speed this is the rpm you need to be operating at for your PTO powered attachments. 

Look above your PTO shield to the left and see if there is a 1000 shaft there pointing to the left, that is where they are stored on most JD tractors.

You don't randomly switch equipment between 540 and 1000 PTO


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

the two shaft/different splines is a method to prevent people that know nothing of powerful/dangeous equipment from making ignorant mistakes.

its a sight to see a square hay bailor runnibg at 1100 rpm.

on many tractors its the same shaft, just switch ends(pull shaft and put the 6 spline in the gearbox) to engage different gears in the gear train.


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

if the shaft on the snowblower is 6 splined and fit on your 540 PTO on the tractor without any modifications then that is all you need.
Running a 540 RPM snowblower at 1000RPM will make it blow really far for a short time, then you will have parts all over the place.
You should have the tractor revved up to the proper speed, if there is no line on the tach, run the throttle to the stop.
You can also get some spray stuff for the blower and that really helps the snow go through it. Northwoods makes stuff called Snow Wax, other brands have different names.


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## DaleK (Sep 23, 2004)

If the snow blower is setup for 540, use 540. How old is the blower? Could be that the fan is worn and not blowing well, or any number of other things.


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## AtomicFarmer (Sep 16, 2012)

We have a 2006 JD 6403 that switches from 540 to 1000RPM PTO just by reversing the spline shaft. All that holds it in is a big snap ring and you don't flip levers, switches, etc...just reverse the stub shaft. I'll be darned if I can figure out how it works. As the others above said, there's a big difference in the splines, making it impossible to mix them up. Our other tractors are old Farmalls and the only one of them with 2 PTO's is the 806, which has both shafts sticking out the back of the tractor. When the PTO is engaged, they both turn.

As for the snowblower in question, a 7'blower on a 60HP tractor might be kind of a lot, depending on the snow. Does the tractor bog down a lot as it starts to blow? Maybe your ground speed is too fast. Does slowing the travel speed help? Do this by gearing down and keeping the throttle up, not by throttling down.

My apologies if you know this stuff already. I'm not trying to dispute your knowledge or ability, just shooting out ideas.


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## mink (Feb 10, 2005)

slow your ground speed and increase your engine rpm to at least where the 540 rpm sticker is .... it'll be somewhere around 2100 rpm. also the chute angle makes a big difference , raise it up.


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## DutchAcres (Jun 11, 2008)

Thanks for all the help. I was being too much of a p*ssy on the hand throttle. There's a window on my rpm display marked "PTO MIN / PTO MAX." In between those it works great!


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