LOWLANDER HD MK2 & WIDEBODY MANURE SPREADER – INSTRUCTION & SPARES MANUAL
Page 68
5.8 PTO GUARD SAFETY CHAIN FIXING
Care should be taken when fixing the PTO safety chains, by following the guidelines below you can help
avoid unnecessary and possibly expensive damage to the PTO guard and its component parts.
The purpose of the safety chain is to stop the guarding from rotating during its normal operation thus
preventing foreign objects becoming entangled in it including you!, the safety chains must be fixed in a
position that limits the risk of damage to both operator and shaft guarding.
Because each application varies there is no one perfect way of fitting, as we are all aware tractors vary as
do machines, some come with ideal fixing points others don't.
The chains are supplied at a set length, this is not the length they have to be used at, more so the length
exists to ensure attachment can be achieved should a suitable anchor point be some distance from the
guard.
In the case where a chain can be shortened it should be, not so much as to then cause damage by pulling
on the guard but enough to stop the whole chain wrapping around the guard cuffs as the shaft starts to
work. This is especially true when fixing wide angle constant velocity joints, by its nature the shaft will be
moving to the left and right as the tractor turns, in this case we have to leave enough slack on the chain to
allow this movement but at the same time ensuring that the chain does not wrap around the wide angle
cover or pull across its surface causing damage, in an ideal world the chain would be fixed at 90 degrees to
the guard, in effect the only point of contact between guard and chain would be where the chain is fixed to
the guard, getting the anchor point as close to 90 degrees to the shaft will certainly help prevent damage.
Sometimes with the wide angle shafts it is possible to fix one chain to the other, at the same time
shortening the length of chain as it is done, this can be achieved by taking the main tube guard chain that is
at the wide angle end of the drive shaft and clipping it to the chain running from the wide angle guard
which in turn is anchored as close to 90 degrees from the shaft as is possible, again providing there is some
slack left in the chain, the length of chain can be reduced thus avoiding damage casued by excess chain
wrap around and crossover.
The following pointers should help keep your guard serviceable for many hours.
1) Don't leave the chains too long allowing them to wrap around the guard it will damage the guard.
2) Don't leave the chains so short they pull on the guard.
3) Always try and avoid contact between chain and guard, keep contact to a minimum.
4) Anchor the chains as close to 90 degrees from the shaft as possible.
5) If needed attach one chain to the other, to avoid cross over and chain wrap around.
6) Always ensure there is enough slack to allow for exaggerated movement especially when using a wide
angle shaft.
7) Always maintain the shaft as instructed by the manual supplied with it.
8) Grease your shaft and guard bearings regularly.
9) Always replace worn chains and guarding, damaged guards are potentially lethal.
10) Always stop the tractor engine, wait for the machine to stop turning and remove the ignition key
before attempting to work on or around your driveshaft.
11) If in doubt, refer to PTO manual.
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