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| | | Forums66 Topics128,040 Posts1,055,474 Members48,424 | | Most Online14,466 Apr 26th, 2026 | | AD Chevy Trucks Over 6,000 pictures Brad Allen has an awesome collection of Chevrolet factory pictures that he has set up from film strips. Check them out!
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on the Internet for over 30 years! and not clogged down with Ads! Again, thanks! | | | | Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 | i cant get my pto engaged in my 65 C60. there is 2 levers in the cab of the truck and nothing was happening, so i crawled under and found a loose connection from the lever end and the braket that attaches to the pto. I remove said bolt and tried to engage it by hand from under the truck....nada but gear grinding....am i missing something? granted i am not real familiar with pto's and such, but it looks pretty straight forward and i am feeling retarded right now. | | | | | Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 684 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 684 | I'm no expert on PTO's but I engage the clutch on my fire truck before engaging the PTO and it works fine. Try hooking up the lever and using the clutch. Good Luck! | | | | | Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 127 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 127 | Yes he is correct with the engine running you will not be able to engage the PTO with out depressing the clutch, | | | | | Joined: Dec 2002 Posts: 3,439 Moderator - The Electrical Bay | | Moderator - The Electrical Bay Joined: Dec 2002 Posts: 3,439 | If i wasnt absolutely certain of what I was putting into gear, I wouldnt be engaging linkages while i'm under a running truck...  oh, and it's "developmentally challenged".... unless you are referring to timing.
Another quality post. Real Trucks Rattle HELP! The Paranoids are after me!
| | | | | Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 | i knew what the lever was for Rusty Rod....the problem was with the lever attached it wouldnt move the bracket enough to engage it at all, which it why i went under it (with my brother in the cab depressing the clutch) | | | | | Joined: Feb 2002 Posts: 12,029 Cruising in the Passing Lane | | Cruising in the Passing Lane Joined: Feb 2002 Posts: 12,029 | if it won't go into drive with the clutch depressed it's hooped - pretty common for folks to forget they've got it engaged and drive on home - the PTO gearing isn't set up for highway speeds time to open'er up and clean out the bits Bill | | | | | Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 720 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 720 | The PTO on my '56 dump is kinda picky about when it wants to engage. I found that pulling the PTO lever into gear as I slowly engage the clutch works well. Spins up the gears, but it's still loose enough for everything to mesh & it pops right in. Altho, my PTO lever is pretty tight & only moves about an inch from engaged to disengaged. 1956 GMC 370 dump " 'Tater "1970 VW Volksrod "the Black Bomber" 2007 Chevy Avalanche 2020 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, 2005 Harley Davidson FLHTCUI I dig all cars, old and new, whether they were hammered out of American iron, German steel, or Japanese tin cans. Being unable to appreciate them all is missing out on a world of great things. But thats just MY opinion! :P
| | | | | Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 | My lever had about 8-10inches of travel, way more than i thought it needed. | | | | | Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,733 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,733 | IF your PTO has a lever on a side plate then it was made for a cable control. This lever, about 2.5-3" long will travel approx. 25 degrees at the end where the cable attaches. LEVER control PTO's used an eye bolt and these come out through the end of the cast housing. They have about 1" of travel in and out. This is pretty much true regardless of brand (Muncie or Chelsea)on the older units and whether it is a single gear or a double gear PTO. If you have a lot of handle travel if may only mean that your control lever is excessively long. Too long a handle cause unnecessay vibration and gear wear. If yours has the little side mounted lever(above) then I would most certainly change it to a cable operation.
When engaged a PTO should not make any noise. If it whines it needs shim gaskets and if it rattles then it needs to have thinner gasket(s). Gaskets come from .010 to .030 and spacers come from .060 to .375. Nearly all the old dump trucks with basic 4 & 5 speed transmissions used single gear PTO, i.e., the unit had one gear that slides on and off the driving gear inside the tranny. These transmissions had only six bolt opening(s) and were on the side(s). | | | | | Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 66 New Guy | | New Guy Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 66 | What happened to me on my '48 2t. was that the cable control slipped in the bracket underneath the truck, so pulling and pushing the dash knob just moved the slack in the whole cable not the lever on the trans. It was hard to tell looking underneath with all the gunk. | | | | | Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,186 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,186 | As long as were talking PTO and hoists, tell me what these knobs do. I think the two on the left are for the PTO and hoist? The left is the PTO and I believe the one next to it is the hoist. <img src="http://i142.photo...cket - Video and Image Hosting"> | | | | | Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,733 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,733 | One or the other is, thats for sure. The one that goes to the valve on the pump is likely a Williams piston pump. Could be S/A or D/A depending on the hoist. I'd bet it is an old grain truck with a scissor hoist, correct? | | | | | Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,186 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,186 | Not sure, it has one massive cylinder with a transmission driven pump. The knob on the left is a cable that runs down to the PTO. The truck was used to haul mail across South Dakota. It has a flat bed on it right now, sort of, a cow could fall through it and never touch anything!! | | | | | Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,733 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,733 | I pretty clear on what you have. " a cow could fall through it and never touch anything!!" I'd stay away from the cattle hauling business if I were you.  | | | | | Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 | Hey Dave, can I convert my lever system to a cable system? Or would it be too much to push/pull for a cable? | | | | | Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,276 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,276 | I see that you said that it was grinding pushing in the clutch put the truck in gear then the PTO take the truck back out of gear and let out the clutch. Sounds to me like maybe your clutch is sticking to the flywheel. Or the piolet bushing is tite. | | | | | Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,733 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,733 | badtexasz28: I don't know what type PTO you currently have. Some cable shift PTO's have a floor lever attached to the shift arm lever so w/o a description or photo of what you have I cannot say if you can install a cable shift or not. This may sound confusing to you but I don't know any other way to decribe it. If you have the eye bolt straight push/pull shifter then you cannot operate it with a cable. The cable needs the advantage of the small lever to operate the shift rod.
HevyHauler may be correct about the clutch sticking. Can you shift the transmission in/out of gear OK? If not then that is a likely problem. | | | | | Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 | I can shift it ok most of the time, every once in awhile i have trouble getting it into 1st gear. As far as the eye bolt you referred to, my setup has two levers next to the shifter. The lever that engages the PTO goes through the floor and connects via a small 2" bracket to a smaller (about 2.5-3" long)lever coming off of the PTO itself. The other lever is connected to a log rod which goes back to the hydraulic pump. I will try and get a couple of pictures unless you dont need them after the above description provided by a newbie big bolter....lol | | | | | Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,733 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,733 | OK badtexasz28, I now know what you have and yes, you can eliminate the PTO floor lever and install a cable to connect to the small shift arm on the PTO cover plate. Buy a vinyle wrapped 10' push/pull cable with the PTO cable retaining bracket and also get a bowdin pin for the shift arm. The knob end may be installed in a bracket under the dash as in a photo posted above or you can drill a hole in the lower dash. I like them on the floor at the door sill area so you can stand outside the cab and control the hoist as you watch it dump. | | | | | Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 | Yeah, so I got the PTO a'turnin'....but no worky worky. I am wondering ifthe pump is shot. Where is a good source for pumps and hydraulic related stuff? | | | | | Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 63 | | | | | | Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,276 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,276 | badtexasz28 See if you can find a tag with a brand and model number. Or it may have a stamped number somewhere. A casting number won't do you any good a tag or a stamping. Also check the shaft for sheared keys. Be shure the shaft is realy turning the pump. | | | | | Joined: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,987 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,987 | If your PTO is working, but the bed won't lift, try moving the other lever back and forth slightly. Sometimes it needs to be in a certain "sweet spot" in order for it to work. Also, make sure your hoist has fluid in it. This can sometimes be difficult with the bed down, but can be done. This has also been covered in previous posts. | | |
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