The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Random PTO trivia - Muncie PTO

I found that I have a Muncie brand PTO on my 1 ton.

Now...after calling Muncie my model was actually made by Chelsea.

It is the PT - A2HW. The PT's are Chelseas and the PH (I think) was the Muncie built Muncie.

Backlash on the PTO is very important. (This is the tightness of the teeth on the PTO gear and the tranny gear.) Backlash is set by the gaskets...yep.

So I found a place here...(Inland Truck Parts)...that has the gaskets on hand. Muncie was very helpful on the phone, Inland Truck not so much. But I have four new gaskets now. (2x 0.001 & 2x 0.002) The goal is to use them in a combination that will set my backlash.

This old PTO does not have a cover that can be taken off to see the gears. Backlash is 'guesstimated' by attaching the PTO and turning the output shaft by hand...(I'm assuming I should feel some play, but not a lot). So far the answers on backlash have been a bit less than scientific.

There you go...all I know...about the PTO

(Cool rhyme.... )

This is on a SM 420 transmission, right?

If you pop the transmission into neutral and remove the top cover with the shifter still intact, you can see right down into the gears and measure the lash with a feeler gauge or dial indicator. It is pretty easy to re-install the top by lining up the shift forks with the synchro rings and bolting it back together.

Ya'll can sure make stuff sound simple!! But as a wrencher that is learning as he goes...that sounds a bit over my head. I don't know what a shift fork is...

Quick and simple answer is the shifter engages the shift forks and the forks move the gears back and forth on their shafts inside the tranny.

Hope this clears up what shift forks are.

Willy

It's pretty obvious what they are when you look at them- they look like a big "C" and hang down from the rods in the top cover.

SM420's are really pretty simple and hard to screw up.

Sable surker: I thought I had adequately explained the gasket deal but appearantly not. Just measure the thickness of the two you took off and replace accordingly. If you no longer have them just start with a .020, snug it and see if you can feel any play on the output shaft with the gear engaged. If not then remove and add an .010 gasket and do it again. It's not the huge deal you think it is. Don't be intimidated by these guys hollering backlash, I think your making to much of it. If it will shift into and out of gear with out grinding, or clattering when it's running, then you are good to go. It should shift easily by hand on the shift lever. If it does then also make sure you have a functional cable as they get pretty crummy and hosed up with rust, dirt, etc. Then it's off to the races for you.

FWIW Dep't. Muncie was only an assembly and marketing company for Chelsea PTO's for the first 35+ years of their existance. Finally they developed their own line and manufacture them today. They are now blue instead of red and nearly all have aluminum case. They are now owned by an Italian company. Chelsea PTO's are now part of the Parker Hydraulics group and the Spicer brand is kapoot I think. Dana Corp went bankrupt and disposed of a lot of brands over the years, Chelsea being one of them. The two models you referred to are both Chelsea made models. There were about 5 or 6 of the basic single gear Chelsea PTO's. It's a lot more fun when you start talking about the hundreds of possible models/configurations on the double gear units.

I had totally lost this thread...didn't know why it was locked or where it went. (Only just read my email..:^)

That's what I did. Used one of the thins and one thick.


The hardest part was getting the cable hooked back up Shifting the arm my hand, and turning the output shaft...had just a tiny bit of play in it. So should be good. But getting the cable back into the front clamp and then the wire into the back nut....sheesh! :mad: