50in tiller input shaft

[wh315-8 439]

I have this 50in tiller, the input shaft pulls  in and out about 3/16". Is this normal and OK? Or do I need to split the box to add shims to it?

[stevasaurus 22,229]

I'm guessing it is OK.  Wheel Horse always had about 1/8" play in their gears.  It's the up and down and side to side that means bad bearing.  

[wh315-8 439]

1 hour ago, stevasaurus said:

I'm guessing it is OK.  Wheel Horse always had about 1/8" play in their gears.  It's the up and down and side to side that means bad bearing.  

Copy that.. I haven't got to run this tiller yet, the PO was running it on a Kubota, of course a lower RPM. And he had the covers all off because he was going to repaint it. So before I paint it and put back together wanted to make sure, but didn't want to take gearbox apart if I didn't need to fix what isn't broken. Lol

[Skipper 1,788]

Not that Steve might not be right here, but........

 

There are bearings, and thrust bearing and washers on that shaft. And that shaft is the weak point on that otherwise great tiller. They can however strip the gears on that axle. It's like almost impossible to get a new input axle if it strips. I would consider taking it apart and shim it perfect, get the input part of the tiller 100%, if you want it tiptop and long lasting. That shaft also handles all the vibrations from the main pto axle, so it really just is THE most critical component to keep happy.

 

I'm taking mine apart this winter for some preemptive maintenance.

 

Just my 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Skipper

[wh315-8 439]

.02 cents could save 💳💰💵 in the long run.. Think I may do the same 'Skipper', I rebuild things all the time, just want to make sure if it should have some play to not take it away and cause more damage later...