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Read articles →This one follows a real working breakdown on a recently restored 4520 pressed into feed-grinding duty on a cattle operation. The PTO clutch slips and drops out under load while mixing feed; the owner walks through diagnosing it as oil contamination in the clutch pack, flushing it with gas, and retesting under a full load. It's an unscripted real-time troubleshooting session, not a teardown or spec review, best for owners chasing similar PTO clutch slipping symptoms.
Posted by CowboyRanchLife, an owner-operator documenting real ranch work and equipment problems as they happen on their own cattle operation.
The owner found oil contamination in the clutch pack area was likely preventing the plates from gripping properly, causing it to slip and disengage under heavy load.
Open the clutch cavity, pour gas in while the tractor runs to flush out the oil, cycle the PTO in and out of gear to mix it, then retest under load.
Yes, after the gas flush the tractor was reloaded with silage and haylage to the weight that caused slipping before, and no slippage was detected.
