PTO Question Ford 3000

Sounds like the shifter arm or the shifter fork or possibly both, are bent. The round cover that the PTO handle is attached to removes fairly easily and once you have it open you should be able to see what is out of alignment. here is a link to the parts diagram of the PTO shifter mechanism so you can see what it's supposed to look like.

Ford 3000 PTO shifter mechanism

Reviving this thread for a little more information. Last fall I verified that the output shaft on the PTO did not have any longitudinal play and that nothing else seemed out of line. I did notice that the shift lever for the PTO would fall into and out of gear pretty easy so I guess the detent ball and spring are shot. So I went ahead and ordered everything to basically R&R the front end of the PTO drive. New shifter arm, fork and coupler assy with detent ball and spring. Outside of a twisted pTO shaft, which I dont think iis the case,, I dont know what else would be th eproblem unless iit is upstream in the transmission side. Like I said above, I can keep it in gear with a ratchet strap keeping the shifter arm in gear and tightened up against the frame of the machine which leads me to believe the shifter for or arm or both are bent.. I know the detent ball/spring are wasted.

Any other ideas?

Well, tore everything down, the fork and arm were bent all to heck. The coupler was about stripped smooth. Replaced everything with new parts. The retaining ring for the bearing was never installed the last time it was worked on so I replaced that also. PTO is working wonderful. Gave her a tune up, fluid change, oil change, new exaust and greased. Runs like a champ!