Norse 450 winch Threw the drive chain

[AndyVT]

Was pulling a stuck hemlock down when I heard a rattle, the engagement rope went slack and the winch stopped pulling. 
Pulled off the lower cover to find the chain off the drive sprocket. It is jammed behind the sprocket and appears to have separated at the master link.
To get full access to the sprocket there is a bottom cover that the PTO shaft passes through. I need to remove the PTO shaft to get the cover off but the shaft has a safety shield bolted to the cover and doesn't have a quick release like the tractor side. 
Anyone ever replaced the drive chain and how does the PTO shaft come off?

[AndyVT]

Success, the PTO shaft has a spring loaded pin that pushes in and releases the shaft.
Now I need to repair the chain and a few other issues that I discovered once I could see the innards. 

[g_man]

Always good when you find the answer to your own question 

gg

[AndyVT]

A bent tooth on the big sprocket either occurred when the chain snapped or it was the cause of the break. In any case I have to dismantle the drum to access the sprocket to see if it's repairable. This has shut down my logging operation until repairs are made.😩

[thecfarm]

Mine has slipped off before.
Seems to happen when the log is a hard pull. meaning it gets stuck on something. I need a new sprocket. I had mine since '93. Mine does not come off the tractor. I use it a lot.
I forgot the number of the chain for repair links. I just bring a master link to match up at the hardware store.

[AndyVT]

Took a drive to the Kubota dealer for a fuel filter and got a new master link from them. It's #60 chain. One drive sprocket tooth was buggered up so I ground it down to smooth it. 
Fingers crossed that it works🤞
I pulled the whole winch mechanism out of the frame to get better access to the sprocket. 
Raining all afternoon so will hopefully get it back together tomorrow.

[AndyVT]

All back together with cable removed from drum and rewound; it was routed incorrectly and also bound up about halfway into the reel.
Hooked a 5 foot long by about 12 inch maple log as a tension load and reeled it in.
The winch does exhibit a "hiccup " a when operating which I attribute to the ground down broken tooth. The real test comes when I am back logging. Stay tuned.

[g_man]

Do you have a tension idler or rub bar on that winch ? I bought a used winch years ago that wasn't adjusted and way to loose. The chain never came off but it would skip a tooth on the drive gear with a bang on a hard pull. All was good after I adjusted the rub idler to remove the slack.

gg

[thecfarm]

The Norse has an idler on a spring.
No need to ever adjust it.

[AndyVT]

Never knew about the idler but discovered it during this repair and it had no spring so was inoperative. It now is spring loaded and back doing its job.

[maple flats]

I have a Fransgard winch and I sold them for about 15-16 years. I've never had a chain break or come off, but those winches are quite basic and crude. My guess is that you will get it fixed, even if you need to grind the bent tooth and weld on it to oversize it then grind to shape. These are rather slow turning as machines go, it shouldn't pose a great problem.
Good luck!

[thecfarm]

I use things more than most people do.
My tractor has more hours on it in a month then some people do for a year.
We bog hogs the fields, once every 2-3 weeks. Most people only push hog twice a year. My winch stays on my tractor all the time. I use that winch just about every week. Again, I seem like everything I buy I use about 3-4 times more then most people.
That's why I had trouble with the chain. My sprocket and chain are getting worn out from more then 25 years of use.