1953 DC Case Wet Clutch? And other questions

[AWC]

Howdy all,

My father just recently bought a 1953 DC case at a tractor auction, and I'm trying to help him get it going but we have some questions. He had a DC case years ago, was the first tractor he ever bought and bought it at age 12, but has not really messed with one since he graduated high school so he's not sure on a few things on it and I have never messed with one before, only JD and Farmall. This one came with an eagle lift too so we want to use it to run our brush mower as the Ferguson t20 it is on now is just worked to death trying to run it and its lift has that auto plow setup that makes the three-point annoying to use at times.

First off, if anything I ask was asked before, sorry to repeat the questions, but there are a lot of pages to go through here and I'm not finding my answers using the search function.

First question: was the DC case a wet clutch setup? I have seen posts saying that the SC was, so I am hoping this is the case, as we are definitely getting oil in the clutch housing. If not, how bad is that job to do?

Second: When we got the tractor, the clutch throw out forks were bent out. I managed to straighten them somewhat, but was this a common issue and what would have caused this?

Third: both brake pedals are on the right side and there there is a clutch pedal on the left. The linkage is gone for it and there is an added piece of metal to hold the clutch pedal on and some other handy work going on, that makes us question if it was modified to be a foot clutch or if that was factory with some good old farm-hand repairs done on it. With the brake pedals both on one side, does this imply it was factory foot clutch? If not, would this modification possibly be the issue with the clutch fork?

Fourth: I'm seeing a small oil leak on the front of it as well, though I cannot tell if it is the main front seal or the timing cover gasket. Is there a common leaking issue there I can address and how much of a bear is the job of replacing those?

We just got the tractor to my father's farm last weekend so I've not had a chance to even get a manual for it yet, so I appreciate any help or advice that can be given on these questions or anything about the tractor in general.

Thanks in advance!

AWC

This post was edited by AWC on 07/19/2023 at 10:55 am.

 

[tomturkey]

Yes the DC is a wet clutch. As far as the front end oi leak, there are several places it could possibly come from so after you pressure wash it you will
find out which 70 year old gasket is leaking. Without pictures it is a bit hard for me to understand the linkage question maybe someone else will be
helpful. I'm no help on the throw out forks you have me baffled on that one also. Nice of you to help ole Dad out with his tractor gobble

 

[Don Rudolph]

A late model DC could be equipped with either a foot or a hand clutch. It sounds like someone did some homegrown mods to this tractor, as either of these would be located on the left side of the transmission housing. I have never heard of D series clutch forks being bent. A picture of your setup would be helpful. Don

 

[olgentdc]

Everyone thinks they want a ft clutch DC or SC .. I have both style of clutches on 4 tractors .. IMHO CASE made them for those too hard headed to get along with hand clutches in an attempt to modernize the Case fleet ..that said ,,. the hand clutch is so much simpler to keep adjusted right as opposed to the ft clutchers . again this is my opinion based on my experience . one thing i like about hand clutch Would make the OSHA folks cringe ,.. going thru gates I simply pull the clutch lever and leave the tractor running in gear.. open the gate , Get back on and nurse the clutch thru the gate ... Also works good hooking up equipment alone.. All these methods can kill an operator .. But those modern convenience confusing mechanix nitemare tractors can do it quicker faster and better .. In answer to your Ft clutch ,,. I fear Yours may be a cobbled up retrofit ..You will need to see another ft, clutch diagrams or real would help tremendously ,,. if yours lacks parts , They are out there , but not easily foundlike hand clutch models ,,. Best thing get some pictures on here if you can figure out how to do that ,,. I never did ..LOL .. Beleive Me , Youare better off as a hand clutch . especially if yours is missing parts and has been monkeyed with .

 

[used red MN]

Hello AWC welcome to YT! I am not very familiar with
those older Cases. I can give you a link to the
manufacturers online parts catalog or diagrams
whatever you you want to call it. I think the cross
section diagrams can be difficult to decipher
sometimes. Obviously, very few parts are available
through CNHI.
DC Case online parts catalog

 

[jon f mn]

One possibility for the lock to gild the
clutch is that those clutches can stick
when sitting. My 53 dc with foot clutch
sticks a bit everyday, I have to start it
in gear with the clutch pushed to get it
loose. I've taken it apart to try to find
the reason and can't find anything wrong.
I have seen and talked to folks that block
the peddle down when sitting for that
reason. As to the linkage, pics would help
a lot.

 

[John Saeli]

Is that a Typo, or is there actually a clutch pedal on the right? A '53 would have the clutch pedal on
the Left. Are you confusing the foot throttle w/ a clutch pedal? Only a pirate w/ 1 leg on the right
would have a clutch pedal on the right.

 

[AWC]

That was a typo. Fixed it.

Why I asked is I saw a picture of a hand clutch model with one brake on each side. I am trying to figure out if the foot clutch was a modification or factory.

 

[jon f mn]

Foot or hand clutch wS optional the last
years of production

 

[chuck machinist]

Ron Sa has commented frequently on this specific issue. Clutch sticking. There is a drain hole at the bottom of the
clutch assembly will plug up. . Also if you do not regularly change the oil in the D series tractors, The OD of the
clutch lining builds up a crust of dirt and oil between the linings and clutch housing. I will attempt to find that
drawing that Ron has previewed in past posts .The clutch assembly must be cleaned of grit ,grunge and crusty oil
buildup. When changing the crank case oil ,you must change the oil in the clutch housing also. After you fill the
crank case with the proper amount of oil, a quart splashes back into the clutch housing. I will attempt to find that
drawing and explain later on in another post. CM

 

[casecollectorsc]

In 1952 DCs had both brake pedals on the right side. Before that they had the pedals on both left and right sides. A picture would
tell if factory or not...I have a DC with a hand clutch that was farmerized into a foot clutch.

 

[AWC]

(quoted from post at 18:51:00 07/19/23) Ron Sa has commented frequently on this specific issue. Clutch sticking. There is a drain hole at the bottom of the
clutch assembly will plug up. . Also if you do not regularly change the oil in the D series tractors, The OD of the
clutch lining builds up a crust of dirt and oil between the linings and clutch housing. I will attempt to find that
drawing that Ron has previewed in past posts .The clutch assembly must be cleaned of grit ,grunge and crusty oil
buildup. When changing the crank case oil ,you must change the oil in the clutch housing also. After you fill the
crank case with the proper amount of oil, a quart splashes back into the clutch housing. I will attempt to find that
drawing and explain later on in another post. CM

I would appreciate that greatly! Trying to understand the setup and quirks of this machine so we can use it.

I know several have said pictures would help but I'm 2 hours away from my Dad's place and only get down there every other weekend, unless he needs help with something, so will be another week before I can grab pictures.

Thank you for all the info so far, though!

~ AWC

 

[chuck machinist]

Here is the drawing you need to look at. If you study this drawing, you will see the drain hole I am speaking of. A clean clutch housing is a proper functioning clutch. Look where it is marked CRUD HOLE in the drawing Just saying!CM

 

[Vogts Veggies]

I have a 1952 DC3 tractor with hand clutch on the left side and both brakes on the right. The hand clutch is pushed forward to engage and pulled back to disengage. I have been having trouble with the sticking problem also and will drain that hole now. I just took it up one notch because it was quite soft going in to engage but now seems like it takes a pretty heavy push.
One thing that we added to this tractor after my dad working in the woods on caterpillar who came out with a decelerator for the automatics, we added a decelerator on the left side. This tractor had only a hand set for speed of engine. The decelerator is just a piece of bicycle cable going down to the carburetor. When you step on the decelerator pedal, homemade, it pulls on the carburetor against the governor to slow the speed all the way down to an idle if you want to push it that far. This really helps in controlling the tractor.

 

[JOCCO]

Hello and welcome. Sounds to me like you have a late DC foot clutch. It is known that some of these were "farmer converted" to foot clutch. Mine has a foot throttle too by the two brake peddles. If you can look online and get some parts and service manuals they will help you a lot. Yes on wet clutch, I am also baffled by the bent forks. On mine there is a belt pulley brake to stop it and allow shifting. The eagle hitch is a form of 3 point but research the top link mount (I built one for mine) There was an original that went over the pto. good lucl