Farmall Super A Clutch Stuck

[kjoelsulli]

Ok guys need some help...

Bought a Super A, was working fine and then all of a sudden a stuck clutch. I tried the ideas for unsticking and finally decided to break apart.
First time: change the clutch, pilot bearing, throw out bearing. we noticed 50 plus years of dirt in the bell hosing cleaned this up.
--> Still same issue the Clutch would grind.
adjust clutch pedal travel and Clutch pressure plate arms.
second time: Based on talking to friends that have farmalls, they mentioned to check clutch fork, it was and issue, it was replaced.
==> Still clutch grinds when trying to shift into gear.
Third time breaking apart:
Inspected everything on the new clutch, throwout bearing etc. noticed on back end of the bell housing where it mounts to tranny looked clogged up. We already had planned to break apart to replace the leaking tranny seal.
So broke apart by tranny, noticed clutch pedal rod area was still very clogged with dirt (leaking oil from tranny). So we took bell housing and pressure washed to get all the old dirt out. Can now see original paint on inside of housing type of clean.
Replaced gaskets and seals on tranny, put tractor back together and still have issue with the clutch not disengaging. only thing not replaced is the flywheel.
We paid very close attention to how the bell housing went back on to engine block to make sure nothing was bound up. it slid right together fairly easily.
Any ideas or thoughts?

Could the clutch I have be out of spec? could the fly wheel be the issue? The tractor starts first attempt, no spoke so really want to resolve this issue.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I would look at the spline for wear. Also for debris on the shaft like old grime grease or just plain old stuck dirt. Then lightly very lightly grease the spline where the throw out bearing rides. don't over grease the throw out bearing when using either. Check for the sleeve to slide well on the bearing and shaft. Are the holes worn in the casting of the bell housing? Pins worn in linkage. And finally you do have to wait a few seconds, for the transmission to stop turning before shifting. Some more than others depending on the temperature and oil used.

 

[used red MN]

Hello KJ welcome to YT. If what I am thinking is true
you are going to be quite upset that you wasted your
time on the last two splits. This may be repeated later
because I have a fairly lengthy copy and paste I use for
these scenarios. Bottom line is the transmission is
going to grind some if you do not wait for some
amount of time after you push the clutch in. These
transmissions are NOT SYNCHRONIZED!! Here is the
paste in, it is lengthy because it is detailed, for some it
is difficult to understand what I am getting at. Does it
grind severely and want to move while in gear with the
clutch pressed down? IF NOT, here is how you find out
if the clutch is releasing properly. Start tractor and
warm up a few minutes. With tractor stopped an idling
push the clutch down and put it in gear. Continue
holding down the clutch and place it in neutral, count
1000-1, 1000-2, now try to shift it into gear. If it goes
in gear with minimal gear grinding such as a tooth or
two passing each other the clutch is releasing fine,
again clutch is held down during entire test. To explain
how this checked if the clutch is releasing, you
stopped the gears by placing it in a gear, then during
the two second wait in neutral if the clutch is dragging
or not releasing properly it would start the clutch plate,
shafts and gears spinning again. So if there is a release
problem it will grind when you try to put it back in gear
after the two second wait. If it passes this check you
can pull it apart a hundred times and not make it go in
gear with less grinding. You just need to wait longer
after pushing the clutch down. The issue is in those old
Farmalls the shafts spin easily and it just takes a while
to stop the spinning momentum. They have no
synchronizers like modern manual transmissions!

 

[kjoelsulli]

Thanks for the reply, I went and tried to start with clutch depressed and in 1st gear.. I think it was slightly stuck as it pulled me forward then released as it should. It now shifts gears no problem. We shut it down, put in N and started and it is working .. N - 1, N-2 , etc. I guess some how it was slightly stuck. Thanks again

 

[rustred]

wow, so what exactly do you mean by a stuck clutch? so your saying when u step on the clutch pedal the tractor keeps on a going?? plus you do
not play around with pressure plate fingers. they are set . have you set this clutch up freeplay. when pressing lightly on the pedal u will
feel when the brg. touches the fingers. get some pictures of this stuff.

 

[kjoelsulli]

(quoted from post at 14:19:46 02/04/23) wow, so what exactly do you mean by a stuck clutch? so your saying when u step on the clutch pedal the tractor keeps on a going?? plus you do
not play around with pressure plate fingers. they are set . have you set this clutch up freeplay. when pressing lightly on the pedal u will
feel when the brg. touches the fingers. get some pictures of this stuff.

The clutch when I would depress clutch and then try to shift the gears would grind, even after replacing clutch pressure plate, throw out bearing, etc.
I spoke to multiple people on the clutch and was told to adjust the clutch fingers, not normal for a truck or car but on these tractors will need tweaking. I have about 1-1.5" of pedal travel before throw out bearing starts to touch clutch fingers.
Anyways now after having it in 1st gear and depress clutch and trying to start.. it bucked forward about a foot and then released and has operated as it should. No more issues

 

[rustred]

shorten up that free play , u only need 1/8 inch minimum between fingers and brg.so go by that as it is more accurate freeplay with worn
linkage is tricky for someone that is practicing. just go by the lever movement coming from bell housing and feel. them tractors are easy
shifting there is no grinding. and when letting clutch out it should start moving pretty much as you are releasing it from the bottom. that
transmission should have 80-90 wt gear oil and them gears dont keep spinning when you step on clutch. all of them 1950's models are very easy
to shift . and was the old disc worn?? and pressure plate?

 

[kshansen]

(quoted from post at 20:57:13 02/04/23) shorten up that free play , u only need 1/8 inch minimum between fingers and brg.so go by that as it is more accurate freeplay with worn linkage is tricky for someone that is practicing.

Agree, my manual calls for 1/2 inch clearance at the bearing but that is with all new parts! On a 70+ year old tractor you have to adapt a bit. So as long as there is some clearance between the bearing and fingers of the clutch you should be good.

Just might want to check it after using it for a bit to see if the clearance in staying about the same. I don't think I have needed to adjust the clutch in a couple decades and forget how long before that I had replaced it.

I mow about 10 acres of lawn and use it for many other jobs like bringing in fire wood so it's not just a parade machine that runs a couple hours a year!

 

[used red MN]

Another thing is that the new surface of the pressure
plate rusts very easily. This is what I assume caused a
bit of your grief. You probably made every effort to
keep the surfaces grease and oil free. Unfortunately
this invites surface rust to form easily, essentially the
lined clutch plate rusted to the pressure plate. You do
not say you had the flywheel surface machined, does
not matter one way or the other, if it does not needed
that was your call. If it was turned that doubles the
surfaces that can rust. Once the surface gets
burnished a bit it will be less susceptible to this. I
would suggest you store it with a block holding the
clutch pedal down for the time being, this eliminates
the problem. Then once grass mowing season comes
around after a mowing or two it will be fine to park it
normally. Another thing that can aggravate this is
bringing it in a heated garage after it has been out in
the cold, often condensation forms on parts quickly in
those conditions which as you know accelerates the
..iron oxidation.. rust! Glad I could help.

 

[farmall pete]

(quoted from post at 16:26:49 02/04/23) Thanks for the reply, I went and tried to start with clutch depressed and in 1st gear.. I think it was slightly stuck as it pulled me forward then released as it should. It now shifts gears no problem. We shut it down, put in N and started and it is working .. N - 1, N-2 , etc. I guess some how it was slightly stuck. Thanks again

Just throwing this out there, you said you replaced the pilot bushing, and the symptoms/cure you found match exactly what happens when the pilot bushing is not honed after installation. They can be a little tight on the shaft, and free up with a little persuasion, just what you experienced.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Did you adjust the fingers on the pressure plate? gm