1948 8N - Clutch?

[8N-MW]

1948 Ford 8N.

I have had my 8N running great for a few years, it has become my go-to snow removal tool. It has sat for a few months awaiting the winter.

I started it up today and when I depressed the clutch pedal, it was grinding as I attempted to engage the PTO shifter - same with the transmission gears.

I adjusted the clutch pedal several times, reducing the travel of the pedal substantially. No luck. I even disconnected the pedal, then used a jack to push up and fully engage the clutch independent of the pedal. Still grinding. At extremely low RPM I think I could cram in it if I had to.

Does this mean I have to do the dreaded split and replace some innards? Are there any great tricks out there?

 

[Royse]

You could block the pedal down for a few days and see if it pops loose.
You could also remove the starter and spray brake cleaner on the
clutch disk using the flexible straw to bend around and get to it.
If you have room to do so safely, you could pop it in gear, drive
it around while holding the clutch down and jam on the brakes.

Make sure your cotter key in the bottom of the trans is free to let
oil out if it gets into the housing. That can be the cause of a stick.
I also block the clutch pedal down when not in use.

 

[warbaby]

IF you do get it in gear (you gotta be quick on the lever!), ride around with the clutch pedal down and jab the brakes down quickly and repeatedly- that will
shock the drive line sometimes break the bond betwixt the pressure plate and the flywheel. This might get you back in service temporarily, but the real cure is to
split it and replace the worn or contaminated parts.

Ive had them stick because of rust, and stick because of oil leaking past the rear main seal.

 

[Jim L WA]

Rather than jamming it in gear and take a chance of breaking something, put it in gear and bypass the start button with a jumper wire from the solenoid to ground. Just be sure you have plenty of room in front of you.

 

[8N-MW]

This fixed it, driving it and hitting the brakes. Guess I m glad I fixed the brakes last year.

 

[1 Acre Warrior]

With the engine running, put it in gear and feather the clutch a few times, letting the pedal up just enough to let the plates rub against each other for a couple of seconds at a time, maybe 5 times (10 seconds between tries, to allow cooling). This will clean the plates and smooth them if there was some junk stuck in there.