48 B clutch hanging

[Wayn_h]

I have a 48 B that I've had now since '04 and it has been a great machine with no issues. The last two time I went to use it, the clutch would not "release" when in neutral, the belt pulley kept spinning? I don't see the problem at all when it is in gear though, and it does not seem to drag when it is in gear. I guess I need to pop the clutch over off and take the disks apart and put some grease on the spline? It "pops's good when I engage it.

It seems to be engaged pretty hard, it I put it in sixth gear and try to stop the pulley with the pulley brake, it bogs the heck out of the engine.

Thanks in advance

Wayne

 

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There are 3 springs inside the pulley cover. I normally see those compress and lose their ability to release the clutch. I think they are under 5 bucks a spring and commonly overlooked when serviced. Not many realize what their purpose is.

 

[Doug Sr.]

We had that happen on a B and found the bearing in the belt pulley was dry and worn out. That would lockup and keep it in gear. The clutch was releasing. It would not do it every time.

 

[Erik B]

This happens to my 48 B also, when I engage the clutch in neutral if it's going to be sitting for a while, then try to disengage it, at less than full throttle. The only way I can get it to release is to throttle it all the way down, and then give the clutch a good yank.

Like yours, mine snaps in nicely also. I've adjusted the release according to advice here, and replaced the three springs with fresh ones from JD. That all helped a bit, but it still sticks like yours does sometimes.

 

[gtx1967jewison]

This is VERY dangerous! Take the pulley off, you will find either the bearing bad OR the friction disks wear thin & one breaks, then gets doubled up. So you get a very firm engage but no disengage. You need to do this anyhow if your owning one. See how it works & gain respect for it &start stop leaving it in gear with disengaged clutch. You'll see why. Good luck.

 

[Greenday]

Bad clutch pulley bearing trying to seize up

 

[Wayn_h]

Everyone: OK, thanks for the replies. Sounds like I better look at the bearing in the pulley. Yes, I always start it in neutral, and that is how I realized I had a problem.

Can anyone give me any hints on how much this is? Pull the pulley cover, remove the plates, is it obvious where the bearing is?

Wayne

 

[Wayn_h]

OK, before I get yelled at, I do have the service and parts manual, and I just looked at how to get at the bearing. It looks pretty simple, and I can make up a puller if needed. What about this bushing that is also on the pulley on the side close to the housing? Does that hang up and go bad also?

Is there any tricks to this before I dig into it?

Wayne

 

[BushogPapa]

Inspect the Sleeve Drive-Pin and Alignment hole for Wear..it may be allowing the assembly to Bind..

Ron..

 

[gtx1967jewison]

I would replace any disks behind the driver since you'll have it off. There are marks on driver to line up with mark on crank since its counterbalanced. Disks are around 10$ each.

 

[Wayn_h]

Well, I had it apart today and seemed to fix it. This should have been an easy job, but the two bolt holes in the clutch drive disc were stripped, so I had to drill/heli-coil them to take the drive disc off. Actually, everything looked pretty good inside, includng the clutch dogs, operating bolts, and toggles. Somebody must have replaced them in the past 63 years since they looked new.

And the pulley bearing looked ok, but there was no way I was not going to replace it once inside, so thanks to Atlantic Tractor in Oxford PA for sending me the part quickly!

Now, why was this thing dragging when I engaged the clutch when not in gear? The only thing that looked wrong was one of the free facing discs had a small part broken off and flapping. Not sure how that happened or why, but it seems to work fine now.

The one thing that worries me is that I did not have the bearing snap wring on my crank shaft, and there is no grove for one as show on page 29 of the shop manul . (#11). Seems to have work fine for the last seven years, so I put it back together the way it was and all seems fine.

Wayne