Farmall A clutch help

[Cwhite52]

Hello All, I got a farmall A 1941. I noticed when i bought the tractor the clutch has no free play and the peddle only moves about half of what the peddle travel should be. Also if you have the peddle pushed down and the tractor is in gear every couple of seconds the tractor will jump like the clutch is engaging . I know i need to adjust the linkage to add free play , but has anyone ever had the jumping problem. And if so is it time for a new clutch and T/o bearing. Thanks in advance for the help. I ordered a manual for the tractor it comes tomorrow. I am very new to classic tractors so i appreciatte the help

 

[old]

That jumping could be a pilot bearing going bad or it could be a simple adjustment and caused by a clutch disk that has a slight warp to it

 

[Cwhite52]

Okay i will adjust the pedal to have some free play and see if that will fix it. I am pretty sure its going to need a new clutch assembly. It didnt like to shift into anything but 1st gear. And i had to almost shut the tractor off to get the PTO lever to engage. Thanks for the insight.

 

[rustred]

you have oil on the clutch disc, , that will always cause the clutch to be jumpy. just like when you have a leaking rear wheel seal on a vehicle, oil gets on the brake linings and that causes the wheel to skid or grab first.

 

[Dave BN]

Thin/old transmission fluid will cause the transmission to turn when it shouldn't so try changing that. Also, if you push the shifting lever forward of reverse and hold it there for a few seconds it will stop the gears and you can shift or engage the PTO.

Dave

 

[Cwhite52]

Thanks for the reply . I never thought about oil on the clutch . I bet that is whats doing it

 

[Cwhite52]

I am planning on changing the oil in the transmission tomorrow. I wanted to wait for the Shop manual so i dont mess it up. Thanks for the reply

 

[JimB2]

I agree with Old, it could be the pilot bushing in the flywheel that got clutch dust in it. Unfortunately there is no method to lube the pilot bushing.
Back in the 1950s we had a SC with a Henderson loader on it and about every 2 years we had to split it, clean and lube the pilot bushing.
Never did replace the clutch even though it was used a lot as a loader tractor.
Symptom was that it was very difficult to get it into gear without grinding and it would get so bad you would have to shut the tractor off and put it in gear and then start it.

 

[Cwhite52]

Yea i have the ability to split the tractor so i figured i might as well . I am going to be using this at my cabin up north michigan. I wanna make sure its good before i leave the garage and tools.
I really wanted a super A and electric start but i couldnt pass up the little tractor. It looked like it needed a good home

 

[Cwhite52]

This is the tractor

 

[Bob]

(quoted from post at 18:06:54 07/18/19) That jumping could be a pilot bearing going bad or it could be a simple adjustment and caused by a clutch disk that has a slight warp to it

Rich, you mite have also mentioned the "spider coupling" with rubber washers in the shaft from the clutch to the transmission (located just ahead of the transmission).

If something is amiss there it puts the pilot shaft out of line, causing or aggravating "clutch problems".

 

[FBH44]

This mightnot apply, but I changed the clutch etc. on my H, and reassembled the drive shaft etc. and put the 4-bolt coupler flex plate in backwards. Yep, it can be done. Goes together just fine, but its big-time backwards and WRONG. The drive shaft did not go into t he pilot bearing. It was loose, flopped around, and destroyed a few things until it was discovered by an old IHC mechanic what I had done. I resseembled, so the drive shaft went INTO the pilot bearing, and no more problems.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

You might consider this when you split it: I had an A several years back and swapped out the torque tube I got at the salvage yard from a C, along with flywheel, and starter that had mechanical linkage. Best I recall it only cost about $150 for the parts at the time and don't remember anything else being different. gm

 

[Cwhite52]

Okay all I climbed under the
tractor and one of the clutch
fingers was not engaging
anything. I had 2 fingers
touching the throw out bearing
and one finger the adjusting
screw was turned all the way
out. Now I got to figure out how
to adjust it back in to spec

 

[Cwhite52]

One of the clutch h fingers was not engaging. The bolt came lose

 

[Janicholson]

It is likely broken. The levers are all pivoted inside the cover, and those pivot pins and holes in the cover they pivot on can wear radically. I would suggest replacing the clutch cover and disk. There is no real way to make the levers equal (or at least not worth taking is apart and fabricating parts. It would then not be balanced. Ordering a kit from this site is a reasonable price and good quality. Jim