M F 135

[portgeorge]

MF 136 Diesel, 3 cyl perkins. The tractor has not been in use since last fall. There is a low clunking noise in the area of clutch. If the clutch is pushed in half way the noise stops. Any ideas of the problem Thanks

 

[David in N.C.]

Sounds like the first stage clutch disc may be severly worn or broken. When depressing the pedal half way down you release the pressure on the transmission but not the pto. Could possibly be worn release bearing.

 

[DavidP, South Wales]

Hi,
Can't say that I would agree with t'other David's suggestion of a worn clutch plate, but always a possibility. If we can take your description of the 'clunk' as being a rattle/knock of low intensity perhaps a loose flywheel may be more likely or perhaps a loose clutch unit. Load will certainly be applied when the pedal is pressed. Another possibility is that the crankshaft thrust bearings are badly worn and allowing the crank to 'float' back and forth. Pressing the pedal would push the crank forward. Have an assistant operate the pedal while you watch the front crank pulley for any movement. The older PTO flywheel plates used to wear against the lugs of the main pressure plate and would rattle and clonk something awful. This only occurred when the pedal was fully depressed and load taken off. Yours is the other way.
If you can't see anything at the front pulley, remove the inspection plate and look for anything wrong. Using a large screw driver or small pry bar try and move the flywheel. Its a bit unlikely but a broken crankshaft could also be the problem.
DavidP, South Wales

 

[portgeorge]

Hi, starting to re think what I had previously done, which was to remove the starter motor, could I have placed one of the three bolts in the wrong location? This only occured since removing the starter. Thanks

 

[Tony in Mass.]

Really? then you've just done your own detective work! I think half the engines in the world are fussy about which bolt goes into which thread, you have to visualize the lumps in the casting eh? That's an easy trial, let us know how it turns out.

 

[portgeorge]

Hi, thanks for the support. The tractor is at another location in the country. (100 miles away) Everything was good before the starter was removed for repairs. Thanks. Will report back!