Stuck clutch on 4020

[spudddie61]

I have a friend with a 4020 John Deere. It sat outside during the winter and now the clutch is stuck. Here is what we have done so far. Through the bottom cover and the timing cover we have sprayed two cans of penetrating oil. After letting that set for a week it was started in gear and drove several miles down the road. With no result we chained a pickup to the back and drug that around the farm all the time pushing in on the tractor clutch and standing on the brakes. Putting the tractor against a tree resulted only in digging a hole. Other than splitting the tractor can anything be done?

 

[Bob]

I DO NOT think it was a good idea to spray oil in there!

The trouble is, the traction clutch is pretty well "hidden", compared to the PTO clutch.

You could try some Brake Clean, and blocking or tying the pedal DOWN for a few days, to keep spring pressure off of the plate, to give it a chance to let go.

Ohter possibilities... sometimes the throw-out bearing seizes and wears off the clutch fingers, making release impossible. Also, there are 3 "finger adustment bolts". They break from time to time. If one breaks, that release finger is no longer effective, and the clutch cannot release.

 

[Kurt_JDB]

Here is a trick I used on my old "51 Chevy truck. Don"t know if it will work for you, and if it breaks something, you did it, not me.

Jack up rear wheels and then block up under the rear (so it won"t fall off). Start tractor in gear and rev it up. Push in clutch and then slam on the brakes. Take precautions so that you or others don"t get hurt. It would not be good for the tractor to fall off the blocks while doing this.

Kurt

 

[msb]

It could have a broken clutch operating bolt.

 

[johns48jdb]

guys, if its wasn"t broke when he shut it off, its not broke now. you pressure plate is stuck to the fly wheel. i don"t know if you can get to it or not, but drive a putty knive up between the pressure plate and the clutch. that should free it up enough to get it to working. you need to turn the engine over and work the putty knife in all the way around. juse some carb cleaner to get the oil off of everything.

 

[johns48jdb]

sorry, i meant your cltch disk is stuck to the flywheel.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Unless that putty knive is double jointed you can't get it under the engine to transmission clutch in a 4020. There are two clutches IN that flywheel and the stuck clutch is about 3" forward of the rear edge of the flywheel.

Great idea, impossible to accomplish.

It may take splitting the tractor to get that clutch free'd up.

Gerald J.

 

[Mike M]

One last chance is to get it going in high or a pretty fast gear on a LEVEL surface then hang on and hold it straight and jamb only ONE brake pedal.Make sure you hold the clutch pedal down or wire it down. It may take a few tries but it does work pretty good.

This will really pull the tractor so kinda start braking in small short jabs then go harder if you can hang onto it.
Be as carefull as you can as it can go out of control. Once you have done it once it becomes easier as you know what to expect.

 

[buickanddeere]

I agree. This sounds like more than a friction facing stuck to a pressure plate or flywheel.
Odds are at this tractor's age. It's not going to hurt to get in there, look around , clean it up, replace seals & bearings if nothing else.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have a 5020 that did the same thing. My dealer said don"t waste any time just break it into. He was right. We tied the pedal down for over 6 months, drove the road, pushed he brake, etc. Then hooked it to the 60 ton wench on our jd 855. In 6th gear about 2/3 trottle my son applied the brake to the wench, I hit the steering wheel, the 5020 jumpped up and down and spun the duals on the solid driveway. After many tries, we broke it into and replaced the clutch. When you take it down (and you will) you will see why you can not break it loose. The dealer also said not to wash one and put it away wet, he probably is right again. GOOD LUCK and get some good stands and jacks.

 

[Anonymous-0]

You can see my post of 3/17/2007. ET was right thank you.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Split the thing and be on the safe side. If you know what your doing you can have the clutch out and on the ground in under 1 hour. Then you can fix just the clutch instead of the transmission, axles, rearend and possibly yourself!!

 

[Anonymous-0]

Ah, I believe you broke it "in two", not broke it "into". Wench is the word for a lewd woman, a prostitute. The tool you used is probably a winch.