Wonder how much damage I did?

[Tdog]

I recently bought a used Yanmar 48" tiller for use with my BX22. I used in in my garden area & thought it did OK - - the clutch slipped whenever it hit an occasional root, as it should.

So I thought I thought I'd use it in the pasture - - intact earth, never broken since it was thicket about 11 years ago. It has some pretty uneven spots when mowing, or for that matter, just riding from one place to the next. So I thought I'd use the tiller on a ~~100' x 50' section & come back with the box blade to even out the surface. Then I'd move on to another section.
Well the tiller slipped quite a bit - - stupid me, I let it go too long. It got to smoking pretty good.
Is there a way to tell how much damage I did? I've since looked up some of the previous posts on slip clutches. Wish I'd done that before I used the tiller!

Can anyone help with recommended slip clutch adjustment for use with my tractor?? Or am I faced with a trial & error endeavor?

Thanks.

Jack

[PineRidge]

Worst case scenario is you will have to replace the slip clutch on the tiller. Take it apart and see how bad the plates look. Maybe they can be cleaned up or replaced by themselves.

You might get a bit more information on parts in the Chinese forum.

[rdbrumfield]

Chances are that the clutch did it's job. By taking off the cover of the tiller shaft, the part that covers the clutch, you can take a look and see the fiber disc between the steel plates. If they are not broken and are still there, I would recommend tightening the clutch bolts some. Just don't tighten them down until you don't have any spring give. If your tiller is not up to the hp of your tractor you are going to have problems with tough sod, as your tractor will power though your tiller clutch. Remember, the slip clutch is designed to protect the tractor and tiller gear boxes. As long as it slips for sudden stoppages, like winding cable, hitting concrete, roots and such, it should be good enough as long as it doesn't slip on sustained smooth pulling.

[kayssupply]

How did you get enough room to put a slip clutch between the tractor and the tiller? All the Yanmar tillers I have ever seen only had enough room for a very short shaft. If you can't see a clutch, your chain is slipping inside the case. That is very bad.

[_RaT_]

He mentioned it was smoking so obviously, he has a clutch. My guess is the cllutch assembly should be replaced. It has gotten to hot. It's easy to forget to watch the clutch, I've been pretty keen on watching it on my 8' Harley landscape rake.

[Egon]

Tdog:

My tractor and tiller [ 12PTO HP and 44 IN. ] are different but we have had the same problems.

Working heavy sod the slip clutch would slip and smoke. The only way to prevent slipping was to tighten up the clutch untill the tractor did not have the power to slip it and would stall out when really hard objects like rocks were hit.

I removed half the tines and was then able to adjust the clutch so it would work properly. Also overlapped the tilling by half. This method worked for me.

Chances are your clutch has not been damaged.

Egon [img]/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[quickervicar]

The slip clutch did its job of protecting the rest of the tiller. If there was smoke coming off you'll probably need to replace the friction discs & possibly the springs, too. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] It's still better than replacing the whole tiller.

[Tdog]

Well, this is my first tractor, and obiously my first 3ph tiller - - so I'm about as smart about this as a bucket of dirt.

However, the tag on the tiller says 'yanmar', and there is a clutch, if that's the thing the drive shaft fits into - - it has springs around the perimeter with by bolts thru them.

I obviously don't have a manual - - I was hoping for some guidance as to how adjust the tension.

[Tdog]

Thanks to all - - I'm going to gamble that the clutch is OK. Guess I'll tighten the springs a turn & see if the tiller & tractor can handle the sod.
Wish me luck.

[beenthere]

I'd suggest you break up the sod first, before trying to till it with your tiller, unless you are trying to give it the real torture test.
Try a sub-soiler or plow to loosen it up first, and even those will work your tractor hard to get the job done.
Save your tiller for working up soil that has been worked before.