centrifugal clutch and transaxle

[bobodu]

I was given a home made go kart and dropped an 8 horse into it. Didn't have a jack shaft to slow it down and smoked the brand new clutch right off the bat. You might be okay in first or maybe second,but you may have a problem in a higher gear.

 

[AV8R62]

JI Case had a "CASE-O-MATIC" transmition in the 60's and 70's , it was simalar to a centrifugal clutch or like the old plymouth fluid drive they were ok after you learned how to drive them.

 

[mwb]

Comet Industries makes centrifugal clutches and "torq-a-verter" drives like a snowmobile. Princess Auto in Canada sells them for around $300.

Comet Torque Converters - High Performance Go Kart, Snowmobile, Lawn & Garden Light Duty Utility Vehicles, Golf Carts and ATV Torque Converter Series

 

[Renze]

JI Case had a "CASE-O-MATIC" transmition in the 60's and 70's , it was simalar to a centrifugal clutch or like the old plymouth fluid drive they were ok after you learned how to drive them.

Those Case used a torque converter, just as Fendt used in the 600 turbomatic E series of 1978 to 1992, and is used in wheel loaders, automatic car transmissions, etcetera.

Main problem with those is that they need slip in order to generate torque. That means they will produce heat and loose efficiency.
To back a trailer up a silage heap they are worthless, they loose speed before the engine torque has a chance to come in.
Fendt used a lockup clutch, electrohydraulically actuated (turbomatic "E") which helped save fuel, but often people overfilled the converter to decrease its slip percentage to make it lug on. IHC sold the same ZF transmissions in the German built 1255 and 1455, but they offered the torque converter optional only for 2 or 3 years, but it was taken off the option list because with the slip of a converter inbetween, you would only waste the torque of those DT 358 and DT402 engines

 

[smiley]

MWB mentioned the Comet converters already and you can pick them up on ebay.
MTD built several different brands, ( I have a 1980's Wizard) that used the torque converter set up and is still going strong. You can spot them because they have 7 speed a shift lever on the right fender that is actualy a control lever for an infinitely variable torque drive like the snowmobile torque converters already mentioned. The "clutch" on the left side just moves one of the drive pulleys sideways exactly the same as the shift lever and allows you to slow down or speed up without shifting. If you can find one, You'll have the whole shebang. You might also cosider the older Snapper friction drive units. They have a steel disc about 5-6" dia., running off the engine crankshaft to the rear, where a wheel with some kind of rubber tire on it, slides across the disc face and chain drives the rear axle, forward on one side of the disc, reverse on the other, with neutral in the center. This eliminates the clutch and transmission altogether.
Smiley

 

[sandman2234]

I always heard these things called "Salisbury Clutches", and purchased a new one back in the '70's to power a "Dune Kat" that I pulled the 5hp motor off of, and put a new 8hp on in it's place. Durn jackshaft cost me $50 to have keyed at a local machine shop. (way too much back then!). I later graduated to a Honda Odyssey (not the mini-van) when they came out with them in the late '70's. Had a lot of good times with that sand buggy, but since they were belt driven via a varible pitch pulley, they did not like water AT ALL! I would prefer one to a centrifugal clutch any day, as it gives you a long range. I think the Odyssey was a drive ratio of 2.73 to 1.00 and overdriven to 1.00 to 2.73 which was quite a range. I may be wrong on those exact numbers because it has been years since I drove one, and we modified both the engines and the drivetrains on them to make them run FASTER. From the factory they would run about 45mph, but I got radar'd on the local sandunes in excess of 83mph.
Brings back memories of good times,
David from jax

 

[Groo]

Those cheap friction puck Comet CVTs work pretty good with a Briggs 8hp and the like.
That what we used back when I competed in SAE's MiniBaja. not exactly high performance, but that isn't what you are looking for.
just remember, those belts don't last forever.

 

[David Devuono]

I think it will work fine and it will not limit your top speed, just your bottom speed. With the conventional belt engagement, once engaged you can power along real slow in 1st gear with the engine idling, with a centrifical clutch you will need to get the engine up to around 1800 rpm to engage the clutch and you will loose any engine braking on the down hill so make sure you still have the brake working. IE when my brake failed I could stop the tractor by cutting the ignition, can't with a centrifugal clutch.