Ford 860 Clutch Problem? Help!!!!!

[bglocklear]

Hello guys, I have somewhat of a problem with my ford 860 tractor with the dual clutch AKA live PTO. Sunday night I was out moving my mobile chicken coop in reverse gear. Coming to a stop, I pressed the clutch to attempt to shift in 3rd forward gear and the dreaded grinding noise appeared. I let up off the clutch and press it in again and it finally went into to gear and I went about my merry way. The next morning, I hopped on the tractor and attempted to move it and the grinding noise once again happened. After several attempts at pressing clutch and trying get into gear, I finally admitted defeat. Some things that I notice is that the PTO will still engage and disengage with the pressing of the clutch perfect every time. With tractor off, I can also shift into all gears and if left in gear and attempt to start, the tractor will lurch in the selected gear position. I'm just at a lost!!!! Any information would be great.

 

[Dave M7040]

You might have better responses if you were not in the Kubota forum.
Dave M7040

 

[rbargeron]

Hello guys, I have somewhat of a problem with my ford 860 tractor with the dual clutch AKA live PTO. Sunday night I was out moving my mobile chicken coop in reverse gear. Coming to a stop, I pressed the clutch to attempt to shift in 3rd forward gear and the dreaded grinding noise appeared. I let up off the clutch and press it in again and it finally went into to gear and I went about my merry way. The next morning, I hopped on the tractor and attempted to move it and the grinding noise once again happened. After several attempts at pressing clutch and trying get into gear, I finally admitted defeat. Some things that I notice is that the PTO will still engage and disengage with the pressing of the clutch perfect every time. With tractor off, I can also shift into all gears and if left in gear and attempt to start, the tractor will lurch in the selected gear position. I'm just at a lost!!!! Any information would be great.

The symptoms you describe are precisely how a clutch behaves when the pedal linkage doesn't move it quite far enough to fully disengage. Try adjusting the pedal so the "push" link is a thread or two longer (or the pull link is shorter). If adjusted too far the pto engagement may be affected. The underlying problem is your travel clutch is worn a bit thin. It may have a fair amount of life left if you adjust it - and then go easy on it, minimizing slipping operation.

 

[Soundguy]

Do adjust free play to minimum spec.

Then check the bellhousing drain, make sure it is open and not collecting oil, that will cause a sticky clutch.

Post back

 

[bglocklear]

Drained trans case today and removed access panel and found a bolt on the access panel itself. Looked through access hole and could not tell were the bolt came from. The clutch itself looked (keyword,looked) as if it where engaging with the press of the petal. Any ideas?

 

[rbargeron]

Drained trans case today and removed access panel and found a bolt on the access panel itself. Looked through access hole and could not tell were the bolt came from. The clutch itself looked (keyword,looked) as if it where engaging with the press of the petal. Any ideas?

Ford 860 clutch links & pictures

 

[bglocklear]

I will give that a look and report back.

 

[bglocklear]

With summer break upon me (joys of being a teacher), I was finally able to break apart my ford 860 with dual clutch. Here is what I found, the two bolts indicated in the pics were either loose or had fallen out. It seems that since they were in this condition, the fingers that they were attached to, were not able to engage or disengage the clutch. Am I correct in saying this? Or do you guys think this was the problem at all. I would hate to put the thing back together only to find that this is not the problem.

 

[Dave M7040]

With summer break upon me (joys of being a teacher), I was finally able to break apart my ford 860 with dual clutch. Here is what I found, the two bolts indicated in the pics were either loose or had fallen out. It seems that since they were in this condition, the fingers that they were attached to, were not able to engage or disengage the clutch. Am I correct in saying this? Or do you guys think this was the problem at all. I would hate to put the thing back together only to find that this is not the problem. View attachment 470493View attachment 470494

In my experience this is the point where you put a $ value to your time. Why are the bolts loose or falling out? This is an unusual thing to happen on a properly repaired machine assuming at some point in its life there was clutch work done.
The cheapest route is to clean the loose bolts with brake clean and also the holes and re-assemble using loctitite.
Remove the other bolts and do the same. Re torquing to spec.
However, why did the bolts come loose? When the bolts were loose did anything wear abnormally?
Is the pilot bushing/bearing in the flywheel loose resulting in vibration which loosened the bolts?
Is the flywheel tight on the crankshaft or loose causing vibration and a loosening of the pressure plate bolts?
What is the cost of a complete clutch assembly including release(s) bearing(s)?

If the clutch assembly was under $500 I would go that route to be assured of success as I need my tractor running especially in the winter and further disassembly would allow more things to be checked and verified..
If I did not need the tractor every day perhaps I would gamble on the quick, cheap route.
Good luck!
Dave M7040

 

[rbargeron]

........ the pedal linkage doesn't move it quite far enough.............

99% of the time it's worn clutch or linkage - but this Ford clutch has bolted-on release arms - loose bolts could definitely cause the symptoms you described!

After running loose for a while, the bolts & holes need careful inspection. Are all the threads still in good condition? Are the bolts long enough for full engagement? If damaged, the holes may need to be re-machined for larger bolts. If in doubt get a machinist's eyes on it maybe. Once it all checks out, reinstall to proper torque using new lockwashers and thread sealant. Good luck, Dick B