I have a well used 1910 with a back hoe powered by a pto driven pump. As far as I can tell the back hoe has not been off it for a very long time. Provided the rpm is low the pto can be engaged with no real problems and I only realised the clutch was not releasing just recently when I was contemplating taking the back hoe off and connecting up a small baler. Ii suspect the clutch has been frozen since i bought the machine a year ago. Main clutch works fine. I have tried linkage adjustment without success. Engaging the pto with the clutch pedal fully depressed and the back hoe under load suggested the clutch is frozen and not just dragging. Any advice/suggestions?
Ford 1910 sticking pto clutch
- Thread starter Cpro
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RickB
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The transmission disc is probably worn thin an affecting the travel of the PTO stage. You can remove the LH loader mid-mount bracket and re-set the clutch internal adjustment and maybe buy some time. Or you can split the tractor now and if you are lucky get away with replacing only the transmission disc, release and pilot bearings before you destroy the pressure plate.
Thanks RickB - thats a good thought.
I have no manual for this machine so I don't know exactly how the clutch mechanism functions mechanically, but I can see that a worn plate could potentially affect the point at which the pto clutch would start to engage, and that adjustment of the mechanism could possibly re-establish the correct operating point. I have already tried adjusting the pedal linkage in case it was simply a case of lost motion stopping it reaching the disengage threshold, but it feels as though all of the internal movement available within the clutch mechanism is being used, which also lends support to your suggestion.
Can you elaborate a bit about the internal adjustement you refer to? There is an oval cut-out about 3"x2" in the bell housing which is accessible already without removing anything (I have a Lewis front loader fitted, which attaches to the forward pair of fixings and does not obstruct this opening). I have previously studied that to see if there was any scope to insert something between the plates via this opening to pry them apart, on the asssumption that they were sticking. Although I could see movement of the clutch plate when the clutch pedal was depressed, I could not see any way of getting access to anything internal to the clutch. What should I look for regarding the adjustment you suggest, and what exactly did you have in mind?
After posting my original query, I found some earlier threads on this problem from several years ago which confirmed that the pto clutch is prone to sticking if not regularly used. Suggestions were made as to how it might be freed - mostly by various shock-loading methods, which I had already considered but reluctant to try for fear of breaking a gear.
I am not keen to split the tractor as it is working very well in other respects, and at the moment I need both the back hoe and the loader daily. Might be sensible to look at buying another tractor just for haymaking etc, but its annoying not to have it working properly.
I have no manual for this machine so I don't know exactly how the clutch mechanism functions mechanically, but I can see that a worn plate could potentially affect the point at which the pto clutch would start to engage, and that adjustment of the mechanism could possibly re-establish the correct operating point. I have already tried adjusting the pedal linkage in case it was simply a case of lost motion stopping it reaching the disengage threshold, but it feels as though all of the internal movement available within the clutch mechanism is being used, which also lends support to your suggestion.
Can you elaborate a bit about the internal adjustement you refer to? There is an oval cut-out about 3"x2" in the bell housing which is accessible already without removing anything (I have a Lewis front loader fitted, which attaches to the forward pair of fixings and does not obstruct this opening). I have previously studied that to see if there was any scope to insert something between the plates via this opening to pry them apart, on the asssumption that they were sticking. Although I could see movement of the clutch plate when the clutch pedal was depressed, I could not see any way of getting access to anything internal to the clutch. What should I look for regarding the adjustment you suggest, and what exactly did you have in mind?
After posting my original query, I found some earlier threads on this problem from several years ago which confirmed that the pto clutch is prone to sticking if not regularly used. Suggestions were made as to how it might be freed - mostly by various shock-loading methods, which I had already considered but reluctant to try for fear of breaking a gear.
I am not keen to split the tractor as it is working very well in other respects, and at the moment I need both the back hoe and the loader daily. Might be sensible to look at buying another tractor just for haymaking etc, but its annoying not to have it working properly.
RickB
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There are three bolts spaced radially around the perimeter of the pressure plate that disengage the second clutch stage when properly adjusted in relation to the thickness of the transmission disc. The bolts are oriented parallel with the tractor's crankshaft and require either 13 or 14mm wrenches on the heads and jam nuts, IIRC. I don't have access here at home to the published clearance spec, but the distance betwen the bolt head and contact surface is set to a specific dimension. Care MUST be taken to get all 3 clearances as close to perfect as possible. I'll try to post the spec tomorrow night, or someone else with a service manual may come along and post it for us.
Did this ever get solved. I got a 1910 and have the same exact problem. I'm about to brush hog and want to get this thing working better before I burn or grind something out.
I foudn that if i adjust the clutch way in (of course then i dont have the 3/4 play) it works, but I"m not going with that approach. I read that the pto or pressure plate can be adjusted an I hope that will sovle the problem. I got a shop manual, but havent really looked into what it takes. I'm reading how you have to use a guage of some sort but dont understand how that would work, when working though a plate on the side of the bell housing.
Anyway, any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
I foudn that if i adjust the clutch way in (of course then i dont have the 3/4 play) it works, but I"m not going with that approach. I read that the pto or pressure plate can be adjusted an I hope that will sovle the problem. I got a shop manual, but havent really looked into what it takes. I'm reading how you have to use a guage of some sort but dont understand how that would work, when working though a plate on the side of the bell housing.
Anyway, any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
I have decided to live with the problem for the time being. The pto is used to power the hyd pump for a back hoe that is attched full time at the moment, and provided the revs are set low when pto is engaged, then it slips into engagement pretty cleanly. Whilst i need to have frequent use of the back hoe, i don't want to risk messing up the main clutch by attempting adjustments to the release bolts.
If reducing the pedal lost motion allowed your pto clutch to free up then it would seem that adjustment to the release bolts should do the trick. Taking out pedal slack in my case made no difference - i just felt an immovable resistance to further pedal movement, so i am pretty sure that my pto pressure plate is frozen on its splines or stuck together at the friction face. I plan to have another crack at sorting the problem further down the road, at a time when loss of use of the tractor would be less of an issue.
As to how the release bolts should be adjusted, i guess you would need to manually turn the clutch housing using a pry bar of some sort throuch the bell-housing aperture, and adjust each of the bolts in turn to get the specified clearance of 0.035" to 0.039" between the head of each bolt and the pressure plate (these figures according to a shop manual that i bought after posting my original query). I imagine you would set this using feeler gauges.
Good luck, and let me know how it goes.
If reducing the pedal lost motion allowed your pto clutch to free up then it would seem that adjustment to the release bolts should do the trick. Taking out pedal slack in my case made no difference - i just felt an immovable resistance to further pedal movement, so i am pretty sure that my pto pressure plate is frozen on its splines or stuck together at the friction face. I plan to have another crack at sorting the problem further down the road, at a time when loss of use of the tractor would be less of an issue.
As to how the release bolts should be adjusted, i guess you would need to manually turn the clutch housing using a pry bar of some sort throuch the bell-housing aperture, and adjust each of the bolts in turn to get the specified clearance of 0.035" to 0.039" between the head of each bolt and the pressure plate (these figures according to a shop manual that i bought after posting my original query). I imagine you would set this using feeler gauges.
Good luck, and let me know how it goes.
roman
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I have a 1720 with the same symptoms. I have stalled the engine with my chipper but wasn't lucky enough to have someone manning the clutch pedal at the time to see if I could shock the clutch pad free. I would be getting someone to look at it soon if I can afford it. Everything else about the clutch is fine. The guy I bought it from said as far as he knew it had never had a implement on the PTO. Maybe it is stuck.