Two Stage Clutch Problem?

   / Two Stage Clutch Problem? #1  

ford540a

New member
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4
Location
Massachusetts
Tractor
Ford 540A, Cletrac Crawler, McCormick Deering 10-20
I have a 1981 Ford 540A that I recently purchased. I believe it has a two stage clutch. When the PTO is engaged and I need to shift, I have to press the clutch all the way down to shift which also disengages the PTO. This tractor has been sitting for at least 8 years. Is this a problem? Does this tractor even have a two stage clutch? Also could I cause further problems using the tractor like this?
 
   / Two Stage Clutch Problem? #2  
Pushing the pedal of a 2-stage clutch won't really hurt anything. However, it also depends on the implement being used. A mower or rotary cutter would lose a some RPM, but as long as you shift fairly fast, that won't really hurt anything (I had to do it with an old Deere 670). Something like a tiller may be a different story though. I don't have a tiller, but I would raise the tiller out of the ground during any shifting.

Hopefully, some othe Ford owners can provide better info then I did.
Here is a link to some more info, but it doesn't adress the 2-stage clutch specifically:
TractorData.com Ford 540A tractor information
 
 
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