870 with stuck clutch?

[heehaw]

i have a friend with a 870, 4wd; it "appears" the clutch is stuck. I am going to attempt to pull it tonight, to see if it will come loose. i haven't looked at it yet, but is this feasible?
i have had clutches stick on vehicles before, and usually i can break them loose with the starter, by putting the transmission in high gear. Just from what he has said, i'm not 100% sure what type of transmission he has, he says he can go forward an backward with the shift?? which really confuses me??
heehaw

 

[Budinohio]

I had a 970 with a stuck clutch and we could not get it loose by towing or pushing forwards or back. On the 970 there is a small vent screen on the right side of tranny housing behind the plastic shield by the inside brake peddle. When you remove this screen you can shine a light in and see the clutches and preasure plates. We removed this screen and reached in with a long screw driver or small pry bar and applied minimum leverage and it popped apart. I would not go over board on the prying if it does not break free with minimal prying I would look at other remedies. We just stumbled on this quick fix because we were getting ready to split the tractor to release the clutch and by stripping the shields we seen the little screen so thought we would try the pry bar and it worked. Hope this helps, budinohio.

 

[Keoke]

I have a 970 and had this same problem in the past. Problem comes from letting the tractor sit for a while and having the metalic threads in the clutch disc rust up and lock on to the pressure plates. Owners manual does not say a thing about it, but you have to block the clutch pedal down when tractor is stored for a time. This is especially true in areas of high humidity. The reason your buddy is able to move the tractor is because he is putting pressure on the synchro rings and getting enough of a fricton coupling, while stopping short of gear engagement, to spin the output shaft.
You may try high range and high gear (9th speed) while holding clutch down and applying brakes. You will need to get it in this gear before starting tractor. Start safety switch will have to be bypassed temporarily to get starter to work. Be VERY CAREFUL because tractor will take off on start. Give yourself a lot of room for a clear run on launch.
Budinohio idea breaking the plates loose sounds real good and for sure is a lot safer.

good luck,
george

 

[heehaw]

well, if it were my tractor, i would do as you have suggested, and bypass the safety switch while i used the starter to turn the motor over with the brakes on, but since its not, an the owner wasn't real eager about the idea, i just pulled it for a lonnnnnng way, and it still didn't unstick the clutch. so i ended up leaving it with him to decide what to do next.
heehaw

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I jacked up my 870 rear end, just enough to clear tires off ground. Put on seat belt, pointed it in a safe direction, started engine and jumped it into third high at the same time, then put 2000rpm on it and started hitting both brakes at the same time while holding down clutch. Took 5-10 times of loading up motor to almost a stop then clutch broke free.

 

[scofield1702]

I am having the same issue and this has been really helpful to me. Found the inspection plate and opened it up, but it's all greek to me in there. Can someone help me understand exactly where I am sticking this screwdriver?

 

[dirt ditch]

The 790 I have came with a 2" wide steel U and has flat tabs welded under the clutch pedal and the operator's floor. After parking the tractor I depress the clutch pedal all the way and slip the U over the tabs to keep the clutch plates separated. A block of wood cut to the correct thickness placed between the clutch pedal shaft and the operator's floor would do the same thing.

View attachment 329114 View attachment 329115

 

[RoyJackson]

The 790 I have came with a 2" wide steel U and has flat tabs welded under the clutch pedal and the operator's floor. After parking the tractor I depress the clutch pedal all the way and slip the U over the tabs to keep the clutch plates separated. A block of wood cut to the correct thickness placed between the clutch pedal shaft and the operator's floor would do the same thing.

View attachment 329114 View attachment 329115

I didn't get the "U" clip when I bought my old 790 (Great little tractor!!). I always used a clamp or vice-grip pliers to hold the clutch pedal.

 

[Moon_Dawg]

I've had my 870 for a long time and had the clutch stick at least half dozen times. Seems harder to free the disk each time. This last time I tried all the tricks, even mowed grass for over two hours with the clutch depressed, then after good and got had it in the highest road gear and jabbed the brakes. The syncros are really good so you can put into a low gear by gradually applying pressure to shifter. Then shut it down on a hill to shift to high range then start in lowest gear and shift like a road tractor without a clutch to get into high gear. Regardless this didn't work this time. I found this thread and tried the screwdriver trick inside the screen cover on side of the clutch housing. Worked awesome is all I can say. Like someone earlier I wish I had pictures to know exactly where to tap or pry, so once I figured it out I took some and will attach them. Or at least this is where I put the tip of the screwdriver and tapped with a hammer lightly. I felt it pop loose and then could wiggle the disk a bit with end of the screwdriver. I'll attach a picture or the cover you need to remove to access the screen as well. I found it on a parts manual so didn't have to take the tractor half apart to find it. This is also a good time to blow out all the leaves and trash that have accumulated inside instrument panel and below.

You will probably have to take a large screwdriver or pry bar and roll the assembly around until you can see the edges of the disks. I used a ratchet strap to pull the clutch pedal all the way to the stop. I'm getting old so now that I'm looking at the pictures I can't remember if it is the disks at the front or rear of the picture but can just tap both. Think I did anyway. Also attached is the clutch parts diagram, but unfortunately they don't specify which disk is PTO and which it transmission.

 

[drhntr]

I've had my 870 for a long time and had the clutch stick at least half dozen times. Seems harder to free the disk each time. This last time I tried all the tricks, even mowed grass for over two hours with the clutch depressed, then after good and got had it in the highest road gear and jabbed the brakes. The syncros are really good so you can put into a low gear by gradually applying pressure to shifter. Then shut it down on a hill to shift to high range then start in lowest gear and shift like a road tractor without a clutch to get into high gear. Regardless this didn't work this time. I found this thread and tried the screwdriver trick inside the screen cover on side of the clutch housing. Worked awesome is all I can say. Like someone earlier I wish I had pictures to know exactly where to tap or pry, so once I figured it out I took some and will attach them. Or at least this is where I put the tip of the screwdriver and tapped with a hammer lightly. I felt it pop loose and then could wiggle the disk a bit with end of the screwdriver. I'll attach a picture or the cover you need to remove to access the screen as well. I found it on a parts manual so didn't have to take the tractor half apart to find it. This is also a good time to blow out all the leaves and trash that have accumulated inside instrument panel and below.

You will probably have to take a large screwdriver or pry bar and roll the assembly around until you can see the edges of the disks. I used a ratchet strap to pull the clutch pedal all the way to the stop. I'm getting old so now that I'm looking at the pictures I can't remember if it is the disks at the front or rear of the picture but can just tap both. Think I did anyway. Also attached is the clutch parts diagram, but unfortunately they don't specify which disk is PTO and which it transmission.

Great Pics Moon Dawg! The transmission friction plate your pic points to is on left in your picture. I watched the clutch action as a helper (wife) depressed the pedal to understand stage 1 (trans) and stage 2 (PTO). Prior to this I tried all the tricks (slamming into gear "ouch" and riding breaks, slamming into gear "ouch" and chained to tree, slamming into high gear "ouch" and ramming into dirt piles) and nothing broke it free. Faced with daunting task of splitting the tractor, I pulled off the inspection screen and using a chisel popped the friction disk free. It was surprisingly easy to do. Did not require prying at all. I was amazed that this was the reason why the clutch wouldn't disengage. So simple. Anyone on here recommending splitting is very wrong. This is a 10 minute fix.