Ford 1310 clutch problem

[EMU135]

Name: Bob Kern
I bought a 1310 Ford with a blown clutch. The throw out brg had eaten out the three fingers on the pressure plate.The bearing was NOT froze up. I have since replaced the clutch assembly, twice and it has done the same thing within 25 or so hours, both times. It had plenty of free play ( 3/4 to 1 inch). Ford tractor in Tucson has been no help in possible causes. The parts weren't OEM they came from All States AG parts. Any ideas? I've been turning wrenches for wages on different things, for over forty years and haven't ever run across anything like this. Do they make a full spring diaphram pressure plate instead of a 3 finger one?

confused:

 

[mostly_gas]

I have never heard of a clutch wearing that fast without some other problems being fairly obvious. I have a 1700 Ford close to 1400 hrs. and original clutch.

 

[skipmarcy]

I don't know about your Ford in particular but alot of tractor pressure plates have adjustable fingers and you have to set the height installed on the flywheel. It's just a guess but maybe the fingers were too high and had way too much constant pressure on the bearing and maybe the little bit of slop in all the linkages etc. made it seem to have good freeplay. You could check this theory by checking the height of the fingers from the block mating surface and then the bellhousing mating surface to the face of the release bearing. On my Mahindra there is a finger height spec from the surface of the flywheel that is a real booger to measure but I rigged and got it done when I had to clutch mine. Good luck with yours.

 

[EMU135]

Yeah I've got a 1900 that's about the same or more hours, no problems!

 

[EMU135]

Not quite sure how these forums work, so bare with me please.
To skipmarcy, thanks, I'll pay attention to that the next time around. I did have to do what you suggested on a VW sand rail, chasing down another clutch ghost not long ago. You would think that the release bearing would have to freeze up before it could wear through the PP fingers, and there would be a **** of a noise while it was going on?

I meant my last post to reply to mostly_gas but I don't think it wound up that way. I'm not real well versed in the computer generation yet!

 

[Harry in Ky]

I'm wondering about the boltheads in the release levers. I've seen literally hundreds of worn out clutches for various reasons over the years, and very few problems start with the boltheads. If the bearing contacting the heads is wearing them that quickly, you should be contacting the clutch supplier and getting some answers. I assume the bearing and pressure plate came from the same place.

 

[EMU135]

Harry in Ky. That's correct. Both times they came from All States Ag parts. I talked to them and the Ford Tractor dealer in Tucson and neither had any helpful info. I was doing the mechanical work on this tractor for 3-4 years before the clutch went out and the RV park decided to sell it and get a new one. It never had a problem until then. I've seen no sign of obvious, adverse wear. I haven't torn it down this time yet and I'm just assuming it is the same problem because it acted exactly the same as the first and second times. I was a heavy equipment mechanic/welder for the 10 years before I moved down to Benson and , did automotive and commercial jet aircraft overhaul prior to that and some small engine stuff in between. I'm self employed now doing mechanical repairs on a variety of stuff. I've done probably between 50-100 clutches over the years on automotive and equipment and have never seen anything like this. It's baffling! As far as the bolt head heigth, I'm thinking perhaps one time but the odds are extreme that it would happen twice, and the parts were new not re-maned.

 

[jones6780]

Please read post #47 in the link below.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...84375-clutch-failure-again-ford-1100-a-5.html

The problem was bad rivets in the pressure plate.
Your problem could be a junk pressure plate and throwout bearing combination, allowing the fingers to wear/bend.

I replaced my clutch on a 1700 with parts from e-bay and no problems at all. I would look for another supplier/brand clutch kit.

Russell

 

[Harry in Ky]

My concern regarding boltheads is not so much with height or adjustment, but with the hardness of the metal. The head surface must withstand the initial skid as the release bearing load surface(which is at rest until pedal travel brings it into contact with the rotating fingers) comes up to matching speed. The bearing surface is obviously hard enough that no wear is evident there, right? When this failure has occurred, I assume the face of the bearing was not considered a factor and was still smooth and unscored?

 

[EMU135]

Jones6780, Thanks. I fully intend to try a different supplier this time. I should probably go through New Holland with OEM, but I just hate to pay their inflated prices ($400 as opposed to $200). I'll have to give it serious thought. We'll see! I definitley have to get serious about inspecting everything more closely when I tear it down this time. I also have an 1120 with a hydrostatic drive problem but that's another story, and I think I know what the problem is with it.