New Holland TC 30 clutch issue

[cedar21]

Thanks in advance for any help with this issue.

I have a New Holland TC 30 that I think the clutch might have gone out on, though I am not sure. Recently, the cross shaft arm that comes out of the clutch housing cracked, and at the same time I became unable to get the tractor into gear due to grinding. I hoped it was a matter of just welding the cross arm shaft, because it had cracked once before and after welding it worked again fine until recently. But before when it cracked, I was still able to get the tractor in gear by operating the cross arm shaft with just my hand. This time, when I push down on the cross arm shaft, cracked as it is, and try to engage the clutch, there is some resistance as there should be, but even with it all the way to where I can feel it is as far as it can go in the clutch housing, I can't get the tractor into gear and there is just grinding. Does this mean that the clutch has reached the end of it's days and needs to be replaced? The tractor has 2,200 hours on it. Some of those hours have been doing things like pulling stumps and land clearing, and the rest mostly pulling a plow, disk and rototiller in a small farming operation. It has been worked hard, though I try to keep up on maintenance.

I am attaching a photo of the cross arm shaft that is noticeably cracked. If it was just a matter of welding the shaft, that would not be a big issue, but it seems to be more than that since I can't get the tractor into gear even operating the shaft by hand, and I don't want to spend money on getting it welded when I may need to replace the clutch.

 

[nyone]

To test a clutch with a broken release arm like that I would start it in gear and aim it up a hill then power shift it up. If the safety's wont allow you to do this then bypass them at your own risk to test.

It's odd that this arm broke to begin with.
How much freeplay was in the clutch prior to this?

 

[5030]

That isn't an expensive part to replace in the first place and I believe your clutch is shot. The predominant reason why I would never consider a dry clutch tractor at all but then I don't do hydrostats either. Because I farm, neither are viable here. I only run gear drive tractors but with hydraulic shuttle wet clutches. I never want to split any tractor to replace a dry clutch and eventually, they ALL wear out.

 

[cedar21]

To test a clutch with a broken release arm like that I would start it in gear and aim it up a hill then power shift it up. If the safety's wont allow you to do this then bypass them at your own risk to test.

It's odd that this arm broke to begin with.
How much freeplay was in the clutch prior to this?

The arm cracked once before, and I had it welded. It had held for around 5 years.
There was not much freeplay in the clutch pedal before this. The clutch pedal was fairly low, even with it adjusted as much as the linkage would allow.

I can get the tractor into 1st low, by operating the cross arm shaft with my hand, but once it pops into gear it starts moving immediately.

When you say about aiming up a hill and power shift up, do you mean shift without the clutch? If I can do this, what would that say about the clutch? When the shaft cracked last time, I was able to shift without the clutch to move the tractor, so there are not safety features that prevent it.

 

[cedar21]

That isn't an expensive part to replace in the first place and I believe your clutch is shot. The predominant reason why I would never consider a dry clutch tractor at all but then I don't do hydrostats either. Because I farm, neither are viable here. I only run gear drive tractors but with hydraulic shuttle wet clutches. I never want to split any tractor to replace a dry clutch and eventually, they ALL wear out.

The cross arm shaft it's expensive, but to install it involves splitting the tractor from what I can tell.

Thanks for your thoughts on whether the clutch needs to be replaced, and the information on dry vs. wet clutches.

 

[5030]

Show me any OEM part that isn't expensive today with inflation factored in. That arm should not fail in the first place, especially if the clutch freeplay was set correctly.

I just paid 160 smackers for a replacement positive battery cable for one of my Kubota's I wanted the OEM replacement because it specifically made for the tractor and has the auxiliary leads in the correct locations.

I could have built my own cable with leads for a ,lot less but factoring in the time and aggravation of making one up, it was more expedient to just buy the OEM part.

Sometimes 'plug and play' is the way to go.

 

[nyone]

When you say about aiming up a hill and power shift up, do you mean shift without the clutch? If I can do this, what would that say about the clutch? When the shaft cracked last time, I was able to shift without the clutch to move the tractor, so there are not safety features that prevent it.

Yes. This should test the holding power of the clutch. It almost sounds like the clutch wasn't properly adjusted. I would weld that arm again and go through all the clutch adjustments by the book before condemning the clutch its self.

There may even be a pressure plate adjustment.

 

[cedar21]

OK. Thanks. I will try that test.

 

[cedar21]

Another thing that is happening with the cross arm shaft, is that it has quite a bit of play where it comes out of the clutch housing. If it is right close to the housing it catches and does not move, and if it is a little further out, then it moves, but there is only about an inch or so when pressing down on the end of the arm that I can feel tension, before it bottoms out.

 

[cedar21]

I tried driving the tractor and shifting without the clutch, going downhill. I came back up the hill in 1st high, which is the gear I would usually use on that hill, and everything seemed normal - no clutch slipping. What does that test say tell though?

If I can't get the tractor into gear operating the cross shaft arm with my hand, I am not sure how welding it would make any difference.