oil (grease?) getting on clutch

[franstui]

Hi there

I have a international 454 that has a greasy clutch plate, I've just split it in halve. As we had a badly slipping clutch after only 18 months on a new plate.
On the gearbox side the plate is greasy and there is a residu buildup on the inside of the pot of the flywheel, about 3 mm wide and say 1 mm thick, black of course. This lines up with the gearbox side of the clutch plate.
My first guess is that oil gets in through the outgoing axles. The PTO shaft and the power into the gearbox shaft, which is in the centre of the former. But it is more greasy than oily. Any ideas here?

I'm looking for a exploded picture of the gearbox to understand the thing a bit more. Any ideas how to get one to view?

 

[oliver28472]

Is there a grease fitting for the release bearing? Some tractors have one.

 

[5030]

You have a bad seal in there..... probably weeping at temperature. I'd check all the breather lines, vents for the respective gearboxes first thing.

The lube gets hot, expands and if thew vents are clogged, it has to go somewhere (expansion) so it weeps from the seals.

Once a seal starts leaking, it's shot.

 

[franstui]

The thrust bearing has a grease point, accessable through a removable plate on the bottom of the bellhousing. The face ot the bearing seems clean and dry, it doesn't look like it got greasy through that one.
If the oil got from the gearbox, allong the shafts, I'd expect it to be more oily than greasy, right?

Frans

 

[5030]

The thrust bearing has a grease point, accessable through a removable plate on the bottom of the bellhousing. The face ot the bearing seems clean and dry, it doesn't look like it got greasy through that one.
If the oil got from the gearbox, allong the shafts, I'd expect it to be more oily than greasy, right?
Frans

Wrong.

The oil combines with clutch dust and appears greasy. You should see a big truck's bell housing when you put in a new clutch and the rear main is leaking. Even happens with a ceramic puck clutch. The dust and oil combine and create what appears to be a greasy coating but it's not.

Again. check all your breathers. You need to have atmospheric pressure balance within the gearbox at all times or the seals will be compromised.

 

[franstui]

Thanks for that, I had a good feel of the residue and yes you are so right, the substance is oily in nature and very black from particles of the plate.
Now, how to get to the seals?

 

[5030]

Not familiar with that model but not to be redundant, first thing I'd check is that the gearbox breather hose or tube is unobstructed by any foreign matter, grass, mud, mouse nesting material...anything. Most I'm familiar with are nothing more than a curved hose but some have internal screens that can get clogged up.

Replacing a weeping seal and not allowing the gearbox to vent will result in another weeping seal.

If it's a full round seal on the input shaft, you might have an external packing flange that's removable to access it. Not sure. Just be sure to replace the seal with the sealing lip facing the gearbox and not the clutch cavity. Seals are designed so that if any pressure builds, the seal will grip the shaft tighter, to a point. They won't take a lot of pressure buildup but will take a little bit.

Smear a bit of grease on the shaft when slipping on the seal and make sure it sits squarely in it's cavity. I usually install seals with an appropriate sized seal driver, nothing more than a flat disc, just a bit smaller than the size of the seal's outer diameter attached to a rod suitable to strike lightly with a hammer. In lieu of a seal driver, the drive side of an appropriate sized socket will work.