Clutch won't engage after engine replacement on Ford 4500 Backhoe

Cool Ray · Jan 20, 2016

I have 2 Ford 4500 backhoes, one was a gas burner and one was a diesel. I had several issues with the gas engine and the Transmission/Rear end of the Diesel. So I decided to make one good backhoe from my two. They were a 1965 & 1971 models. After splitting both tractors I found that one had a coil spring and one had a leaf spring for the clutch fork, but not a big deal just different years. Then I found the diesel had a two piece input shaft coming the transmission going threw the Clutch to the flywheel, and the gas burner had a one piece and the Splines for the Clutch Disc was 7/8" forward on the engine side(this started all my problems). Also the flywheel was thicker on the gas burner. Both Clutch assemblies look identical, but I have some damage to the one from the gas burner due to splitting tractor. After measuring I decided to turn the clutch disc (hub toward engine) reassembled tractor and started, but I could never get the clutch to engage to put it in gear (just grinding gears) even after adjusting clutch pedal linkage min to max. (Also I never hear any CLICK when pushing clutch pedal) So I decided I had made a mistake in turning the clutch disc, I resplit the backhoe and turned to the first position (hub toward the transmission) BUT after reassembling & restarting I still can not get the clutch to engage to put in gear. Nothing was adjusted on the clutch when it was removed. The Diesel engine, and clutch assembly is being used on the other tractor bell housing using the one piece input shaft. I'm not sure that the throw out bearing is even pressing the linkage to disengage the clutch, but both bell housing measured out the same. Thanks for the Help.

RickB · Jan 20, 2016

Keep the clutch, flywheel and release bearing from the transmission you are using. Put the proper ring gear on the flywheel you have to use to match the fuel type/starter you are transplanting in.

Cool Ray · Jan 20, 2016

Yeah, I was thinking about the the difference of the the Flywheel. But I didn't think about swapping the RingGear. Thanks, I will try that in a day or two.

ChipperTrac · Feb 15, 2016

I'm having same problem! Kinda same story, long story short. got ford 4500 backhoe with bad motor, bought late 70's ford 420 with bad shuttle shift trans. put motor from 420 in to 4500, retained original flywheel and pressure plate, bought new clutch disk. put it all together and clutch will not disengage? what did you end up figuring out with your motor swap. has lots of similarity's with my scenario.

"I'm not sure that the throw out bearing is even pressing the linkage to disengage the clutch, but both bell housing measured out the same."

same story for me?

Robsinno1 · Mar 25, 2016

Similar situation here except I only have one 73 Ford 4500, using the same 6x4 speed manual transmission, engine, throw-out bearing, and pressure plate. Clutch does not engage even after adjusting the linkage all the way in both directions. After rebuilding the 201 diesel engine, I installed a new 4-pad cross shaped clutch. Since I didn't know to look at the direction that the protruding hub was facing when I removed the engine, I had to do some research to find out. I concluded that the hub should face the pressure plate/transmission (see below), but now I'm still not sure if that is correct. Please help!

Robsinno1 · Aug 22, 2018

Robsinno1 said:
Similar situation here except I only have one 73 Ford 4500, using the same 6x4 speed manual transmission, engine, throw-out bearing, and pressure plate. Clutch does not engage even after adjusting the linkage all the way in both directions. After rebuilding the 201 diesel engine, I installed a new 4-pad cross shaped clutch. Since I didn't know to look at the direction that the protruding hub was facing when I removed the engine, I had to do some research to find out. I concluded that the hub should face the pressure plate/transmission (see below), but now I'm still not sure if that is correct. Please help!
View attachment 462377

For those who may have come across this same issue, I found out the hard way which way the hub should face. Even after some lengthy research prior to installation, the following information eluded me until after I installed the clutch incorrectly the first time. The key is determining whether you have a previous type clutch design or a current type clutch design. As noted below, this can be determined by establishing whether you have an external or internal clutch pedal return spring. A current type clutch design has an external clutch pedal return spring, which requires the side of the clutch with the longer hub protrusion to face towards the flywheel in most cases. See the following attachments for your specific application.