Dealer told me the clutch will freeze

[knute_m]

In 1969 I had to take a short diesel course in the Navy so that I could drive tractor-trailers. One of the things that stuck in my mind was how they emphasized that we should never leave the tractors in gear when parked, as the clutches had a tendency to freeze.

I kind of thought it was like my mother telling me not to cross my eyes, as they might stay that way. Well, I still don't cross my eyes, I don't leave vehicles in gear when I park them, and I disable the tractor clutch if I know it is going to sit for a few weeks or more.

 

[Dargo]

At the risk of sounding rude, if I had to worry about the transmission gears busting if I had to stand on the brakes to break the clutch loose, I don't think I'd want to own that kind of tractor. Good gosh, I've had gear drive tractors for decades and have had clutches stick plenty of times. It was never any big deal. Sometimes I had to jam on the brakes harder and in four wheel drive, but the clutch always broke loose. If the transmission wouldn't take that, I sure wouldn't want to hook a plow up to it.

 

[Larry_Sheehan]

MY 3510 has a clip to hold the clutch pedal. In the manual they recommend storing the tractor with the clutch disengaged to prevent freezing.

 

[wrenchturner]

Dargo,
The tractor that I broke the gears in is a Mitsubishi Satoh Beaver. I believe this is a high quiality tractor, maybe it is just a piece of junk and I do not know junk from quality. My whole point was it is better to have the clutch depressed when not in use for an extended period of time. Had I not been capable of repairing the transmission myself, it might have been cost prohibitive to repair it. If it can happen to me it probably could happen to someone else too.

 

[JerryG]

Dargo,
The tractor that I broke the gears in is a Mitsubishi Satoh Beaver. I believe this is a high quiality tractor, maybe it is just a piece of junk and I do not know junk from quality. My whole point was it is better to have the clutch depressed when not in use for an extended period of time. Had I not been capable of repairing the transmission myself, it might have been cost prohibitive to repair it. If it can happen to me it probably could happen to someone else too.

It is always safer to latch the pedal down than to take a chance with the clutch sticking. It seems to happen more in some climates than in others. I have heard a lot more about it happening since being on the net than I ever heard of it happening in the years that I worked on tractors. But of course when people have problems you hear more about it one the net.

 

[YanmarFever]

DonDont get excited to much over this clutch pedal sticking dilema.Just do as the folks are advising you and put a wooden block or clip in the way and you wont have to think about this again.Your dealer did good by warning you of this ahead of time.I have had over 10 tractors with stuck clutches in the past.We just hook them up to a mower with the clutch pressed in, and turn the pto on which usually pops the clutch free.Ernie