ford 1700 clutch problem

[Bickley Valley Cyril]

I'm an enthusiastic novice.
I have just bought an old neglected ford 1700. The clutch slips and the tractor only travels in low range first or reverse. It will shift into the other gears but wont move particularly if I raise the revs. the clutch, I assume it's the clutch, emits a high pitched howling noise.

I would appreciate any advice

 

[Texas Blues]

Yea, the clutch does sound suspect. Have not had to change the clutch in my 1700, but maybe one of the other 1700 owners can chime in. Hey JC, have you split your 1700 yet? I searced the forum and found a post and pictures courtesy of jones6780 of his disassembly. He can probably give you some advice. Here is a couple of pictures he posted (thanks jones for the quality pictures) of the clutch assembly and bell housing. Good Luck TB

 

[JC-jetro]

Hey TB,

I have not split my 1700 yet. Jones certainly had great pics. It certainly sounds like clutch disk surface thinning out way out out of specs causing the slippage. The good thing is this can easily be checked by removing the hand hole ( inspection hole) or whatever factory calls it on the side of clutch housing. I have been overseas in the last two weeks and need to get in to grooves of things at home and at work so I can't spill my guts at this moment. To the original poster, I have some input about the subject matter in several post. You might want to check (search) the forum with a great search utility it has for Ford 1700. If you have additional questions then ask it and be rest assured you get many good advise by the good folks here. Splitting a smallish Ford 1700 should not be a major issue if you have a flat concrete floor, hoisting ability, tools and mechanical aptitude to do it. I know I will have to do it in the next 5 years or so and I'll be doing myself.

JC,

 

[Soundguy]

have ya tried to adjust it yet?

soundguy

 

[jones6780]

Here is a picture looking in the inspection port with a scale to measure the clutch thickness. It measures 5/16" thick for a new clutch. If you have free travel at the top of the petal travel, the petal is not causing the throwout bearing to engage, then there is no adjustment that will correct the slippage.

Russell

 

[JC-jetro]

To original poster,

Dittto on what Russell had to say. in addition to it if you take the inspection hole cover off you can see if throw out bearing is touching the 3 fingers of the pressure plate or not. if you are not riding the fingers then for sure yu are slipping. the squeal at times can be a dry bearing making noise due to occasional or constant rotation (ie, riding the fingers of pressure plate).

Russell, great to see you back

JC,

 

[Noknees45]

Hey I just got on this site because I am in the process of replacing the clutch in my 1700! I gotta say, I have written a 1/2 page of information that I'm gonna get done in the process! JC- you are a plethora of info!

I have the tractor split in half and am in the process now of getting the parts. Clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing (aka release bearing) and pilot bearing. I am also going to get a plastic spline device to line up the clutch.

Does anyone know any tricks of getting the pilot bearing out? A mechanic friend told me to fill it with grease and tap a non-threaded bolt into the hole. The grease pressure will push out the bearing. Anyone have any success with that?

Also, anybody done this job on the 1700? I need to have a reference in case I get in over my head in the coming week! LOL.

I have plenty of pics and will post them soon!

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

You are going to laugh but I have had better luck with wet toliet paper than grease.Find a punch or somthing the same size as the hole in the bearing.Pack the hole in the bearing with the wet paper, insert your driver and hit it with a hammer. refill the hole with wet paper and do it again. repeat untill the bearing comes out.
Bill

 

[Noknees45]

Sweet, I'll give that a try! Thanks

 

[JC-jetro]

Sweet, I'll give that a try! Thanks

Good suggestions so far. Although I have not than that on my 1700 you might find the bearing not particularly very tight as they grease it up some before installation. As a result it has a good grease film to keep the rusting at bay. You might make a puller out of an piece of flat thin metal with a bend to jar it some. A small needle nose vise grip might grab the inner dia some if force the jaw open to grab the inner bearing race and then pull back. It'll hopefully will be easier than you think. if you can take good pics and share.

JC,

 

[Texas Blues]

A long time ago I bought a snap on slide hammer puller. It had L shaped arms of various sizes you could attach to the ends. I was effective most of the time on the bearing type pilot bearings. Pilot bushings on the other hand were a different story, it next to never worked on those. Maybe a local parts store rents the puller if you needed it. Good idea stuffing wet paper in the opening, sort of a hydraulic press kinda thing. Good luck, TB

 

[Soundguy]

the grease trick will work for sure.. BTDT..

have used that to push weepy seals out to to repalce then when i didn't have a seal snatcher..

soundguy

 

[Noknees45]

Here are some pictures of my clutch job. Just an FYI- my 1700 is a greasy mess from being used and abused. I have a hydraulic control valve leak and the engine seams to leak oil, but it runs great (other than the clutch )! I took a bunch of pictures just to make sure I knew how to put it back together if I got stuck.

The clutch failure is a mystery. It was making a little noise before it failed but nothing major. The pilot bearing may have stuck (it is really rough when you spin it) and caused the throw-out bearing to lock up on the clutch. I'm not sure....guessing. Either way the clutch fingers were ground down to nothing and the throw-out bearing was stuck out. I had no resistance on the clutch and could not put the tractor in gear at all.

 

[Texas Blues]

Maybe the throw bearing was getting stiff and didnt spin freely enough. Or maybe the clutch was adjusted to tight (not enough freeplay in the pedal). And also maybe the clutch had been ridden too much. Make sure the throw bearing sleeve has free travel on the input shaft housing, and the return spring assists it. Either way, its plum wore out. Good thing you caught it before it got worse and caused more damage. Once you replace the pilot bearing and clutch assembly and throw bearing im sure it will be fine. Just dont adjust it too tight. Nice pics, keep them coming! Good Luck, TB

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

If you don't already have them buy the service manual and operators manual. These tractors have things to check that other tractors dont. Like the oil level in the injector pump. It looks like you have the clutch job under control. Did yoou get the new clutch from NH or did you find it else where?
Bill

 

[JC-jetro]

Ditto on all the stuff Tex had to say. It has to be one of them and I lean toward bad adjustment where the throwout bearing was constantly riding on the fingers. How did the clutch disk itself looked like? Condition above could also adversely effect the surface wear as it slips and grabs rather than grabbing all the time.

You'll be able to find host of good info and pics on lowly 1700 on this forum more than some of the other models but it is essential to have owner's manual and some sort of service manual.

Have you noticed if any oil seal is leaking in to clutch housing? if so, then it is time now to correct.

JC,

 

[Soundguy]

If you don't already have them buy the service manual and operators manual. These tractors have things to check that other tractors dont. Like the oil level in the injector pump. It looks like you have the clutch job under control. Did yoou get the new clutch from NH or did you find it else where?
Bill

what makes you think older tractors don't have to check for things like oil in the injector pump. My inline simms on my 68 ford 3000 needs it's injector pump oil serviced at oil change time... ( sure.. there are some fuel lubed rotary pumps as well.. but.. there are plenty of oil sump lubed IP's )

soundguy

 

[Noknees45]

I do have the owners manual, but I need to get the service manual. Any suggestions on where to get one? I'm gonna google it after I get off here.

As far as the clutch, I called NH and they want over $400.00 for everything. I think I can get it on e-bay. I'll just have to wait for the shipping. Not bad considering NH would take three days anyway.

 

[Soundguy]

i did a 3 second search on that auction site we can't mention using ford 1700 as the search title.. the first 4 things that came up were service manuals.. an old I&T, a new I&T,and then the big ford book..

soundguy

 

[jones6780]

Did you find a clutch alignment tool? They are kinda pricey for a 1 time use. I took the input shaft out of my transmission to use for clutch alignment. Just have to take the cross shaft out that operates the throw-out bearing, 4 bolts and pull it out. As for a manual I have both the I&T and the big Ford repair manual. For the price I would be happy with the I&T, it was all I needed. I bought my clutch kit complete on that auction site. For the pilot bearing removal, it is not vert tight. I used a long bolt that I put in the bearing, slid over to the side and wedged the head in place under the bearing. Put a socket over the bolt washer,nut and tightened the nut to pull the bearing out.
You sound like you have everything under control so good luck.

Russell