heavy clutch hydraulic assist

tonynz · Mar 12, 2021

what's involved in fitting a small piston to the clutch arm to provide some level of hydraulic assistance? My tractor is a MF 35X and they are known to cause left leg muscle problems. It's not so much the clutch springs as the design and position of the lever. It's ok when standing up from the seat but when you are sitting, your leg is doubled up and does not have much force to depress the lever.
I am thinking that a small cylinder and actuating valve would do the job, anyone have any ideas? At present I don't have any other hydraulic implements so would need to tap into the lift arm system. Thanks for any ideas!

Tx Jim · Mar 13, 2021

Some models of JD tractors utilize a self contained master/slave cylinder for traction clutch that utilizes brake fluid for control. I personally think they are more prone to give problems than direct operating linkage plus can be very difficult to bleed the air from operating cylinders.

Roadworthy · Mar 13, 2021

As Jim implied, any hydraulic clutches I've seen operate like hydraulic brakes for a mechanical advantage. There is no power assist to a basic hydraulic clutch. I've not found bleeding difficult - at least not any more so than brakes but you would be adding another level of complication.

tonynz · Mar 13, 2021

thanks guys, I guess it won't be much different to a normal brake system on a car then?

Roadworthy · Mar 14, 2021

It's exactly like the brake system on a car. Some of the old British cars had a hydraulic clutch. You could probably use a regular shoe type brake master cylinder and a wheel cylinder to rig something up. The wheel cylinders don't have much travel, though.

npalen · Mar 14, 2021

I'm thinking that additional force won't be gained by simply adding a hydraulic actuator. Would need some means of additional power such as vacuum which won't be available on a diesel or a cylinder powered by the tractor hydraulics.