Ok, let me begin by saying I have not checked with any manufacturer's to see if this was OK to do, but it worked when "nothing" short of splitting the clutch housing would....so if there is someone that feels the need to tell me I shouldn't have done this... no offense ... but I really don't care 
I've owned this JD 870 since 1995 and the clutch stuck when it was new so we started putting a block of wood to hold the clutch pedal open, but I forgot since I'm building a house for my son and have been very busy. Other than that its been a great "fake JDeere". So about 6 mo's went by and I got on the tractor, and discovered the clutch plates had seized. I tried every trick that I could find on the web, and called some mechanics who all said "bring it in.. and hope your not in a hurry, cause it will be about 3-4 weeks before we can get to split the housing." I tried the screwdriver trick through the inspection hole (no success) I tried jamming the brakes on while going down the road...no success; I tried driving it around for a while, no success; I tried parking it on a hill overnight in gear with a chain secured in case it broke it loose... no success; I tried spraying the clutch mechanism with WD40 and putting the bucket against a tree while in gear and the rear tires buried themselves down to the frame...no success. I tried lifting the rear tires off the ground with the stabilizers and jamming brakes on when in high gear spinning... no success. Then I was reading on a Ford tractor forum since I also have an old but great 1959 Ford 600, and a guy was talking about how he does a cheap clutch refresh cleaning to his 8N when his clutch begins to get close to not working exactly as it should...he basically used kerosene to clean it. So I figured Id try this as a last ditch effort before loading it on the trailer to take to the mechanic, because I don't have time to split the housing. "If you have tried all the other remedies and none work"... then try this one as a last and final fix. here are the steps: 1) remove the inspection clutch housing screen under the cover located on the brake pedal side of the bell housing. See Pic ) take a rubber grommet and block the drain hole for the clutch bell housing, which is located directly below the clutch housing on the bottom of the tractor See pic; take an empty gallon jug and mix 1/2 gallon of PB Blaster penetrating oil (See Pic) about a pint of automatic transmission oil...any will work and can actually be used if you have drained any from your automobiles, and about a quart of kerosene or diesel fuel. I used a small garden sprayer to actually spray the "concoction" as I call it through the Clutch Inspection port where you took off the screen. (You could just use a funnel and pour it in) I put all of it in..since you have blocked the drain, the bell housing will start to fill up to the the bottom half of the clutch mechanism and is actually soaking in the solution. You can use a screw driver to rotate the clutch mechanism through the solution until all of it is saturated. While it is soaking, go to the other side where the clutch pedal is located remove the floor plate and adjust the clutch linkage "all the way out to full clutch deflection" which you prob have about a additional half inch in the linkage See pic. "remember" the lock nut on the linkage side closest to the rear tires is a "left hand thread!!!" Don't ask me why I say that!! LOL also Remember You will have to "re-adjust this linkage back to where it was... so mark it, or your clutch will slip!! If you want to use the engine starter... which I did... to rotate the clutch mechanism through the engine "NOT" spinning fast...or it'll blow the solution out the hole...you can disconnect the glow plug actuator which is a connector directly above the inspection hole, See Pic therefore the engine will rotate with the starter "but NOT Crank!!" this is handy because you need to occasionally rotate a different section of the clutch mechanism through the solution over the next day or until it releases which took about 12 hours for me. I left the tranny engaged in 2nd gear and in the 2nd Gear box position...this allowed me to occasionally rock the tractor back and forth putting some pressure on the clutch plates... "REMEMBER!! MAKE SURE your clutch pedal is clamped all the way OPEN as far as it will go to the frame, You want maximum deflection, and the reason I adjusted the linkage is because I wanted it to have more deflection than what it normally had when it seized....If it was like mine....you'll may need any thing that will help. I went out a couple times during the night rotated the clutch..it didn't seem like it had broke loose but by the next morning...it was perfect!! What a relief.... and I'll never forget that block of wood again... actually I'M going to devise a Lock system that will hold the clutch open when parked. "REMEMBER" before you start the tractor Take the rubber grommet out of the drain and catch the solution in a jug or oil pan...It'll be black and nasty coming out so it apparently did a good cleaning. I'm not sure but it might be a good ideal to spray brake cleaner on the clutch to clean off the solution... I didn't and can't tell any difference in operation at all. Leave it up to a Ford guy to help me fix a JD... LOL Good Luck
I've owned this JD 870 since 1995 and the clutch stuck when it was new so we started putting a block of wood to hold the clutch pedal open, but I forgot since I'm building a house for my son and have been very busy. Other than that its been a great "fake JDeere". So about 6 mo's went by and I got on the tractor, and discovered the clutch plates had seized. I tried every trick that I could find on the web, and called some mechanics who all said "bring it in.. and hope your not in a hurry, cause it will be about 3-4 weeks before we can get to split the housing." I tried the screwdriver trick through the inspection hole (no success) I tried jamming the brakes on while going down the road...no success; I tried driving it around for a while, no success; I tried parking it on a hill overnight in gear with a chain secured in case it broke it loose... no success; I tried spraying the clutch mechanism with WD40 and putting the bucket against a tree while in gear and the rear tires buried themselves down to the frame...no success. I tried lifting the rear tires off the ground with the stabilizers and jamming brakes on when in high gear spinning... no success. Then I was reading on a Ford tractor forum since I also have an old but great 1959 Ford 600, and a guy was talking about how he does a cheap clutch refresh cleaning to his 8N when his clutch begins to get close to not working exactly as it should...he basically used kerosene to clean it. So I figured Id try this as a last ditch effort before loading it on the trailer to take to the mechanic, because I don't have time to split the housing. "If you have tried all the other remedies and none work"... then try this one as a last and final fix. here are the steps: 1) remove the inspection clutch housing screen under the cover located on the brake pedal side of the bell housing. See Pic ) take a rubber grommet and block the drain hole for the clutch bell housing, which is located directly below the clutch housing on the bottom of the tractor See pic; take an empty gallon jug and mix 1/2 gallon of PB Blaster penetrating oil (See Pic) about a pint of automatic transmission oil...any will work and can actually be used if you have drained any from your automobiles, and about a quart of kerosene or diesel fuel. I used a small garden sprayer to actually spray the "concoction" as I call it through the Clutch Inspection port where you took off the screen. (You could just use a funnel and pour it in) I put all of it in..since you have blocked the drain, the bell housing will start to fill up to the the bottom half of the clutch mechanism and is actually soaking in the solution. You can use a screw driver to rotate the clutch mechanism through the solution until all of it is saturated. While it is soaking, go to the other side where the clutch pedal is located remove the floor plate and adjust the clutch linkage "all the way out to full clutch deflection" which you prob have about a additional half inch in the linkage See pic. "remember" the lock nut on the linkage side closest to the rear tires is a "left hand thread!!!" Don't ask me why I say that!! LOL also Remember You will have to "re-adjust this linkage back to where it was... so mark it, or your clutch will slip!! If you want to use the engine starter... which I did... to rotate the clutch mechanism through the engine "NOT" spinning fast...or it'll blow the solution out the hole...you can disconnect the glow plug actuator which is a connector directly above the inspection hole, See Pic therefore the engine will rotate with the starter "but NOT Crank!!" this is handy because you need to occasionally rotate a different section of the clutch mechanism through the solution over the next day or until it releases which took about 12 hours for me. I left the tranny engaged in 2nd gear and in the 2nd Gear box position...this allowed me to occasionally rock the tractor back and forth putting some pressure on the clutch plates... "REMEMBER!! MAKE SURE your clutch pedal is clamped all the way OPEN as far as it will go to the frame, You want maximum deflection, and the reason I adjusted the linkage is because I wanted it to have more deflection than what it normally had when it seized....If it was like mine....you'll may need any thing that will help. I went out a couple times during the night rotated the clutch..it didn't seem like it had broke loose but by the next morning...it was perfect!! What a relief.... and I'll never forget that block of wood again... actually I'M going to devise a Lock system that will hold the clutch open when parked. "REMEMBER" before you start the tractor Take the rubber grommet out of the drain and catch the solution in a jug or oil pan...It'll be black and nasty coming out so it apparently did a good cleaning. I'm not sure but it might be a good ideal to spray brake cleaner on the clutch to clean off the solution... I didn't and can't tell any difference in operation at all. Leave it up to a Ford guy to help me fix a JD... LOL Good Luck
yes….it was actually clamped open “fully depressed“ to the floor board and stayed that way for 3 days… unless I took it loose to manipulate it… it was damn crazy…
