Jinma 284 Y385 2000 (have had it a couple weeks) Loss of power

[kryptzard]

Clutch is catching high, the tractor is barely moving, intermittently crawls, .... mostly, it will not move at all, engine still running and in gear. Has anyone ever had this and does it sound like I just need to adjust the clutch? I believe I need to take the loader off to get at the clutch mechanism box by backing up about a foot after freeing up the loader... this is all new to me!
I'm nervous about finding out the true condition of this thing but I really just want to do the work myself. I have little to none experience with this but learn quick...
History:
I bought this Jinma 284 on craigslist, came with a grader and loader, wheel weights, owned by a diesel repair guy who owns a reputable small shop and works on equipment so I thought I was getting a great deal!!! the ad stated 2004, the engine block has a metal manufacture stamp that states built in 2000, (saw that today!) but I think it was sold new as a 2002. Now When I bought it used, the seller said he cleaned up the fluids and replaced them, changed oil, tuned it up etc... I looked at the oil today, it's black... being female doesn't always have perks... I'm not sure but I think I may have been duped. I put a quart of 80/90 gear lube in it today, it wasn't even showing on the stick!! , topped the oil, added coolant and lubed all the joints... Looking for a local mechanic to pick their brain and to pay for help when I need repairs... in Tolland County, Connecticut
I have put 10 hours on it, moving wood chips and a few rocks, now the thing doesn't move... any suggestions?

 

[quicksandfarmer]

First, welcome.

The clutch slipping because it's out of adjustment is very common on these tractors, as the clutch wears it needs to be adjusted. Don't let it slip because it accelerates the wear.

You are correct that the clutch inspection port is behind the front end loader mount. The simplest clutch adjustment is to let out the clutch pedal by lengthening the rod, you can do that without taking off the loader. If there isn't free play in the clutch pedal -- you should be able to push it in an inch before it feels like it's doing anything -- then you need to adjust your clutch out. You can do that roughly at the pedal linkage, to get it moving, although to get it properly adjusted you'll have to take off the loader and look in the port.

The engine date is a result of gamesmanship on the part of the manufacturer. The EPA has been progressively tightening emissions standards, in order for a tractor to be imported its engine has to meet emissions standards. At one time the rule was that the engine only had to meet the standards as of the date of manufacture of the engine, and the Chinese manufacturers were "finding" an endless supply of 1999 and 2000 engines. The EPA put a stop to that a couple of years ago. So your engine is probably newer than that.

Diesel oil turns black very quickly. But to be sure I would change the engine oil, it's cheap insurance. I would also check the transmission and the hydraulic fluid. As long as they are clean, clear and full I wouldn't worry. Front differential too. These tractors don't have a coolant overflow recovery tank, so it's normal for the coolant not to be up to the top of the radiator when it's cold. But if you had to add coolant keep a sharp eye on the coolant level. You should lose a little when it warms up the first time after you fill it, but no more after that. The most common thing to go wrong on these tractors is for the cylinder head gasket to fail, which will cause you to lose coolant -- and eventually damage the engine if not repaired.

If the transmission oil was low it may be leaking. That may be why your clutch is slipping, it has oil on it. If that's the case look around the transmission and see if you see leaks, if you lost a quart is should be obvious.

 

[kryptzard]

I so much appreciate your response. I did adjust the clutch pedal by tightening the release yoke push rod, but it is as far as it will go. I actually ran it for about an hour and the problem happened all over again. You are right on about that. Thanks for the trivia about the "gamemanship", I get it... thanks for letting me know the oil turns black quickly, ...I'll change it anyway.

I used a quart of 80/90 in the gear differential in the front. Although, No transmission fluid was needed, it was foamy when I checked it (It had been running about 15 minutes earlier, then I checked it a couple hours later after sitting and it was normal, not foamy) was this ok?

When I bought the tractor, although it had been sitting for a year, the guy started it up on a regular basis. The floor in his home garage was spotless, not a drop of fluid anywhere. I haven't seen any on my surfaces either, just some drips coming from the hydraulic power lift handle area which needs new seals or something, I am researching that next.

I hope to get to the clutch adjustment this week. Thank you very much.

 

[kryptzard]

I so much appreciate your response. I did adjust the clutch pedal by tightening the release yoke push rod, but it is as far as it will go. I actually ran it for about an hour and the problem happened all over again. You are right on about that. Thanks for the trivia about the "gamemanship", I get it... thanks for letting me know the oil turns black quickly, ...I'll change it anyway.

I used a quart of 80/90 in the gear differential in the front. Although, No transmission fluid was needed, it was foamy when I checked it (It had been running about 15 minutes earlier, then I checked it a couple hours later after sitting and it was normal, not foamy) was this ok?

When I bought the tractor, although it had been sitting for a year, the guy started it up on a regular basis. The floor in his home garage was spotless, not a drop of fluid anywhere. I haven't seen any on my surfaces either, just some drips coming from the hydraulic power lift handle area which needs new seals or something, I am researching that next.

I hope to get to the clutch adjustment this week. Thank you very much.

FYI this Jinma only had 94 hours on it when I bought it. Hoses in great condition, The engine was dry and clean!

 

[quicksandfarmer]

No leaks is good news. If you do a forum search there's lots on adjusting the clutch, here's some background.

This diagram:
Clutch Dual Stage 400 | Jinma Tractor Parts, Farm Pro Tractor Parts | Circle G Tractor Parts

shows the clutch. (It's for a Jinma 400 but it works the same).

To orient yourself, the left of the diagram is toward the engine and the right is toward the back of the tractor. The clutch disk is #6. The input shaft for the transmission comes in from the right and slides into a splined slot in the center of the disk. Turning the disk turns the transmission. The disk is pinned between metal plates #5 and #8. They are bolted to the flywheel, the output of the engine. The plates always spin at the same speed as the engine. The plates are free to slide on the bolts that connect them to the engine, when they are squeezed together they pinch the clutch disk and it spins at engine speed, when they are separated the clutch is free to spin slower or not at all.

The clutch pedal is #45. Pushing in the pedal pushes on the push rod, #35. That moves the bottom of the rocker arm, #42. The top of the rocker arm is pinned to a shaft (#20), so the shaft rotates. The other end of the shaft is pinned to the clutch fork (#22) and when the shaft rotates the fork pushes the throwout bearing (#24) toward the front of the tractor, so it pushes on the clutch fingers (#15). There are three fingers even though the diagram only shows one. When the bearing pushes on the fingers they pull on plate #8, which frees the clutch disk to spin.

When the clutch is properly adjusted, there is a gap of one tenth of an inch between the throwout bearing (#24) and the three clutch fingers (#15) when the clutch pedal is not depressed. The fingers are bolted to the pressure plate and spin at engine speed, and when the clutch is not depressed the throwout bearing isn't moving at all. The air gap is necessary to keep the throwout bearing from burning up from constant spinning.

The clutch disk #6 wears with use, and becomes thinner. As it becomes thinner the plate #8 moves toward the left to take up the slack, and it pulls on the fingers, which cause the fingers to close the gap with the bearing. After enough wear the finger is resting on the bearing all of the time, which is bad for two reasons: the plate no longer pinches the clutch disk, so the clutch slips, and the bearing is spinning all the time, which shortens its life.

There are two adjustments that can restore the gap at the bearing. Shortening the turnbuckle (#36) will move the bearing back and restore the gap. You can also adjust each finger individually. It's important when adjusting that the gap be the same at all three fingers, otherwise the clutch will operate roughly and wear unevenly. I prefer to adjust at the turnbuckle because it's one adjustment rather than three, but either way you need to look in and see the gap to get it correct. It sounds like you adjusted the turnbuckle all the way and there still isn't a gap, so the next step is to adjust at the fingers. (And put the turnbuckle back to the middle so you have some play for next time).

It's possible that the clutch disk has worn so thin that it can't be adjusted out, which means it has to be replaced. That's not the end of the world, the clutch disk is about a $60 part although it's a pain to get to. But with 94 hours that's unlikely. These tractors were notorious for the clutch not being adjusted properly at the factory so my bet is it was just never properly adjusted.

I take my front end loader off to adjust the clutch, but here are instructions for doing it with the loader on:
JMClutchAdj

 

[kryptzard]

Oh wow this is great information... I'm going to study this. thank you!

 

[kryptzard]

No leaks is good news. If you do a forum search there's lots on adjusting the clutch, here's some background.

This diagram:
Clutch Dual Stage 400 | Jinma Tractor Parts, Farm Pro Tractor Parts | Circle G Tractor Parts

shows the clutch. (It's for a Jinma 400 but it works the same).

To orient yourself, the left of the diagram is toward the engine and the right is toward the back of the tractor. The clutch disk is #6. The input shaft for the transmission comes in from the right and slides into a splined slot in the center of the disk. Turning the disk turns the transmission. The disk is pinned between metal plates #5 and #8. They are bolted to the flywheel, the output of the engine. The plates always spin at the same speed as the engine. The plates are free to slide on the bolts that connect them to the engine, when they are squeezed together they pinch the clutch disk and it spins at engine speed, when they are separated the clutch is free to spin slower or not at all.

The clutch pedal is #45. Pushing in the pedal pushes on the push rod, #35. That moves the bottom of the rocker arm, #42. The top of the rocker arm is pinned to a shaft (#20), so the shaft rotates. The other end of the shaft is pinned to the clutch fork (#22) and when the shaft rotates the fork pushes the throwout bearing (#24) toward the front of the tractor, so it pushes on the clutch fingers (#15). There are three fingers even though the diagram only shows one. When the bearing pushes on the fingers they pull on plate #8, which frees the clutch disk to spin.

When the clutch is properly adjusted, there is a gap of one tenth of an inch between the throwout bearing (#24) and the three clutch fingers (#15) when the clutch pedal is not depressed. The fingers are bolted to the pressure plate and spin at engine speed, and when the clutch is not depressed the throwout bearing isn't moving at all. The air gap is necessary to keep the throwout bearing from burning up from constant spinning.

The clutch disk #6 wears with use, and becomes thinner. As it becomes thinner the plate #8 moves toward the left to take up the slack, and it pulls on the fingers, which cause the fingers to close the gap with the bearing. After enough wear the finger is resting on the bearing all of the time, which is bad for two reasons: the plate no longer pinches the clutch disk, so the clutch slips, and the bearing is spinning all the time, which shortens its life.

There are two adjustments that can restore the gap at the bearing. Shortening the turnbuckle (#36) will move the bearing back and restore the gap. You can also adjust each finger individually. It's important when adjusting that the gap be the same at all three fingers, otherwise the clutch will operate roughly and wear unevenly. I prefer to adjust at the turnbuckle because it's one adjustment rather than three, but either way you need to look in and see the gap to get it correct. It sounds like you adjusted the turnbuckle all the way and there still isn't a gap, so the next step is to adjust at the fingers. (And put the turnbuckle back to the middle so you have some play for next time).

It's possible that the clutch disk has worn so thin that it can't be adjusted out, which means it has to be replaced. That's not the end of the world, the clutch disk is about a $60 part although it's a pain to get to. But with 94 hours that's unlikely. These tractors were notorious for the clutch not being adjusted properly at the factory so my bet is it was just never properly adjusted.

I take my front end loader off to adjust the clutch, but here are instructions for doing it with the loader on:
JMClutchAdj

Still is awe of this tutorial on how to do this!!! Many thanks to the author (Mark M AKA SPIKER) and the messenger (quicksandfarmer) !!!

 

[kryptzard]

Well, now its time to replace the clutch... do you know of a tutorial for clutch replacement? any thing special that might be a surprised with a Jinma?
ughh.

 

[Affordable]

We have the replacement clutch and you get a splined clutch alignment tool with the assembly,give us a call 979-865-4002

Sorry there is no tutorial on the clutch replacement

Tommy
Affordable Tractor Sales
"Your Jinma Parts Superstore"
Home of compact Jinma, Foton, and Koyker Tractors and Parts, Wood Chippers, Backhoes - Affordable Tractor Sales Company

 

[kryptzard]

We have the replacement clutch and you get a splined clutch alignment tool with the assembly,give us a call 979-865-4002

Sorry there is no tutorial on the clutch replacement

Tommy
Affordable Tractor Sales
"Your Jinma Parts Superstore"
Home of compact Jinma, Foton, and Koyker Tractors and Parts, Wood Chippers, Backhoes - Affordable Tractor Sales Company

Ordering today!! Thanks!