Satoh beaver wont go into gear while running

sporthorses · Jun 15, 2007

OK well here we go. I parked my satoh beaver S370 last week, and today went to move it to under the new shed. It wouldnt go into gear AT ALL. Not even after 15 mins of pumping the hydraulic 3pt hitch lever control. I mashed and mashed the clutch, played with it a bit and no good. That 3pt hitch control works fine, but it wont go into gear to drive. Any ideas? I am hoping just the clutch is bad because my thoughts are, if the hyd pump is bad, then the 3pt hitch control lever would work, am I correct?

MikesTractor · Jun 15, 2007

I really more information to be sure. Could be a stuck clutch, a broken clutch fork, or a bad throw out bearing, among other things. Does the clutch still feel like it used to? Is it easier to press the clutch? Do you notice anything different at all about the way the clutch pedal feels?

Try this: On level ground with wheels chocked, mash the clutch all the way to the bottom and block it down with a piece of wood between the pedal and the step plate. Make sure that the tractor is in gear (High gear is best). Remove one of the wheel chocks and see if the tractor can be rolled. If not, the clutch is not releasing. I'm almost sure that it wont roll. If it would, then you would be able to put it in gear with it running.

Let me know what you come up with and I can tell you more then.

Mike

sporthorses · Jun 16, 2007

Mike, I spoke to the owner that I purchased it from and he said it always sticks, it as in, the clutch. He told me to start it in gear and run it awhile which I did, he said to then make sure both brakes are joined so that both back tires stop, i did, then he said DEPRESS CLUTCH, and slap the brakes, which I did, ohhhhhhhhhhhh quite a few times, in 1st and in 2nd. I even tried it in reverse and it wont unstick.
The clutch feels the same but you get a different sound when it is running and you depress it, as if it is trying but just cant make it. Soooooo, am up to any suggestions. Also, is there a diagram for this tractor a satoh beaver s370 for the clutch? I am NOT opposed to splitting it in two and manually unsticking if I have to, hate to, but, hey, tis the only way really to see if anything else is damaged I spose.
If you need more info, please let me know, thanks for your help
Diana

sporthorses · Jun 16, 2007

Also Mike, on the clutch, it does feel like it depresses more easily now, if that helps.

wushaw · Jun 16, 2007

Your s370 is just like my Mitsubishi 372, I have not had any clutch problems with mine but it does sound like it is either stuck or the clutch fork is gone bye bye.
There has to be a reason as to why it would stick in only a week though, I have let mine set for up to six months.... Have you tried to see if there is water in the clutch housing? There is a drain plug on the bottom of the clutch housing.

Oh yea the 3pt hydraulics and the clutch are not connected in any way.

MikesTractor · Jun 17, 2007

Like wushaw said, I think that something is wrong with the fork or throw out bearing. The clutch shouldn't have stuck in just a week unless there is a lot of moisture in the bell housing. On most tractors, there is some sort of drain hole in the bottom of the bell housing. Usually they have a cotter pin in them to help keep dirt out and keep them open. I'm not sure if your tractor has one, but you can look and see.

The clutch being easier to press worries me. With that and the information that the clutch has a history of sticking, I think that I would go ahead and split the tractor and repair whatever is wrong. You don't know how much abuse the fork and throw out bearing have taken. This way you will know that everything is repaired right. To me, peace of mind is worth a lot.

Let me know what you come up with.

Mike

sporthorses · Jun 18, 2007

Thank you heaps Mike, and the other person *sorry but forgot your nickname* and yes, much against my husbands protesting hahaha, I AM going to split the tractor. I have the jacks and ging to get the plywood from a friend to put it on. I DID check for the Water, but I drained they fluid just 4 days ago and put new in, and there was NO sign of water. I do beleive that it could be the fork so as you suggested, I am tearing her down next sunday and checking everything under the sun for wear and tear. The gentleman that sold it to me 3 and a half years ago offered to come out and help, as well. I told my husband it would be the BEST WAY to learn firstly, and secondly, tearing a tractor down is NOT as entailed as tearing a car apart and besides, I am actually in a rather demented way, looking forward to it. I mean, after all, if you are scared to work on it, you shouldnt have it right? Doesn't bother me at all, I am from australia originally and we had tractors on our hobby farm that we tore down all of the time with no regard to the fear factor hahaha. Thanks heaps and will let you know what I find next week.
Diana

wushaw · Jun 18, 2007

Water in the hydraulic fluid or engine oil have nothing to do with water in the bell housing, there is a bolt in the bottom of the bell housing to check if you have water in bell housing...the bell housing is basically sealed so trash does not get in but water can in mysterious ways.

Let us know what you find and ya better have a good set of metric tools.

sporthorses · Jun 19, 2007

Of COURSE I have a good array of metric tools, Im an aussie, that is all we use. Thanks for all of your help on this......

3RRL · Jun 20, 2007

Let me get this straight...
It won't go into gear, meaning it's not IN gear, right?
Clutching and trying to put it into gear does nothing, right?
Tractor runs and hydraulics work
This is a gear tractor, I presume?.

So, can you move the shifter lever around to the different gear spots?
If so, I think you have a bad or broken shifter fork. It could be as simple as a broken or loose dowel (roll) pin which connects the shifter lever to the shifter fork?
Is there anyway to take off the top of the trans where your shifter lever goes into the gear box? Maybe start there to wee what's loose?

If you can't move the shifter lever into the other spots, like it's stuck, then you could have a messed up cluster gear that won't engage into the others or is stuck and can't slide into position. Either way, I'd pop off the lever cap to have a look inside. You might find something as easy to replace/repair as a dowel pin or the shifter lever has disengaged from the fork.