Tractor Split - Reassembly

[mmranch]

OK, the tractor is almost totally reassembled after the seal/clutch replacement.


To split the tractor, the 1/4 inch fuel line was pinched with 2 vise grips about 6" apart and severed in the middle. It is now reconnected with a fitting and clamps and the vise grips have been removed.

Do I need to bleed air from the fuel line/fuel filter because of the severed line?

Thanks for any ideas!

 

[Tx Jim]

It's my diesel experience that air is much easier to expel from fuel system before it reaches inj pump/injector lines SO I'll recommend to open bleeder on the fuel filter & try to remove any air that might be present in fuel system.

 

[Roadworthy]

You should indeed bleed the air from the system. Your tractor operator manual will tell you the exact sequence for doing that.

 

[mmranch]

Thanks for all the ideas! I did bleed the fuel line and very few bubbles came forth.

I started the tractor and she seems to run fine.

But when I went to move her, she goes into gear just fine with the clutch depressed but when I try to move the shuttle lever from Neutral into Forward (with the clutch still depressed), she starts moving forward. She starts moving backward when I try to move the shuttle into Reverse.

Is the difference in the new clutch causing this?

I did slightly adjust the clutch pedal rod length (to accommodate the new, thicker clutch plate). When I try to put the clutch pedal rod back length to its original length, I still get the same result... tractor starts moving when moving the shuttle lever with the clutch depressed.

How is the shuttle lever related to the clutch? No other linkages were messed with during the tractor split.

Thanks for any ideas!

 

[fried1765]

Thanks for all the ideas! I did bleed the fuel line and very few bubbles came forth.

I started the tractor and she seems to run fine.

But when I went to move her, she goes into gear just fine with the clutch depressed but when I try to move the shuttle lever from Neutral into Forward (with the clutch still depressed), she starts moving forward. She starts moving backward when I try to move the shuttle into Reverse.

Is the difference in the new clutch causing this?

I did slightly adjust the clutch pedal rod length (to accommodate the new, thicker clutch plate). When I try to put the clutch pedal rod back length to its original length, I still get the same result... tractor starts moving when moving the shuttle lever with the clutch depressed.

How is the shuttle lever related to the clutch? No other linkages were messed with during the tractor split.

Thanks for any ideas!

Oops !!!!
Bad news!
My replacement clutch (Chinese aftermarket- mistake!) broke a finger after only two hours.
There is good news for you though.
The second split goes somewhat faster than the first.

 

[mmranch]

Thanks for the ideas. The replacement parts were OEM... so no problems there.


I've been plowing snow with the tractor for a while now and she seems to be working fine. But it's a bit of a mystery how I got there.

Only the throw-out bearing, clutch plate and pull back springs (that pull back the TOB) were new. The TOB was pressed into the sleeve and looked exactly like the original. The springs were the same as the original (I would have liked to see stouter springs as these are like the diameter of a paper clip). The new clutch plate was very slightly thicker than the original.

Since the plate was slightly thicker than the original, the fingers of the clutch cover would have been pushed inward (toward the engine) slightly when the plate and cover were installed and the tractor all put back together. Because of this, I adjusted the clutch adjustment rod by turning the turnbuckle on the rod 1 turn which shortened the rod slightly and moved the TOB closer to the fingers of the clutch cover.

I started the tractor and she ran just fine. I pressed the clutch and it seemed super loose and easy... too easy. I was able to put it in any gear and it went in fine. But when I went to put the shuttle lever into forward or reverse from neutral... the tractor started moving before I got the lever fully into position and this was with the clutch fully depressed (and it should not have been moving at all). I knew I had a clutch adjustment problem (and also spoke with the dealer who said I needed to adjust the clutch).

So... I began to adjust the clutch rod turnbuckle to try to acheive the proper free-play of the pedal (20-30mm). I adjusted the turnbuckle all the way until both threaded bolts were bottoming out in their threaded holes of the turnbuckle (again, shortening the rod and moving the TOB towards the fingers). Still... the tractor started moving when I moved the shuttle lever with the clutch depressed. There is a stop bolt that keeps the pedal from hitting the floor. I adjusted this to get even more movement and let the pedal hit the floor. When I did this, now the tractor did not move when moving the shuttle lever into forward or reverse. But the instant the pedal left the floor, the tractor started moving so the engagement was not in the desired range and the free-play of the pedal was still no where close to where it should be.

So I removed the clutch pedal rod from the tractor and removed the threaded bolts of the rod from the turnbuckle and cut off 1/2 an inch from each threaded bolt and put it back together. Now I had much more adjustment of the rod. I was then able to adjust the rod (further shortening it) to move the TOB closer to the fingers of the clutch cover. This allowed me to get the proper pedal free-play of 30mm, desired engagement of the clutch (in the middle... not on the floor) and re-position the stopper bolt so the pedal didn't hit the floor.

She's running and clutching great but I'm not sure why I had to move the adjustment SO much since the new clutch plate and TOB were almost identical to the originals. Very, very weird.


All in all... I learned a lot and wouldn't hesitate to split the tractor again when it's necessary.

And it may be necessary sometime in the future. Before I started this project, I had a few drops of hydraulic oil that were accumulating on the bottom of the spacer transmission (middle section of the transmission) near the 2 drain plugs there. I thought it was the plugs leaking that needed to be re-sealed. So I re-sealed them and re-filled the transmission. But after the first runnings of the tractor, the drops are back and I'm in the process of trying to figure out where the leak is coming from. We'll see.

Thanks again for all the ideas!