Throw-out bearing rattle

[motoscott909]

Hey all,

Its been a while since my last post. Have been super busy with work and around the house chores.

Ive recently noticed a new rattle from my cub and am pretty sure its the throw-out bearing. If i gently put my foot on the cluch the rattle goes away. The clutch still works perfectly smooth.

I pulled the inspection cover and the throw-out bearing really seems to "flop" around in the yoke. I tightened the bolt holding the yoke together (it wasnt even loose) but it did not fix the slop. Im not sure if the looseness has always been there or if it just happened. I usually grease the bearing once or twice a season with cheap grease, but im not sure that i ever really checked how "floopy" it was in the yoke because it never rattled. Also, the face of the graphite still looks really good. There are no chips or gouges.

What do you guys think? Not sure what else i can do without splitting the tractor and inspecting everything?

Thanks!
Scott

[ricky racer]

The TOB shouldn't be touching the clutch fingers. I assume the fingers are what's making it rattle or flop around. Check the finger adjustment or possibly the peddle adjustment (slotted hole on peddle). Do you have an inch of free play at the peddle before the TOB makes contact?

Rick

[motoscott909]

Hi Rick,

yes, there is freeplay between the fingers and the bearing. I didnt measure it, but it looks to be about an inch.

The weird thing is that the bearing will rattle when the clutch is not depressed. As soon as i depress the clutch and it touches the fingers the rattle stops. i assume this is because it flops around in the carrier until it makes contact with the fingers.

If that makes sense?

[ricky racer]

Do the fingers seem to be adjusted evenly?

[RaymondDurban]

The retainer that holds the TOB in place is probably worn out, or the TOB dowels on each side are worn out, or both.

[motoscott909]

The retainer that holds the TOB in place is probably worn out, or the TOB dowels on each side are worn out, or both.

Thats exactly what i was thinking. Do you guys think it would be okay to run it the rest of the summer and repair over winter, or is this something that should be done right away? Either way i will probably have to get a new bearing so im not really worried about wrecking it.

is there anything else i should be worried about?

[Bill Hudson]

This is what a worn out hanger pivot rod looks like:



As for using it as is until winter -- your call. Since you are planning to replace the TOB, tearing it up is not an issue. However, in the process of tearing up the TOB, I would be very concerned about tearing up the pressure plate.

If you have all the parts and tools necessary to split the Cub it is essentially +/- 4 hour job by yourself. I've seen two fellows who knew their way around a Cub and had all the necessary stuff do a rear seal replacement in an hour and a half. A TOB replacement is a bit less involved.

Bill

[Matt Kirsch]

Maybe I'm totally off base here but I don't think you have to worry about tearing up much of anything.

You can get a pretty good idea of how much rattle there is and how well the throwout bearing engages the clutch fingers by looking through the inspection hole. If the TOB is engaging evenly the rattle is nothing more than an annoyance.

[ricky racer]

My line of thinking was even if the TOB hanger was worn out and the TOB face was leaning on the fingers, if the fingers were all adjusted evenly, it should just rub against it and not bounce all around. If one or more of the fingers were out of adjustment then the TOB wouldn’t just rub against it but it would get knocked around by the finger sticking out the farthest. Does that make sense?

[motoscott909]

thanks for all the comments all.

Ill check the finger adjustment, but since the clutch seems to work so good i doubt they are incorrect.

I think im going to try and get through the rest of the mowing season and probably tear into it this winter.

Thanks again!

[RaymondDurban]

My line of thinking was even if the TOB hanger was worn out and the TOB face was leaning on the fingers, if the fingers were all adjusted evenly, it should just rub against it and not bounce all around. If one or more of the fingers were out of adjustment then the TOB wouldn’t just rub against it but it would get knocked around by the finger sticking out the farthest. Does that make sense?

It does make sense, but if the clutch is working properly as Scott says, then without seeing it myself, I'd have to assume they are adjusted correctly.
I'm only guessing that with the parts worn out, the vibration from the Cub running causes things to rattle, until pressure is applied to the pedal to stop things from moving. If one finger is out of adjustment, then normally you'll feel the feedback in the pedal. Even with a smooth running engine, if the input shaft is bent even slightly, it'd be enough to cause the parts to rattle against each other.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

I recently worked on one with a similar problem, the problem turned out to be the yoke was worn to the point the bearing was freely pivoting in the holes on the yoke, and would tilt enough in normal use it would lightly touch the fingers, wich would flip it forward at the top, then forward at the bottom. Sounded like a piece of sheet metal vibrating. Since the pin and holes in the yoke were worn we replaced them. The ears on the original bearing were worn and we had already replaced it. If you do not want to replace your yoke, You can remove it and bend the arms going to the rod so it squeezes the bearing from the sides preventing it from pivoting too freely.

[redfin]

I had the same rattling issue on a loboy I once owned. The throwout bearing would rattle unless I lightly pressed the clutch peddle. I thought the cause would be worn mounting holes on the throw out bearing hanger . Once removed , I found the throw out bearing had the ears worn on the back side enough for it to free float in the holder. I had one on hand and replaced it with a new one. Good Luck