Stuck Clutch - Problem Found!!!

[CPIII]

After removing all the ornaments and decorations from my cub I started it up (Cranked on the first pull.....love it!) and tried to put it in gear but all it did was grind. Somehow the clutch is not releasing. I really don't understand how this could have happened...but I guess I will have to split the tractor and go throught the clutch. One step forward .......two steps back...

[tst]

before you split it look at the throwout bearing and clutch fingers through the clutch cover hole and watch the fingers on the pressure plate if they move in and out when you depress the clutch pedal, you can adjust them in the tractor with out splitting it if they need it
good luck tim

[beaconlight]

Some parts of eastern PA near the cement kilns have a lot of sulfur in the air and a stuck clutch is not uncommon. Jack up 1 wheel and with clutch depressed rock the wheel back and forth and it may break loose. Farmer friend had it happen on his hay truck when it was parked near there after the rear wheel bearing burned out. About 6 months later he and I changed the rear end. When he went to drive it home the clutch plate was frozen to the fly wheel. He ended up horsing it into 1st gear and shifted with out benefit of a clutch for the next 200 miles to get home. Al delivered hay like that for a couple of years and then all of a sudden one day it let loose and worked fine.

[Lee_Petrie]

My '48 was frozen when I purchased it ,after sitting (outside) for 10 years ! A friend suggest to strike the clutch plate at the center hub area (without damaging the splined shaft ! I used a long brass punch thru the inspection hole, no success, then I blocked the rear wheels (front side),cranked the engine over by hand ,till their was some "real effort" for the rear wheels to try to move up over the stopping blocks ! Then I tried the brass punch trick again , it appeared to "jump up (not really), but if made a lurch , the clutch became unfrozen ! And still is to this day ! Lee

[CPIII]

I tried starting it in gear ...while I was sitting on the tractor but it wouldn't break loose. My tractor also set for 10 years before I got it but the clutch wasn't frozen when I got it. I really can't imagine what could have made this happen while it was just sitting there in the front yard .....for goodness sake I drove it to the spot and the clutch worked very well....

[Eugene]

Use the search function. There are several suggestions for freeing up a stuck clutch.

Best solution is probably to split the tractor, disassemble the clutch system. Inspect, repair, and replace.

It shouldn't be stuck to bad. Might try starting the tractor in gear, again. Then stepping on the brakes with clutch pedal depressed. Might have to do this a dozen times or so. Didn't work for me when I had a stuck clutch on a Cub that had been sitting for years.

[FCUBMAN]

What worked for me with an old car was to start it in gear, then goose and let off the throttle a few times with the clutch pedal depressed. The shock to the drive train freed the clutch. The car was sitting in the damp woods for 6 months, and the valves rusted in the guides, it was so humid there. I freed up the valves with a hammer (gently), then found the clutch was stuck. Once I got it freed up, it worked just fine. Car ran great until the oil pump quit.

[Lee_Petrie]

I didn't explain how I was trying to move the clutch disc. with the brass punch , but the bottom line was driving it harder ,with a vibrating effect, into the flywheel or away from the bond it may have with the pressure plate , in any event it was better than "splitting" the tractor in my mind ! Always hold the clutch pedal down with a strap so their a place to vibrate ! Lee

[Gary Dotson]

There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to stuck clutches, It can happen anytime or anyplace, it just happens and they can be REALLY stuck. I've generally been successful unsticking them by shock loading the drive train while holding the clutch pedal depressed but in a few cases have had to disassemble. Amazingly, when disassembled, they fall apart.

[cowboy]

I was cleaning my cub and foolishly sprayed degreaser around the clutch and hosed it out. Yep it froze up I messed around over a hour trying to freed back up. I sprayed PB blaster up there and it freed back up and haven't had a problem with it in four year +. My 100 freezes up from time to time. I start it up let it warm up shut it off and start it in gear. Push the clutch in drive across the pasture and jamming the brakes every few feet and that frees it up in 30 to 50 feet.

Billy

[Jim Becker]

Amazingly, when disassembled, they fall apart.

We had one that didn't. When I was still at dad's place, we had a Farmall C that was stuck when we got it out of winter storage. We tried all the usual tricks to break it loose and none worked. After splitting the tractor and pulling the pressure plate, the disk was still stuck to the flywheel. We finally managed to pry it of and even then about half the facing stayed on flywheel. It didn't scrape off either. We finally scraped and chipped most of it off. Some of the last of it never did come off. I suppose it has worn off by now. I still find it hard to believe it stuck that badly.

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

Charles, you did not say how long the tractor had been setting, but I got the idea it was only a month or two with decorations on it. In that case, I would look in the hand hole cover while someone operates the pedal to make sure the pin has not come out, etc. If all looks normal, block the pedal down and spray some brake cleaner in the clutch and let it set a day or two.

[Matt Kirsch]

Tie the clutch pedal down, too.

[Charles (49) Mo]

You might be able to safely shock load it if you have a plow attachment and the weather conditions allow its use.

[CPIII]

Thanks for all the suggestions. It was only sitting in the front yard for about a month so no different from when it was sitting back by the shop. So I am really puzzled!! Hopefully I will have time tonight to look at it and I will report back what I have found. Thanks again guys!