Farmall A and International 240 clutch problems

[TMartelle]

So I’ve got two tractors a Farmall A and an International 240 utility and I’ve done the clutches on both of them but after doing the them the clutches on both tractors won’t disengage. The Farmall has just enough friction somewhere that if you start it in gear with the clutch pedal down it’ll work but if you start it in neutral it won’t go in any gears. The International won’t clutch won’t work at all no matter what. I’ve messed with the freeplay in the pedals but they don’t make a difference. Any thoughts?

[Matt Kirsch]

The A sounds like you didn't ream and/or lubricate the pilot bushing in the flywheel. 

On the 240 it almost sounds like you installed the clutch disc upside down. It could also be a VERY tight pilot bushing.

Did you have trouble getting the tractors back together? NEVER draw them back together with the bolts, even if you are frustrated, out of time, out of patience, have been trying for hours... ALWAYS make sure they slide together completely by hand. Force it by drawing it together with the bolts is asking for trouble.

[TMartelle]

That’s what I decided needed to happen with the A. I smeared some grease in the pilot bushing but I read somewhere to use motor oil instead. The 240 I did have trouble getting it back together but I do know I put the clutch in right because I marked the old one on which way was out and went off of that. I will admit I used the bolts to pull it together the first time but something wasn’t lined up right and the motor wouldn’t turn over so I took it back apart and messed with it and then it slid together easily but maybe something was messed up from the first attempt.

[GaAgTech]

3 hours ago, TMartelle said:

That’s what I decided needed to happen with the A. I smeared some grease in the pilot bushing but I read somewhere to use motor oil instead. The 240 I did have trouble getting it back together but I do know I put the clutch in right because I marked the old one on which way was out and went off of that. I will admit I used the bolts to pull it together the first time but something wasn’t lined up right and the motor wouldn’t turn over so I took it back apart and messed with it and then it slid together easily but maybe something was messed up from the first attempt.

The above being said, I would bet that the input shaft wasn’t splined to the clutch disc and pulling everything together with bolts probably warped the clutch disc. 
Seen it happen many times. 

[TMartelle]

Is there any good way to tell if it’s warped?

[HydroTek]

2 hours ago, TMartelle said:

Is there any good way to tell if it’s warped?

Clutch is dragging ... so yeah

take the tractor back apart and see what is damaged / bent

[560Dennis]

My story . 
I went to change the pilot bushing on super c. Rented the pilot  puller from autozone. Could not get the puller jaws to grip the bushing . Huh. 🤔 used the cope chisel to chip it out of the. To my astonishment the was another pilot bushing behind it. That the mechanic of questionable ancestry just drove the new bushing into the bore without removing pilot bushing. 
I f that happen , then there’s a good chance the pilot bearing was not removed , check it out to be sure.

[superman]

I have a Farmall H that I finished a lot of retore work on rebuilt clutch, ground fly wheel, pressure plate rebuilt, new clutch plate. When it come down to driving it out of the shop the clutch would not disengage!? took it back out, not the flywheel, and on the shop table we found one pressure plate spring wrong size not allowing the disengagement WOW!! The engine shop did help and replace the plate.

 

I hate going back on rework.

[TMartelle]

Is there a special way to lubricate the pilot bushing?

[stronger800]

Not a IH, but I got a pressure plate from my ford dealer for a ford this winter and the fingers came soo far out of spec/adjustment the clutch wouldn’t disengage. My error.  I should have noticed, but I’ve gotten 6 of them before, same type of tractor, same dealer, and never had a problem.  I took it back to them and we measured it against another new one they had.  Like 3/8” difference. And they only have about 3/8” of travel 

[TMartelle]

What’s the finger spec for an IH pressure plate?

[stronger800]

Compare it to your old one?

[TMartelle]

Good point😅

[Matt Kirsch]

9 hours ago, TMartelle said:

What’s the finger spec for an IH pressure plate?

They are supposed to come pre-set from the manufacturer. Could it be set wrong? Possibly, but unlikely. Many clutch designs are non-adjusable.

The only IH pressure plate I'm aware of that has a widely-known specification is for the Farmall Cub. Not sure why this is.

[stronger800]

I’ve seen pictures of those ones with the non adjustable fingers, but I’ve never seen one.  
 The old fingers might be worn (.020”?) but you can start there 

[HydroTek]

Level to slightly below level with everything bolted in position

Main thing is that the fingers are the same 

We had a table stand with spacers and blocks to set the fingers at the shop

[TMartelle]

Update- Resplit the tractor, disc was bent. Replaced disc and lubricated the pilot bushing and reassembled. Clutch still won’t disengage 

[HydroTek]

Check the pilot shaft diameter? -- also for burrs/ swelling / bent on the end

Check the bushing diameter ? -- to match the pilot

Bend another disk ?

 

[Chester5732]

Is the pedal moving the throw out bearing far enough?

[TMartelle]

It slid together really nicely so i don’t think the disc is bent. The clutch pedal is adjusted as far as i can go and it’s still not working

[stronger800]

Did the finger height look right compared to your old one? With the pressure off, it should have been very close 

[acem]

 Don't know much about your specific clutch problem but I have some information that may help. From my IH Clutch Book GSS 1281 K

 

[acem]

[TMartelle]

So I got the international fixed. Something must’ve been stuck because I drove it around in 3rd and pushed the clutch and slammed on the brakes a few times and it started working. Now on to the Farmall