440 IC Steering Clutch

General help and support for your Lindeman through 2010 John Deere crawler
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ironyetty
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440 IC Steering Clutch

Post by ironyetty » Sun Mar 11, 2007 7:19 am

I just took apart my steering clutchs and because it has been sitting it has had water or at least some type of moisture in there causing everything to be corroded. There is some rust and corrosion on my steel clutches can I just take a wire wheel to these and polish them to get by or is it worth replacing everything?
I am fixing everything as I have it tore all apart so there is less to mess with when I finally do get to run it.
By the way how do you go about posting pics I have a bunch of pics I would like to share of my project at work?

Thanks to this forum I am learning how to be a John Deere mechanic, my theory is you need to tear it apart to see how it works! :D
Then you just hope you remember how it goes back! :shock:

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Lavoy
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Post by Lavoy » Sun Mar 11, 2007 7:58 pm

Unless you like pulling final drives, replace them. I know I know, I sell clutch discs, but nonetheless, for the effort involved, it is not worth having to redo it. If they have been that wet, they are damaged at least to some extent.
Picture hosting instructions are listed at the top of the show and tell page.
Lavoy

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ironyetty
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Post by ironyetty » Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:22 am

Just the fiber disks or both, because I thinks I can clean the steel ones up pretty good witha wire wheel or a fine buffing wheel as long as theres no pits?

thanks again

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Jimmy in NC
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Post by Jimmy in NC » Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:19 am

On my 420 I've taken some 220 on a DA sander and cleaned up the steel .. just keep moving to keep from gouging it. I did one side w/o replacing the fiber.. and lets just say... I'm ready to pull the final back off and do it right.

The second go round it was all new springs, etc in the steering clutch and a 5 year old can tell you which one is done half way and which one was fixed up right.

Just my $0.02.

Jimmy in NC
1957 420C 4 roller 4 spd #61 blade 107,xxx ser.
Hand clutches, not for everyone.
Steering clutches, for even less.

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Lavoy
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Post by Lavoy » Mon Mar 12, 2007 9:12 am

If the steel discs are just surface rusted and are structurally sound, you can get away with reusing them.
The fiber discs when wet "grow" in size and there is no fix for that.
Lavoy

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Stan Disbrow
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Post by Stan Disbrow » Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:06 pm

Hi,

Yep. Those fiber discs react to water in much the same way as pelletized animal feed or a cardboard box - once it gets wet, it's done for.

The steel discs can be fixed as long as they're not warped or too rusty. After cleaning them up, measure them at several points with a micrometer to make sure that they aren't too thin. I've seen the measurements on the site, just can't recall where offhand.

The height of the fiber and steel disc stack (I call it a 'crawler sandwich') is important. If the steel is too thin, then you won't get the hours of wear that you should. Then, you'll be back into the job sooner than you'd like and cursing your shortcut - don't bother asking me how I know about that one! :P

Oh, and don't forget the new brake bands too. I find it even more frustrating to have to pull the final drives off because the brake(s) quit and the clutches are still working fine! Don't ask me how I know about that one, either! :P :P

Actually, just buy two new sets of fibers, steels and brake bands and be done with it all the first time! ;)

Stan
There's No Such Thing As A Cheap Crawler!

Useta Have: '58 JD 420c 5-roller w/62 inside blade
Useta Have: '78 JD350C w/6310 outside blade
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jac
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Post by jac » Mon Mar 12, 2007 6:27 pm

If it were me, I would replace them. But if there is just surface rust on the metal disks, I would try Evapo-Rust to clean the disks. No wire brush or abrasives required. Simply take the metal disks and soak them in the aqueous based Evapo-Rust for about 30-60 minutes. It will remove only iron oxide and leave the metal a dark color, which will wear off as soon as the clutch is used.

I believe Auto Zone now carries Evapo-Rust. I used it a lot when I rebuilt my 440 and it worked very well. It is a little pricey but will not damage the metal.

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hunter41mag
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Post by hunter41mag » Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:46 pm

Ironyetty,
Look at my post from Feb 18th on 440IC steering clutches. If you have the 8 plate/8 fiber disc setup your overall height of the stack may be too high. This will cause it not to release due to the new replacement fiber discs are approx. .010" to thick for this setup in a 440IC. If I did not have some of the old fiber discs that were useable my other option would have been to have approx. .050" to .080" off my pressure plate.
Don
Eastern PA
440IC (1960)

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ironyetty
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Post by ironyetty » Thu Mar 15, 2007 3:06 pm

I only have 7 fiber and 6 steel so hopefully everything fits without modification. I keep you posted

I am going to replace all the clutches so I know what I have than. I am anxious to get this thing up and running but at the same time I want to rebuild what I have apart and fix a lot of little things that will need done later. The biggest thing is getting everything back together just to seal it up from the weather!

I will past pics soons of the tear down and later of the rebuild!!

Thanks
Ironyetty

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