Oily steering clutches

[Ray54023]

Well, the saga continues...
I took off the fenders and tracks, got the spindles off, then took the right side cover off.
what a mess! I cleaned out all the oil that had been poured in the dry clutches, I will order new plates monday. During the next few days I hope to get the left side off too, then I can order the clutches for that side too.

I have two questions if anyone can help...
First - the clutch pack seems to have been rubbing on the two big pins toward the bottom that hold the brake linkage. It wore almost half way through the pins! The knuckles on the pressure plate are hitting them. the knuckles look fine, but what would be causing this?.. all the bearings look fine, but something had to have shifted..

Second.. I cleaned the brake band in gasoline, then in brake cleaner ... it had a lot of life left in the pad, can I reuse that?

Thank you for any help you can be.
Ray

[Tractor 850]

I don't know about the rubbing problem.
I haven't gotten the finals off of my 440 yet and don't know how close they are to your MC anyway.
I'm sure someone out there with experience with an MC can answer that problem.
As for the oil soaked brake bands:
Over the years, with many machines I have came across both brake and clutch material soaked with oil.
No matter how well it is cleaned when the material gets hot again, more oil will come out causing a problem.
You can even try baking them in an oven (When the wife is not home, trust me on that one!) but some oil always remains and comes out when you least expect it and uaually don't want it.
You now know what it is like to remove the finals.
Do you want to do it over again just to try to save the price of brake bands?
For me, it is not worth it.
Replace them now and the job is done.
That's my opinion for what it is worth.
Try searching posts for oil soaked brakes and clutches and see all the replies.

[Ray54023]

Thats what I was thinking.... but the bands are 150.00 or so... and I just wanted to make sure I was not throwing out good pads... The metal plates that go between each pad - those are kind of pitted from age, and have some glazing on them but I was thinking I could reuse them if I sand off the glazing... or again should I replace them?..

these are for sure the most expensive two quarts of oil I ever used!!

[Tractor 850]

The steel disks can sometimes be reused if they are not worn thin.
But again, is it worth the risk?
I know it hurts to throw out what looks like good parts but sometimes it just needs to be done.

[Ray54023]

I might as well put in new steel rings too, rebuild the whole clutch with new parts. With some care, I will never be back in here.. and like you say, its a lot work and hours to get in there.

I am thinking that the clutch pack might have been pushed in 1/2 inch too far... I do not understand how that could have happened, the book does not show any shims or spacers where the splined shaft goes through the release bearing tube, but that is where I need to find the clearance.

[Tigerhaze]

Thats what I was thinking.... but the bands are 150.00 or so... and I just wanted to make sure I was not throwing out good pads...

I knw there are some induistrial brake shops around that will reline crawler brake shoes- that may be cheaper than buying new but probably not by much.

[Ray54023]

My new theory of what caused the wear of the two pins... I wonder if the previous owner had a problem with the clutches slipping, then adjusted the throw out bearing to allow the clutches to come in farther than they were supposed to be.. Now when I put in new fibers and new metal disks, I will need to readjust the clutch levers... correct?

Any one know if this theory holds true?..

Ray

[Ray III]

The throwout bearing is supposed to be adjusted as the clutch wears.

The clutch fingers are also adjustable to the overall thickness of the new clutch pack, and sometimes to extend the life of a worn out clutch, but generally you have to take the final drive off to mess with that. Which is why you want to make sure they are set right before bolting the final on. When you get the parts, get the clutch finger gauge too.

I don't know what pins you're talking about...

[Ray54023]

Thank you for replying. I ordered the new clutches from Lavoy and they came Thursday, so I am getting close to putting the right side back together. I was wondering if I needed to adjust the pressure plate... I wish I could figure out how to add a picture, I would send one of the pins. The two pins are at like 5 and 7 o'clock. The one at 7 has the linkage to the brakes.

The first couple of clutch pads and the first metal ring was wore too, instead of being the usual 1&1/2 wide ring they were wore to 3/4 inch. I an now thinking this might be all old damage, because the bearings look really good, they are tight and the fender was off, but I sure dont want to put it back together that way if it is hitting.. I will reassemble it and watch close for any binding while I tighten it down.

but... You are saying that I for sure need to get a pressure plate gauge before I put this together... I will order one from Lavoy Monday if that is your recomendation.

[Ray III]

Just noticed you are working on an MC... for some reason I thought it was a 420. I'm not sure if the guts are the same as a 420, so I can't say what's going on with those 2 pins.

Since you already got the stuff, I can just measure my gauge and you can make your own. It's nothing elaborate, just to check the position of the fingers in relation to the brake drum. Forgot to measure the thing today, maybe tomorrow I will.