WC-WD45 twin disc clutch

 

 

 

Pics of a twin disc clutch I finished up today.  I measured up a stock flywheel as to where the ring gear is positioned in relationship to the crank flange, clutch fingers, and clutch surfaces, flywheel/ pressure plate step.  Takeing the thickness of the stock clutch disc, .350".   I can get clutch discs made to .300" thick X 2 for a .600" total with a .250" floater plate for a .850" total.  This means that I have to move the face of the flywheel .500" closer to the crank flange, in order to keep the pressure plate in it's original location.  Figureing the added space and the original step I made the stands.

 

I made the flywheel from a take off Gleaner E flywheel cut down.

 

The ring gear is the problem.  In a D-17 it would be easy, but in the WC-WD45 it's a problem.  I had to make another set of stands or a spacer ring, jig it up and weld.

 

I wanted to use the Gleaner flywheel as it's otherwise scrap metal.  Get the first one built and see, then in the future buy a billet and make a steel flywheel from scratch.  Leaveing more material hanging over the back twards the engine in it's outer diameter.  I made a twin disc setup years back from a 4 1/2" thick billet and made it as heavy as I could for a high RPM engine.  It took a lot of machining.  I wanted another setup but lighter for a low RPM engine that will need to acclerate more and more twards the end of a run, so I made this setup.

 

I should see what it would cost to water jet cut the spacer ring and the floater plate.  I made them on the turn table in the milling machine for the first couple clutches (which took a lot of time). Then it wouldn't be to much work to make the stands, put it togather.  Makeing a billet flywheel would be easier than cutting down that Gleaner one if I do make any more.

 

 

Anyways what a project it turned into.  I had to make a fixture to bolt on the housings to hold them in the lathe, then because of the shape there was no room to get tooling in.  I ended up cutting a tool bit apart, welding it at a 90* angle and putting it in upside down, spinning the housings  backwards.

 

Next I need to make a block to connect the bottom turbo exhaust exit to the 2 top turbo exhaust inlets.   Shape it for nice flow, split the exhaust into the 2 top turbos, and try and spin the bottom turbo around for better clearance and a better flow pattern. Trying to get all the weight moved as far ahead in the tractor as possiable......