Hand Clutch

You are going to have to provide more info.

Mice get in there and piss, rusting things up.  There are two failure modes.  One is that the clutch doesn't work or slips, rebuilding the clutch is necessary and expensive. 

The other failure mode is that it doesn't disengage, which is what your problem is.  If you step on the brakes and pull the clutch does the tractor die or does it stop but fells like it wants to go?  If it dies, someone probably has bolted it together.  If it stops, it either needs adjustment, get a manual, or is rusted up. 

Mine didn't completely disengage, and I thought I was going to have to disassemble it this winter,  but after using the tractor for a couple months last winter it finally freed up and works properly now.  There is a hole under the axle/clutch, use a wire/claw/finger to clean the crap out of there.  Keep the tractor under cover to keep water out of the clutch and final drives.  Use it occasionally to keep it free but don't abuse it. 

The purpose of the hand clutch is sort of a live pto and hydraulics.  When you have a mower/baler/other powered implement and you want to stop but keep the implement or hydraulics going, use the hand clutch.  Other wise use the foot clutch. 

O, and sometimes, people instead of spending the money to rebuild a slipping clutch, they just bolt the thing together and then its as if you don't have a clutch at all. 


Edited by firebrick43 - 09 Mar 2010 at 11:49am

When I rebuilt the hand clutch in my CA, I got a kit to replace the friction material and I also replaced the springs. Good thing I got the springs as the originals were significantly shorter than the new ones. I would also use blue Loctite on the bolts that hold the clutch together. Mine backed out and I had to go back in and tighten them again.

I was told they are very unforgiving clutches.  Sometimes even with new friction disks they require some more work to get them to engage properly.   Everything in the differential has to be working good too, it get lots of exercise.
CA is a nice machine tho and a working hand clutch would make it so much better if you plan to do any real PTO work.  
For pulling wagons and chores around the barns I think some people just locked em up and decided it was not worth the money to fix.

Mine was slipping.  I really didn't have a good place to work on my tractor.  Made the mistake of getting a quote from the local dealer ($2500) and a local tractor repair shop (1600).  Once I heard how much they wanted I tackled the task myself.  Taking everything apart isn't hard.  Paul B in MD rebuilt the clutch for me, luckily he lives about 15 minutes from us.  You may also want to check and replace any seals in your rearend while you have it tore down.  Good luck and have fun!

Thanks Wil for the pics, and all the other guy's for the help.I am waiting for a shop manual. looking at these pics I wonder if because of the location of this clutch assy would it have anything to do with diff lock up ?? , what am I sacrificing buy not  reparing the clutch, I hope to hook up a snow blower to it , do you think ground speed would be to fast in 1st gear , while trying to maintain 540 PTO ,no what I mean

I releases only one side axle so the dif spins free to drive the PTO.  Strange but it worked.

Thanks Wil M for the great pictures. Agree with the others; a stuck clutch is normally one that is rusted shut, or bolted/welded shut by a previos owner. A working hand clutch makes the CA a very versatile tractor. It can run a 5' brush hog or a 5' snowblower just great and motion can be stopped very quickly by pulling back the hand clutch lever (many Ford and Farmall owners have run into trees, barns, or other fixed objects try to stop the motion using only a foot clutch...until they installed an over-riding pto coupler).

I use 10-30 in all my tractors....