CA Hand Clutch Restore - Final Update 4/23

Question: the disc balls in this clutch sit between a round seat in the drum and a corresponding round seat in the primary pressure plate. There's no ramped groove associated with these seats. Is that the same mechanism as in the Series IV D17, etc?

If these are a self-energizing mechanism, I'd think that it'd be important to maintain the proper clearance between the pressure plate and the balls. Yes?

Thanks again.

Dave

I want to thank all of you who have contributed thus far on this thread, especially DennisA and GregLawler. And Rick Corder who spent time on the phone with me.

The challenge here is that there doesn't seem to be a spec for this clearance, so I need to invent one - as well as a way to measure it. My plan is to fully compress the clutch, measure the gap between the secondary pressure plate and the clutch disc, subtract 0.020" and remove that amount from the brake drum ears. That would preserve the 0.020" (nominal) gap that GregLawler has mentioned when shortening the spring cover ears.

Edit 3/23 - plan above doesn't make much sense now that I'm on my second cup of coffee. If the spring cover ear trim is correct, the result of the measurement described would be 0.0"!

Comments welcome!

Are there any similar situations involving balls and ramps where clearances are known? Maybe this would give us a ballpark for the CA hand clutch.

Dave

Following the advice of a local old time mechanic, I am trying a different approach to resurfacing the plate: "Put it on a 6" belt sander to flatten it and to remove the high spots and rust - don't worry about the pitting." Here's the result, sitting inside the spring cover atop the 9 springs:

And here's the assembled clutch with the drive shaft inserted to align the clutch plate and brake drum:

Off to the right is the secondary pressure plate that I cracked.

At this point, the assembled  clutch is installed inside the final drive housing which is now bolted to the differential. The actuator clearance is set at 0.050". It took several cycles of adjust the clearance and compressing the clutch pack to get the clutch fully seated on the outer drive shaft. I've installed a new brake band. Tomorrow I will mount the right rear wheel and the platform frame and fender. This will leave access to the opening in the housing if I need to adjust the actuator clearance again. Then I'll test the clutch (and the brakes) to see if it functions properly. Will the secondary pressure plate work as my old timer predicted?

I finished the clutch-and-brake reinstall today. I'm happy to report two good outcomes:

1. the tractor finally has working brakes - a major plus in hilly central Massachusetts.

and

2. the hand clutch is working - pulling on the handle stops the tractor! And releasing it works as it should, too. Here's a brief video: [TUBE]7NLNsT6WcwE[/TUBE]

Next week I'll hang my two-bottom plow on the old girl and drop it in some fresh turf at a friend's farm to test whether there's any slipping in the hand clutch. Hopefully I'll have good news.

In the meantime, I'd like to thank all you forum guys who've commented and helped with this project, especially DennisA (IL) who bailed me out when I  cracked the one of the clutch pressure plates and answered my questions by PM and text. This forum and the guys who freely lend their knowledge are a great tribute to the orange legacy.

I also am trying to rebuild my hand clutch on my CA. The balls were there but the seats are missing. Is there some place I can order new balls and seats?

Nice video of you plowing with the CA. Do you have the traction booster too show when you gain traction as you raise the plows in those soft spots. Looks like all your detailed hand clutch work payed off and you now have a working clutch and a nice operating tractor too! But now I want a CA to add to the herd! I need to go see about that narrow front one setting under a big willow tree. (tree fell over on it)

Regards,

 Chris