Gleaner K Transmission Clutch Repair

Constant growling is usually an indication that the input shaft’s inner sheave hub may be wallowed out? If so, then the culprit may be that inner sheave hub’s canister spring bearing and/or no grease in inner hub.

The inner hub presses into it’s canister bearing, but the inner hub slides, with grease, along the input shaft as machine slows or speeds up. If this is the problem, it usually reguires a new inner hub, inner hub bearing, inner sheave, & input shaft. New input shaft means new input shaft/housing beatings(2), plus maybe clutch & flywheel?????


So before removal of anything to gain insights, run up variable speed to highest speed setting & monitor inner sheave for trueness & take laser gun temp of components to verify is any excess heat is being generated. Just remember that the variable speed belt’s nature is to run a little warm (180-200?)degrees.

Also while input shaft is running in fast mode, look to see if the outer end of input shaft runs true or not. If not, the it’s 2 housing bearings are going bad.

Process to remove clutch is as follows:
- place variable speed in slow setting.
- on concrete, jack up & block machine lower frame in front of drive axle.
- remove left drive wheel & block under final drive to help stabilize machine.
- loosen outer castle nut on input shaft, but do not remove.
- TRANSMISSION IN NEUTRAL, run machines variable speed from its slow setting to fast. Inputs outer tampered hub will usually pop loose.
- if high variable speed belt proves unsuccessful to move outer hub, then turn off machine & rap outer hub's housing with hammer. Repeat if necessary.
- with outer hub loosened, remove castle nut, washer, & outer hub/sheave, half moon key, belt, then inner hub/sheave along with its spring canister.
- unbolt input shaft’s housing from transmission(8-10bolts?), frame bolts (2), and slide whole thing out & away from transmission. IMPORTANT: Place long wooden blocks on concrete where they come up to about 1” under housing/transmission. So when you pull input shaft assembly away from trans, the assembly can fall onto wooden blocks. It's much bending over, reaching, & lifting a heavy assembly. So prep wooden blocks to help support & balance it once it comes loose. Rest on the wooden blocks some, then slide blocks away one at a time to lower housing to floor. DO NOT CRAWL UNDER IT & TRY TO REACH UPWARD TO SEPARATE & LOWER IT. 



Edited by AC7060IL - 06 Feb 2019 at 6:44am

Yes, intermittent growling could just be throw out bearing. But replacing the throw out bearing will require mostly the whole disassembly process with exception to the following if the following parts are in good standing;

Edited by AC7060IL - 06 Feb 2019 at 6:18am

Inner hub should get about half a pump of grease daily. Too much grease can push by worn/flattened o-ring at inner end of inner hub, then grease ends up inside spring canister, collects dirt, & can ruin inner hub bearing, let alone gum up & restrick spring movement.
Also, don’t over grease input shaft’s 2 bearings which reside inside it’s housing. These two roller ball bearings have no inner grease covers(their balls are partially open to grease). So if that housing is half full of hot liquified grease, it’s usually happy. Too little grease is bad. Too much grease allows it to run between the bearings inner races & input shaft. When that happens the bearing’s inner race starts slipping on shaft. Have replaced several input shaft’s where both housing bearings have cut into shaft. These two bearings require press fits onto both the input shaft & outer housing. Shaft needs to be tight fit with absolutely no play.

Edited by AC7060IL - 06 Feb 2019 at 5:14am

There is an inspection plate on flywheel hsg you can remove and look at throw out brg. at least that's how my F2 is.

AC7060IL wrote: Inner hub should get about half a pump of grease daily. Too much grease can push by worn/flattened o-ring at inner end of inner hub, then grease ends up inside spring canister, collects dirt, & can ruin inner hub bearing, let alone gum up & restrick spring movement. Also, don’t over grease input shaft’s 2 bearings which reside inside it’s housing. These two roller ball bearings have no inner grease covers(their balls are partially open to grease). So if that housing is half full of hot liquified grease, it’s usually happy. Too little grease is bad. Too much grease allows it to run between the bearings inner races & input shaft.

Does the K have the torque sensing spring can like an F2?  If it does,you need to grease the crap out of it on the outer end to get the grease to the cams. And yes, it does pack the spring in grease but it will throw out the excess.

Edited by SteveM C/IL - 05 Feb 2019 at 10:43pm

CrestonM wrote: AC7060IL wrote: Inner hub should get about half a pump of grease daily. Too much grease can push by worn/flattened o-ring at inner end of inner hub, then grease ends up inside spring canister, collects dirt, & can ruin inner hub bearing, let alone gum up & restrick spring movement. Also, don’t over grease input shaft’s 2 bearings which reside inside it’s housing. These two roller ball bearings have no inner grease covers(their balls are partially open to grease). So if that housing is half full of hot liquified grease, it’s usually happy. Too little grease is bad. Too much grease allows it to run between the bearings inner races & input shaft. I'm a little confused...first you said about 1/2 pump per day, and I understand that part. My question is how do the two input shaft bearings (#5 and #8, right?) get grease? Is it just excess from greasing the hub that just heats up and liquefies? Or is there another zerk that I've missed and the operator's manual didn't show?

I added a photo & more discussion to that prior post. 

Thanks for the photo in your updated post, as well as the term explanations in your last post. I'm beginning to think your operator's manual may be a little newer than my transmission, as my manual only lists what yours labels as #1 (for greasing), the input sheave hub, and it says lubricate every 10 hours, where yours says every 40. Mine takes grease very well (even though everything seems tight), and the book doesn't offer any clues as to how much to pump in, etc. The only advice it offers is to set the variable speed in full low range to gain access to the zerk. I've looked it over in person, and I can verify there are no other zerks there. Could be a production update later on? If so, I'm beginning to wonder if the grease I'm pumping in is able to work its way into the housing and grease the 2 shaft bearings. I guess it would have to travel through the spring canister then? Looking back at the 860 parts book and the Gleaner EIII/K/K2 parts book verifies most of the parts are the same (same numbers). But the K2 book DOES show that grease zerk on the transmission clutch housing. 

I can understand your thinking on why it would be a 1977, and I know it's a little confusing (I've wondered why they have the later-style cab myself) but I know for sure it's a 1975 model, as I have a serial number list. Also, in 1976/77 they changed the design of the basket a little bit and made a few other changes on the machines.

Edited by CrestonM - 06 Feb 2019 at 10:52am

We do have an ex-Allis dealer about 30 miles away, and while they can get parts, the guys that worked in the shop during the '70s/'80s are gone, and the only guy that's there now was fairly young back then, but I need to call him and see if he can remember.
Edit: called the guy, and while he had never worked on a K (most combines around here were C/G) he said on the G’s they often took out the zerk on in input housing and put in a pipe plug. They’d pour grease in the cavity and replace the plug, because a grease gun could build up pressure, blow out the seals, and get grease on the clutch.
He said the bearings on an 860 that the input shaft ride on were packed with grease as you suggested. Not sure why they were, while the K had a zerk, but I guess that’s how it was.

Edited by CrestonM - 06 Feb 2019 at 2:38pm

Heres a few more service pages for the Model K trans clutch.

Thanks for the pages from the service manual. I'll print those and keep them for reference. Those photos do look like what I have on the 860, at least they correspond with the parts book diagrams.