No mater, it will just take a little work in taking things apart and putting in good parts. The old girl has a lot of miles in her one way or the other. 

 

While this may seem like a bad deal, the good news is this.  These are very simple tractors, very easy to work on.  There were tons of Bs built, so parts aren't too bad, or hard to get ahold of.

 

The first thing I want to ask, does the engine still run, with the clutch depressed, if so, does it die when in neutral, and clutch released, or does it die when in gear clutch released?

 

To R.W's point, does it make any noises while the engine is running, if the clutch came apart, it would be making all kinds of noise?

 

My first guess is the tranny is stuck in two gears, that would be a real good thing, not to hard to fix.  Until you can answer those questions it will be difficult to get into too much detail.

 

I swear you weren't there a moment ago?!?!  :-)

 

To clarify what I mean by worn out, is the ball on the end of the shifter, not the gears.  The gears in these things are tough, the collar teeth didn't stand up to well to grinding gears, but one thing at a time.

 

I just read your post again, if what I understand you are saying is correct, its not a gear problem.

 

If the tractor rolls either with a tug from the 6 wheeler, or by pushing on the rear tires when the tranny is in Neutral, but won't budg when in any gear, and the engine won't crank over with the clutch released while the tranny is in neutral, you might have a clutch or input shaft problem.

 

But lets make sure first, because the above will be a split for sure.

something stuck in that area............

Transmission lever is somewhat of a pain in the a**.  TAke teh cover back off, put the lever in neutral and move the shift forks so they line up together for neutral.. slid it together again, put in 2 bolts and try to shift it... might take 2-3 shots to get it right. Your not the first one to do this !

Note-- 2 x 2 angle iron strap on valve cover bolts to use as lift.

 

 

That said, look at what went on in your time line before the test drive. Did you remove anything from the bell housing such as cultivators or something. My grandfather removed the cultivator from he and screwed the bolts back in hand loose. After running the engine for awhile a bolt screwed itself in against the flywheel and wedged effectively locking the engine up tight. So, I would look at the obvious cheap things first before assuming it's a huge problem. Could be the clutch disc lining came loose from the disc and flew out against the bell housing. A good flashlight might help you see up through the inspection hole, but it looks like your headed for splitting the tractor to repair it unless it's a bolt issue or something equally as silly.

 

Thanks for that catch Dave, my suggestion was to get it up on the trailer.  It seems I tend to leave out those important details.

 

Thanks again

You said it was sitting there idling nicely.

You pushed in the clutch and put it into 1st gear, then slowly released the clutch.

Then you saw a puff of smoke from the bellhousing and the engine died suddenly.

Now it won't turn over, but will roll when put in neutral(before the shift fork episode).

OK, that should rule out tranny problems.

You say it doesn't have an electric starter, so that rules out the starter bendix being stuck in the engaged position, which was my first thought.

As has already been said, check for a trashed clutch first. Look directly under the bellhousing, on the torque tube, there is an inspection port there that is also used to adjust the clutch pressure plate. It may or may not have a cover, but is easy to pop out if it does. Get a good flashlight, make sure the wheels are chocked so it doesnt roll over you, then sit down under there and take a good, long look. There should be a clutch release bearing that straddles the driveshaft. Bearing sits on a cylinder-shaped "bushing" that is attached to the clutch fork. Clutch fork is hinged, and has the end of the clutch pedal rod attached to it with an adjustment nut to change the length of pedal travel. Clutch fork should be attached to throwout bearing assembly on both sides, and should not be canted at any crazy angles. Also make sure the other end of the clutch fork is resting in the torque tube so that it will properly pivot to release the clutch. It's good to have a helper to push the clutch pedal so you can watch everything. Again, make sure you chock the wheels!

If the throwout system is working, move on up to the pressure plate. There are "fingers" that the throwout bearing presses against to release the pressure plates grip on the clutch disc. These should all be sticking out the same distance from the pressure plate, and there should not be any springs or bolts sticking out. These fingers are adjustable, so make sure none of the adjuster bolts have backed out and bound up on anything. If that looks good, get someone to push the clutch in, then look in one of the spaces between the flywheel and the pressure plate. You should be able to see the friction disc. Take a screwdriver or a stick and see if you can wiggle the friction disc with the clutch pressed in. You should be able to move the disc a little, and you should be able to spin it somewhat with the trans in neutral and the clutch pressed in all the way. If not, there may be something in the binding it up. Don't stick your finger in there to try to move anything. That pressure plate has a lot of force, and can mess up some digits. Don't ask how I know. : )

You may find that when you look at the friction disc part of the clutch, you find some or all of the liner broken free of the hub and jammed in there. That may be where the puff of smoke came from. Just doesn't sound like the engine would have seized if it wasn't knocking or rattling first. Did you notice how the oil pressure was running before all of this happened? Sorry for the long-winded post. Maybe something will help. Let us know, and good luck.

 

Some pictures of split tractors.

 

Might be hard to see in the pictures below but I put jack stands under the drawbar to hold the rear tires just off the ground.  That gives me a solid three point lift.

 

 

 

 

 It would be real hard and unsafe to split it using floor jacks. The engine will pivot on the front axle making it nearly impossible to roll that forward with a floor jack.

 If you can add some kind of blocking or bracing to keep it from tipping it might be possible, but could be kinda scary. 

 

All the above really seems to me like the trany was stuck in two gears at the same time when you let out the clutch.

The engine tried it's level best to turn the locked transmission a hence came the smoke.

 

The trany can be shifted back into neutral with the cover plate and shifter forks off as it should be when the plate and forks are re-engaged.

If you suceed in re-setting the transmission into neutral hooray! if not, read on.

 

The front will be fine sitting on the front wheels and the weight of the engine held by the floor crane. If you don't have a floor crane, rent one, if you're into AC tractors and mechanical stuff buy one.

Good luck, work safe and report back.

 

Read the original post again. He said "It rolls just fine in N but won't budge in gear."

 Towing 5 miles, I would definitely keep the ground speed down. Lubrication of the bearings could be a problem if you lost much tranny fluid.

 

Your right Dave, they all (did) have. I would bet that most do not know what that dodad hanging back there is for if it is still there. Out of around fourteen B's and C's that I bought, about half did not have the clutch lock on them.