1955 TO35 clutch issue with PTO?

joelK

New User
Back in September of 2016 I cracked the pressure plate on my to35. I have been dealing with leaks on the tractor and dropped it of with a friend that works on tractors on the side. Long story short he did a full engine overhaul and replaced the pressure plate.

The tractor seemed fine and has been working past few weeks when I received it in early July of 17. We drove it around been babying it breaking it in.

I just put a post hole digger on it. 1st time using the PTO since getting it back. Neighbor came over and we put 4 holes in. everything works like it should. I ended up running out of the old gas and then put new gas in it and started her back up to put away for the night.

This is where the problems started. She started right up but now it seemed as if the brakes were on. I checked and they were not. I put it in low reverse. Same thing. I put it in low 1st same thing tractor seemed locked. I then figured that the brakes would give so I slowly started leaving off the clutch and then heard a loud crack.

He is coming to get the tractor this weekend. I am guessing that the pressure plate snapped again but not really sure.

I disconnected the post hole digger last night and found that the PTO engages. clutch pedal up it spins, 1/2 way down it spins, clutch pedal to the floor the PTO stops spinning.

going thru the gears it doesnt matter if I push pedal in or leave it up. the gears shift freely.


my questions are


1. could the PTO cause the Clutch problem?

2. do you think the pressure plate snapped again?

3. I replaced the entire clutch, fly wheel and throwout bearing back in 2009 and only had oil leaks up until this.
 
A bad clutch would not have caused it to feel like the brakes were locked.

Have you tried rolling it in neutral? If it will not move in neutral, something in the drive train is locked, transmission, rear end, ?.
 
(quoted from post at 16:47:06 07/21/17) A bad clutch would not have caused it to feel like the brakes were locked.

Have you tried rolling it in neutral? If it will not move in neutral, something in the drive train is locked, transmission, rear end, ?.

Yes. I can roll it. It can be moved in all gears. It is as if it is not in any gears.
 
(quoted from post at 04:09:25 07/22/17) did it run out of gas while the post hole digger was in operation ?

No. I was finished using the post hole digger neighbor and I bungied and strapped the auger so it wouldn't flop. Then turned off. We drank a beer talking about stuff then he was getting ready to leave and I got fresh gas and then it happened. So it sat maybe 15 minutes.
 
Sounds like it could be a clutch problem.

What you are calling the pressure plate that cracked, are you possibly talking about the clutch disc breaking around the center hub? I've never seen a pressure plate crack. Seen them wear down, burn and warp, the release mechanism fail, but never seen one crack, and if it did, it would still work somewhat, unless it came completely apart, not likely at 2000 RPM! LOL

If the disc did fail at the hub, which is not that common, but for the clutch to suddenly stop engaging, that, or the input shaft, would have to have failed.

If the disc did break at the hub, there is a good chance it may have been damaged during the engine installation. Might question the mechanic, be sure he has an alignment tool. Trying to stab a dual clutch, or any clutch, without the tool is nearly impossible. Without the tool it is easy to damage the clutch, pilot bearing, or transmission, fighting it back together, or forcing it with the bolts. Not saying that happened, but it is a real possibility.
 
I know these tractors sometimes have a problem with worn shifters where the transmission will get locked in reverse. Would it also be possible for a worn transmission to get locked in two gears at the same time? I'm just guessing, but that might cause the symptoms you described, where something in the clutch assembly would break when you put power to it. Were you moving the shifter(s) around after it ran out of gas? When the trans and forks are worn you have to be careful shifting these tractors.

Good luck, hope you figure it out so it doesn't happen again after you fix it.
 
Added: I hope the load crack you heard was just the clutch disk center breaking and not a gear or shaft in the transmission if it was locked up. With hindsight, when you realized something was locked up you should have stopped right there and tried to figure out what was wrong.
 
(quoted from post at 16:47:06 07/21/17) A bad clutch would not have caused it to feel like the brakes were locked.

Have you tried rolling it in neutral? If it will not move in neutral, something in the drive train is locked, transmission, rear end, ?.
his is good advice, unfortunately he should have tried this before putting power to it and hearing the loud crack/bang. Well, it appears to be "free" now, I sure hope nothing in the trans got busted.

This tractor probably has the "ground speed" pto option. I never heard of them getting locked in both ground speed and 540 but something like that might cause the problem, however I doubt it. My suspicion is the transmission.
 
(quoted from post at 05:04:34 07/24/17)
(quoted from post at 16:47:06 07/21/17) A bad clutch would not have caused it to feel like the brakes were locked.

Have you tried rolling it in neutral? If it will not move in neutral, something in the drive train is locked, transmission, rear end, ?.
his is good advice, unfortunately he should have tried this before putting power to it and hearing the loud crack/bang. Well, it appears to be "free" now, I sure hope nothing in the trans got busted.

This tractor probably has the "ground speed" pto option. I never heard of them getting locked in both ground speed and 540 but something like that might cause the problem, however I doubt it. My suspicion is the transmission.

Well, the tractor guy beleives it is in the rear end. When he started it up and you could hear the gears making noise while moving the shifters so he beleives it not the clutch.

Is there an inspection plate from the top to see it? He wasnt sure but said he will probably have to split tractor again.

In the 15 years I had this tractor no rear end work has been done other than draining fluid and adding GL1 weight.

just sucks since I haven't got a chance to use it in over a year.
 
Well, the tractor guy beleives it is in the rear end. When he started it up and you could hear the gears making noise while moving the shifters so he beleives it not the clutch.

Is there an inspection plate from the top to see it? He wasnt sure but said he will probably have to split tractor again.

In the 15 years I had this tractor no rear end work has been done other than draining fluid and adding GL1 weight.

just sucks since I haven't got a chance to use it in over a year.
ust because he hears the gears making noise doesn't mean something isn't broken inside; maybe try to get the top shifter cover off the trans and take a look.

As far as the rear end inspection, can you remove the pto shifter plate and look in thru there with a light? He should try to locate the problem before any splitting. Good luck, let us know what you find out.
 
(quoted from post at 06:51:55 07/24/17)
Well, the tractor guy beleives it is in the rear end. When he started it up and you could hear the gears making noise while moving the shifters so he beleives it not the clutch.

Is there an inspection plate from the top to see it? He wasnt sure but said he will probably have to split tractor again.

In the 15 years I had this tractor no rear end work has been done other than draining fluid and adding GL1 weight.

just sucks since I haven't got a chance to use it in over a year.
ust because he hears the gears making noise doesn't mean something isn't broken inside; maybe try to get the top shifter cover off the trans and take a look.

As far as the rear end inspection, can you remove the pto shifter plate and look in thru there with a light? He should try to locate the problem before any splitting. Good luck, let us know what you find out.

I am hoping and praying it will be the least expensive and quickest way possible. I will let you know what he finds. I was just looking at transmission parts earlier on YTMAG. Yes the PTO plate and there is a plate on top never had this off. Maybe he can see the problem from these 2.
 
(quoted from post at 07:24:38 07/24/17)
I am hoping and praying it will be the least expensive and quickest way possible. I will let you know what he finds. I was just looking at transmission parts earlier on YTMAG. Yes the PTO plate and there is a plate on top never had this off. Maybe he can see the problem from these 2.
Unfortunately, if something was "locked up" you may have made things worse by choosing to move in low range. Low range would apply maximum torque to the bound up parts and more likely to bust something. If in higher gear more likely engine would stall or clutch would slip or fail.

What were you doing with the tractor the last time a year ago when the clutch broke up? Was it just a heavy load, or like someone else said maybe it got damaged a little when you did the install.

If you need driveline parts I would look for used, there should be plenty around. Hope it's an easy (not too expensive) repair.
 
(quoted from post at 08:00:13 07/24/17)
(quoted from post at 07:24:38 07/24/17)
I am hoping and praying it will be the least expensive and quickest way possible. I will let you know what he finds. I was just looking at transmission parts earlier on YTMAG. Yes the PTO plate and there is a plate on top never had this off. Maybe he can see the problem from these 2.
Unfortunately, if something was "locked up" you may have made things worse by choosing to move in low range. Low range would apply maximum torque to the bound up parts and more likely to bust something. If in higher gear more likely engine would stall or clutch would slip or fail.

What were you doing with the tractor the last time a year ago when the clutch broke up? Was it just a heavy load, or like someone else said maybe it got damaged a little when you did the install.

If you need driveline parts I would look for used, there should be plenty around. Hope it's an easy (not too expensive) repair.
last year in late september of 2016, 2 bottom plow for a few hours. then 3 point rototiller to smooth out my 3 food plots. probably for 2 hours. I always plow them up since I do not have down pressure.

next morning used a herd spinner spreader to fertilize over the seed. I had to use the throttle to control the speed and had trouble getting it in gear. the problem happened with the spinner spreader.
 
Well I got the text that he jacked up the rear and spun one tie
and the other side didn't turn the opposite direction. He def
said it is not the clutch. See what comes next.
 
(quoted from post at 20:04:09 07/26/17) Well I got the text that he jacked up the rear and spun one tie
and the other side didn't turn the opposite direction. He def
said it is not the clutch. See what comes next.
mvphoto2702.jpg


mvphoto2703.jpg

I snapped the drive shaft coupling from PTO to Drive. Live and learn. next if locked remove any thing attached to PTO before trying to move. Even though it wasnt spinning, I pushed it down to GROUND PTO and snap. Just following up to let everyone know what the fix is.
 

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