Tractor repair in Central Ohio

Hello everyone,

I'm hoping someone here might be able to give some some recommendations. Forgive me if I use the wrong terminology as I describe the situation.

A couple of days ago I was puttering around on my 1956 Ford 860 (double clutch). I needed so back up so I stepped on the clutch pedal. It went all the way down with NO resistance and the clutch did not disengage. Fortunately, I was able to somewhat safely drive it back to my shed in first gear. Once there and in neutral, I continued stepping on the clutch pedal. It felt as if the pedal had become disconnected from internal linkage since there was no tension on the pedal at all. After pressing the pedal all the way down a few times, pressure returned to the pedal but the clutch still does not disengage. The pedal travel is no longer smooth likes it was before the problem began. It feels like it grabs or tried to get stuck as I push on the pedal. Prior to this problem a few days ago, everything had been working normally.

So, here are my questions.

1. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this behavior?
2. Is there anyway for me to inspect the internal workings of the clutch without splitting the tractor? I doubt I'd be able to do this work myself in a reasonable amount of time.
3. Does anyone have a diagram of what the internal clutch linkage looks like. I've been Googling but haven't found it yet.
4. Does anyone know of repair services in central Ohio who work on the older Fords? I've called a couple of tractor dealers and their estimates for replacing the clutch are more than what I paid for the entire tractor.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Bryan

I'm more familiar with the 3 cylinder models so others here will correct me if I'm wrong.
You should have an inspection cover on the bottom of the tranny you can remove and look in there with a flashlight.
The 3 cyl models have a bolt that bolts the Fork for the throw out bearing to the pivot shaft.
My guess is that bolt has sheared off or fallen out. You will be able to see it from the inspection cover but not fix it without a split.

Thanks for the response. What a shame to have to split the tractor for potentially a broken bolt. I guess I'll give it a try this weekend and see how it goes.

Made some progress. I removed the inspection plate mentioned by Ultradog. It looked like the linkage is working properly as I could see movement when the clutch pedal was being pushed. It looks like the ends of the fingers are completely worn away which I believe is a sign of an improperly adjusted clutch. The previous owner told me the clutch was replaced several years ago so I guess if it was replaced, it wasn't done correctly.

I was able to remove my loader over the weekend and got started preparing the tractor for the split. Can anyone tell me if it's necessary to remove the gas tank and surrounding sheet metal? I've seen a couple of videos and they have all had that stuff removed. Looking at my tractor, it doesn't look like it MUST be removed. Thanks!

Well, I found my clutch problems. One side of the release bearing carrier had a broken tab and the clutch fingers were badly worn. The end of one was completely gone and two others were nearly 100% gone. New parts will arrive in a couple of days.

The tractor split was a lot easier than I expected. I'm guessing getting it back together and properly aligned will be a little more challenging.