John Deere B clutch

Hello, I am the proud owner of a 1946 John Deere B, SN 1804XX. I use the tractor namely for scrapping snow, occasionally lifting things and for other odd jobs. After getting a load of gravel, I was using the tractor to smooth out the gravel when I noticed the clutch lever was not staying engaged. Also, there wasn't a snapping noise indicating it was engaged, just the lever falling back into the disengaged position. I shut it down and popped the clutch cover off and noticed one of the castellated nuts was loose due to the cotter pin missing. I spent a few hours getting it adjusted and thought I had it fixed when I was able to get the lever to snap when engaged. I started it up and ran it about 20-30 minutes and suddenly the tractor would not disengage while in first gear! Fortunately I got it to disengage and managed to get it inside the garage without going through the garage. The castellated nut didn't appear to stay tight. I know years prior one of the clutch discs was cracked, however, since the tractor sees minimal usage it was not fixed. SO, I am inquiring to see if anyone has experienced this and might have a clue to the problem. I am thinking clutch discs but I don't know everything. Thank you for your thoughts.

A cracked disc can stack up in there causing the clutch to lock up tight.

Take the clutch apart and you'll probably find one or more of the disks has broken apart and is jamming the clutch in an engaged position.

You will want to disassemble the clutch and clean everything. Replacement of the disk inside is cheap. In fact, carrying extras is recommended. The clutch dogs should be clean and move freely. I don't have my manual in front of me, but I think the bolts are snugged to 12 INCH pounds. Its not much but make sure they are snugged evenly and the plate is straight and level as you go. New cotter pins and fire it up. The handle should snap in and out and no wobbles to the plate as it is running. Replace the cover when you finish.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwYn73VubdQ

My 51 B at idle.

You can adjust the travel of the lever. It it done at the front of the rod at the clevis pin. Its threaded and may require heat to free up. Shorten the rod to move the handle away from the light. I changed the pin and bushing on mine. I still had to shorten the rod.

If you are going to change the pin and put a new bushing on the clutch lever, don't try to pound the pin out as you could break the casting and then you are screwed. I was able to get mine out using a socket that was bigger than the pin head, loosen the nut and use a C-clamp to "push" the pin out. You can also get over size pins for the rest of the linkage, you just need to drill out the clevises and other parts to the size of the new pins. That will really tighten things up.