MF 50 Clutch adjustment

Could someone tell me how to adjust a clutch. The pedal has to be about halfway down before the clutch starts to engage. Not sure what type of clutch i have, the transmission has high/low 3 speed. 4cyl cont engine.

Do you have a manual? Even in the paperless age, manuals are nice to have around. It is hard to explain, you know the nut and bolt on the clutch shaft has to be very lose, 5/8's and 11/16th's, I let the shaft spring all the way free, and set the pedal to touch the casting, not suppose to be that close, suppose to be a fraction of an inch freeplay, but mine worked better like this. Fresh in my mind since I just did one a few hours ago on my 135... just before it got stuck tilling a tiny little suburban garden... long story. Btw, when retightening the nut and bolt, it has to be torqued up to the max, or the pedal will slip on the shaft, and you will have no clutch...

Mark, here is the thread from when I asked the same thing.

http://www.ytmag.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=mf&th=122263

Btw, it will probably be a whole lot easier to adjust the clutch pedal by having another person help you by inserting a rod into the hole in the shaft and holding it in place.

I have two dvd manuals just my luck neither one show clutch adj. Thanks for the info

Thanks, I,m determined to get this tractor in tip top shape, it has always been reliable n I want to pass it along to my son someday since my dad passed it to me 17 Years ago when he passed away.

I know how you feel I am only 19, my dad bought the tractor to do some landscaping, and then gave it to my grandfather some 20+ years ago. I inherited it last May when my grandfather past away, but I originally started to work on it in 2008.

I just went back and read the thread from a couple months ago. I think the pedal and shaft have to be loser, it sounds like the shaft isn't returning the throw out bearing forward... unless those guys are broken or off the hooks inside, then you have a split to do... if the shaft can spring back on its own, I think the hole used for holding it still should be vertical, THEN wedge the pedal up to a 3/8" piece of wood between the pedal and that stop casting. Then tighten the HECK out of the nut and bolt. And don't worry if it takes you a few tries, unless you go all thru it, these things are worn and lose and out of specs just with use.

I hope this helps, even though my tractor is a TO 35 I believe they are similar.The repair manual I have is for the 35 and 50, so that is a fair assumption. Of course there is the caveat in regards to assuming. My TO 35 service manual (not the repair manual)shows 3/4" free play in the clutch pedal travel. It was a little tricky to do alone, but it can be done. The first time I had a mechanical genius help me and the clutch came unstuck for about a year until this April fool's day. Then no amount of adjusting worked,due to the disk lining tearing off the rivets on the flywheel side. The other freeplay measurement bandied about on the forum is 3/8", I just throw that out not knowing if it applies.

First thing ... does the pedal freely return to upper stop( spring action)if it does loosen7/16 clamping bolt on clutch cross shaft just slightly. insert punch or bar into hole on cross shaft.lightly move bar in direction of pedal travel while holding pedal still until bar hits resistance . (the release bearing is now touching the clutch fingers.) while holding the bar move the pedal in direction of travel about 1 inch.(toward footrest). keep holding the bar and tighten the clamping bolt. check pedal action. pedal should move 1 inch toward floor then begin contacting fingerbolts on cluth cover. pedal should travel all the way to floor releasing clutch. check this by having someone try to turn pto shaft while you hold pedal down, shaft should turn freely. some resistance will be felt as you are also spinning the hydraulic lift pump for 3 pt hitch. start tractor and try to shift if you can't shift from forward to reverse while holding the pedal down without it grinding you have a problem .ok now if no additional resistance is felt while pushing pedal down you probably have a single clutch.(SGF prefix in tractor serial #),(SGM designates dual clutch) if extra resistance is felt about halfway you have a dual or two stage clutch. there is a second adjustment for the second stage but you do this inside the bellhousing by taking the bottom cover off. if the pto is acting ok and releases there is no need to touch the second adjustment.on these clutches first stage is tractor drive second is pto. this allows you to shift trans without disengaging pto implement(brushhog or baler ,whatever) or stopping 3pt hitch operation(lift pump is driven off clutch directly)when you want to change gears .let me know how it turns out or call and i'll talk you thru it. (MF dealership mechanic for 24 yrs.) Rob

Thanks Rob, I will let you know how it turns out.

The clutch on my 50 slips in the hi range mode getting worse as the tractor warms up. I have about 1/2 in free play before resistance felt when depressing clutch. My dad (a Massey) mechanic since before they were would be able to tell me problem without splitting tractor but he's gone and not many mechanics at implement dealers know what problem is unless I want to go to the expense of splitting tractor. Any ideas?
Gary

How do I get in touch with Rob Emmerthal?