cleaning an oily clutch disc

SDE

Well-known Member
I pulled the clutch disc out of my F-20. It was very grabby. I cleaned the pressure plate and the flywheel, but now I need to clean the disc. Some say use Brake cleaner, others burn it off with gas and others say buy a new one. Could a hot iron pull it out and then wipe it off with a rag? Will a gas grill work to burn it off? It only takes about 15 minutes to pull it out, but I already know how to do it and so once more will be enough, I hope.
Thank you
SDE
 
I would find out where the oil is coming from first. Probably the rear main seal. Since the clutch is not a easy thing to change I would get a new one myself. I am interested to see what others will say. I have heard of heating them in years past. Stan
 
Degreaser and a steam cleaner is probably as good as anything, fix the oil leak.
 
Just my humble opinion.....
Clutch friction discs are generally made of some type of organic material. In days gone by, that material was asbestos. Problem is that the clutch material is porous. It absorbs the oil into the core of the material, and is near to impossible to get out. Same thing with brake linings. In the long run, you may save yourself a lot of aggravation by just fixing the oil leak, cleaning the flywheel and pressure plate (thoroughly!!), and replacing the clutch disc.
If it were a very expensive part, it would be worth trying to clean and salvage/re-use. If it isn't a major expense, I would replace it.
 
I salvaged the brake pads for my Allis(no longer available for a price I could pay)by soaking them is brake cleaner, letting them flash dry, then heating them up to smoking hot with a propane torch. They work well to this day. Your mileage may vary...
 
I cleaned mine really good with kerosene and put it back in, haven't had any more problems with it since and I plow with it every year . I don't think todays oil causes the same problem , at least not to the extent that the oil from 50 years ago did, and that is what your clutch disc is full of. That stuff was like glue on the clutch discs I took out. I would generally agree that fixing the oil leak and putting a new disc in would be the best fix on most tractors, but this is an F-series people, they leak , they like to mark their territory. They don't have a modern rear main seal , they use rope packing and felt "seals" on these tractors. It just slows down the leak . If the lining is still thick and otherwise ok , I would clean and reuse it. It is going to get oily again in time.
 
Got an old time auto/truck parts store in the area? Might be a good idea to take the clutch there and see if they can match it with the same or better clutch. For example, our Cockshutt combines would break the flex plate about every other year. An experienced parts man said: "That looks just like a Ford 10" clutch". It was an exact match, except it had a shock assembly in the center. Used the Ford truck clutches in our combines and never had to ever replace the clutch plate again.

Worth a try; price should be considerably less if you can find a match.
 
you can get a disc for an M or Super M , whichever one of them used the same diameter clutch , it's not that you can't find one or that they are incredibly expensive. It just comes down to do you want to spend an infinite amount of money on a tractor that has a very finite value , regardless of condition. Maybe it's just my Irish roots coming out in me as I get older, but grandpa could fix a lot of things with baler twine or a hunk of wire.....My point being you don't need to replace every part on an old tractor with new just for a few days use a year.It all depends on your budget , spend accordingly.
 
If the clutch is reasonably available I'd just replace it. An organic clutch will absorb a lot of oil. You can wipe the surface with brake cleaner and it will be oily again in an hour. You can try burning it out with a torch and once it cools it will release more oil. I'm not saying you can't eventually get it out... but at what cost? How much brake cleaner and LP can you afford to buy and time to burn over what is probably a 150 buck clutch disc?
I'd just replace it or run it as is and live with it.
You do need to find the source of the leak and fix that...

Rod
 

If you want to salvage it, set it in a pan with 1/2" of gasoline and set it on fire.
The oil will bake out and if it does not warp, re-install it.
Works well on brake linings..

Ron.
 
IS your wife going on a vacation soon??? LOL I have "cleaned" oily brake disk in a electric self cleaning oven. I don't mean continuous cleaning ones. The ones that lock the door and get real hot. It will stink terrible.

In the mid 1980s, when money was real tight, I bought a Oliver 1650. The brake disk where good but oil soaked. I did not have the extra money to replace them. So I cleaned them up the best I could with gas. I then heated them some with a propane torch. That flashed the gas off. I was still getting oil out of the disk linings. So I put them on a junk cookie sheet and ran the oven through a cleaning cycle. It kept the plates hot enough for a period of time that the oil ran out of the bottom side. Yes I had to turn them over and run another cycle. This was about the time the "wife" got home. LOL I worked pretty late in the shop for a few nights.

It worked. The brakes worked and did not fade out as the friction of stopping worked more oil out. The oil seemed to have been cooked out.
 
A leaking rear crank seal should not get the clutch oiled up.
would rather suspect a transmission input shaft seal as the culprit
 
So if putting them in an oven works,why not an outdoor gas grille turned up on high with the disc on a cookie sheet?
 
while I go to great lengths sometimes to save brakes, flywheels, pressure plates......if a clutch disk is oil soaked, I replace it (used is fine if good)
When they absorb liquid, the material swells..unevenly.
Even if you get it all out, doubtful, there will be high and low spots afterwards. chatter.
 
Agree. If superficial, I use a lot of brake cleaner to clean up things
since it doesn't attack paint but gets after the grease.

But when it is soaked, replace it and get on with your business.

My 2c.
Mark
 

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