The short pin that came out of the torque tube drain wasn't all that was missing. I managed to get my little finger through the torque tube drain hole and feel the broken clutch lever links. Then with bent wire and a magnet managed to retrieve the broken pieces. Difficult to get the cotter pin out of the long pin remaining on the clutch but managed to get it removed and pin out without dropping anything. Now I need a couple of links and installation instructions with unit in tractor. Inspecting the other 4 links/pins, only 1 pin was put in the right direction. I think I can remove the cotter pins with a needle nose vice grips and a slide hammer and then reverse pin direction using a long needle nose pliers but haven't figured out how to spread the cotter pin after getting the pins back in the right way. Any suggestions?

Spread the cotter pin legs apart then hold them together with your pliers to push it through the pin hole. It'll be tight enough in the pin hole that you can take your time getting it spread. I prefer duckbill pliers to work with cotter pins, more control than needle nose.

Checking the service manual a pic of the subject pins shows the head of the pins on the left side of the linkage. That is the opposite side that Loren and I both indicated they should be inserted. Service manual pics are not always correct but my pea brain is too fuzzy to remember the rule or even figure out which way they should be inserted.

In your other post you indicated that the clutch worked ok. Did the clutch engage and disengage or was it engaged only?

Your 2 link pieces are broken on opposite ends like a rotational fracture. Pic1 is that a piece of a link under the head of the pin? Are your other 4 links still in place? Does your sliding collar move freely in the slack of the links?

Joe

The other 4 links are in place and, except for 3 of the 4 pins pointing in the wrong direction, look fine. The clutch snaps in and out just fine and I would have never suspected a problem if it hadn't been for the pin coming out the drain hole. I tried to assemble the removed pieces in order so we could see the failure better but it looks like I got the long pin chunks upside down. In any event, it appears the short pin slid past the cotter pin hole, first link flew out, caught on something and was bent/broke. The short pin/second link then caught on something after sliding out of the arm which broke the second link off the long pin. There isn't enough room for my hand and tools to get behind the clutch collar to work on the pins and links so my plan is to buy some cheap Harbor Freight long reach pliers with 45 and 90 degree bends to fix things. If I need a different angle, a torch is nearby. It would be easier if the clutch collar was out of the way but it looks like the fork would need to come out first.

Don't forget the superglue and finger tool. I use that alot.

I bought a set of a half a dozen long nose in different configurations from Harbor Freight 20 some years ago. Still have them mostly unused but good enough for occasional use.

You have a good handle on what you need to do, Good luck with it, let us know how it comes out.

Joe

• https://www.harborfreight.com/11 in 45 bent nose long reach pliers 64088.html

"Checking the service manual a pic of the subject pins shows the head of the pins on the left side of the linkage."

Above is incorrect.
Should read as "head of the pin on the right side of the linkage" as in my 2nd pic above.

I was thinking right and wrote left.

Joe

You need a cotter pin puller or make one using a no 1 phillips ground down to a point and bent to fit.

I've never worked on a 311 so I don't know how difficult it would be to split the tractor. I only know that my big hands and small work spaces don't get along very well together. Many times it is easier and less time consuming to disassembly things (in this case, split the tractor) to give yourself space to work. Added benefit is that you aren't as likely to say bad words when you drop a pin down into the clutch and it gets hung up there. ADB

He won't gain anything by a simple split at the engine bell housing. Where he needs to do the basic repairs is accessible through the range shift cover which he has removed. If he had to replace clutch plates he would need to split the tractor further into the trans.
Loren

Sounds like he has a plan and is going to do it right while he is at it. Some things are just hard to get to and perseverance is the only way to get it done. I was laying under my pickup changing a fuel filter last week. It is tucked up in the frame channel surrounded by wiring harness and too close to the front drive shaft to get a full stroke with the 36 mm wrench to get it loose. I had to do it with half strokes of the 12 point box end wrench turning it every half stroke. As the diesel fuel was running down my arm soaking up the sleeve of my coat, I was using some not so complimentary adjectives to describe the Ford engineers that designed that one. I'm sure we all have a story. LOL

Thanks for the update. I is always nice to know if and when we were of help.
Loren