Another reason to be careful

One in a million chance. Son was backing equipment into the barn. Needed to stop and pushed the clutch in. Clutch pedal snapped off and tractor tried to push two pieces of equipment out through the wall of the barn. Fortunately, no one was close by. Be careful!!! This stuff never forgives a mistake.

What model/brand tractor ?

An old dairy farmer used to live down the road a bit. He spread manure with a JD "G". There was a low beam in the barn where he backed the spreader and tractor in for years. One day he didn't duck down to the side of steering wheel enough and he was crushed between the beam and steering column.-----------------Loren

That is why I am sure on most of my tractor the ignition switch is easy to turn to the stop position

Was cruising around a corner with my old '75 Honda CB360T motorcycle a number of years ago when I saw I was going a tad too fast and pressed on the foot brake pedal to slow down. Pedal broke and left me with no way to slow the bike down (front brakes in a corner are a bad idea as a rule!) except downshifting as fast as I could. Did that, but it wasn't enough, and ended up going off the road--luckily a back road with little traffic--then down a ditch, over a culvert, through some small trees and finally got it stopped with no further damage to me or it. Got the bike back on the road, drove the couple miles home VERY slowly, and when I looked over the pedal it became obvious a small crack had developed in its top (they're just bent steel tubing) and finally got bad enough to let the whole pedal bend down so far it wouldn't activate the brake any longer. Located another pedal, put it on, and drove the bike many more miles, but you can bet I looked the "new" pedal over VERY closely before putting it on!

I sometimes think about that. What if the clutch linkage loses a pin when I am backing up to a wagon with someone holding the tongue? Had that happen with a two banger Deere. Lucky for me the brakes were good enough to kill it on the spot.

Case 411B. On closer inspection, it had been welded twice before and painted. This was a new break along side the old weld.

Can you get a non welded one?

Yes stay clear if you can! Me and bro inlaw did brake job on his truck, got done, he gets in fires it up goes to put it in gear. Soon as selector hits R truck goes back, because he didn't pump brakes. High idle. Just missed pinning me between tool box and bumper. Likely would've snapped both my legs.

Was always fun (not) to back a tractor into the shop when the clutch was shot and would not release. Start it in gear and shut it off when you got to where you wanted to be.

Still came natural to slam that clutch pedal when things were getting tight. Never went through a wall but darn near smashed the parts washer one time.

Several years ago I was in a cabover Freightliner at a T intersection,as I looked both ways, the truck started moving. THe pedal was all of the way down,when I got it back to the shop we found the center of the clutch disc had pushed through. It was only 800 miles home with no way to disengage the clutch.

A shop I had at one point when we were racing stock cars had a bit of a down slope into the work bays. The doors were split in the middle and opened outward, with a hump at the bottom of the doors.

One time we had an on track mishap that resulted in a brake line being severed, among other things. I repaired the damage while the car was on the trailer, and then intended to park the car outside one pair of doors in front of the shop. I even put a wood block down for the right front wheel to rest against.

I backed the car off the trailer, figuring the brakes would pump up. I started down the slope towards the front of the shop and--found out I didn't have ANY brakes, even though I pumped like mad. The car bounced right over the block I'd laid down and finally stopped halfway through the doors, with the doors pushed inward instead of outward.

I backed the car out, and had to fix the front of the shop before I could go back to work on the car.

Tonight I went to a friends house to jump one of his farm trucks that supposedly had a dead battery, we think his helper told him that since he doesn't like to drive this truck. Anyway we got the truck started and moved it to where is was needed and thought I would move another truck closer to the entrance of the field. As soon as I pushed the clutch to start the clutch cable broke and was loaded. So tried to start in gear and it did, so called friend, I'm headed to town to the shop he uses with no clutch!! Once on the road I got into 3rd gear(5 speed trans early 90's GMC 6500. Had 5 miles to go and almost powered out going up the first hill, so found fourth gear and made run on next hill and luckily got into 1st gear and made it over, then crawled into town in 3rd gear to the shop. Had boy follow with pickup with flashers on. Glad it happened to me and not either one of the guys, so was the owner.

One of my guys drove a car with no clutch release from San Antonio TX to Albuquerque NM.

He had to make four fuel stops.

I had a 65 VW and the clutch cable would break. This happened at least twice. At work the last time it broke. I pushed it out of my parking spot. Put it in first, started in gear did some fancy shifting. Same thing at a stop sign, until I got home. Stan

(quoted from post at 17:11:17 10/04/20) That is why I am sure on most of my tractor the ignition switch is easy to turn to the stop position

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Old, most of us pefer easy turning switches on ALL of our tractors.

Place were I worked summers would rent an IH cabover roll off with a hydraulic clutch. I stopped at a red light and while I was setting there with the clutch in the motor started to die down. I gave it a little gas and it pulled trough the intersection. Lucky no one was coming. The clutch cylinder was leaking down. I put it in neutral anytime I stopped after that. The IH service trucks we drove were notorious for breaking a welded on pin in the clutch linkage, drove them back more then once, start motor in creeper and shift without clutch.

Seen people break those cast pedals,, it just moves a hyd spool but some seem to want to STOMP on them anyway, glad things worked out,,

Chief ..... happened to me as well in 1970, exactly as you said with your VW. Mine was also a '65. I was on the way to work when it happened. I had the only VW Bug in town with push out back windows. I bought it from a professor from South Carolina that was teaching up here in Canada and was moving back home. Not sure if all American Bugs had those push out back windows but this one did. I think I only saw one other one in real life after that.

Hey---I had a 76 CB360---fun little bike!

I was a VW mechanic back in the 60's . About half of the Bugs I worked on had those pop out back windows. I had many a call to drive a Bug back from the city with the broken clutch cable. They seemed to break in the heavy stop and go traffic.

Yup we take for grant that when you push the clutch pedal down your going to stop. Plum hate when something mechanical takes a dump with a clutch and it will not disengage. The clutches in 68 and early 69 Mopars were great for that . The Borg and Beck pressure plates would break and eye bolt on one of the fingers. Ya knew going into work on Monday morning there would be one or two Road Runers Cuda's or GTX's setting in the lot in need of a clutch . Mine loved to eat them like M & M's . And no ya did not even have be thrashing on them when they let go . Had one fail while on a date with a new fox from WAY out of town late on a Saturday evening over a 100 miles from home , limped it home with out the clutch . Had that job down to a science in and out in 45 min. . My 806 took the damper springs out of the disc and locked up the pressure plate . Had two lock up in semi's , one only a 150 miles from home and the other 200 miles west of St. Louie and drove it home with a little load of a 140,000 on the deck. Hyd. clutches are a stupid idea as they were NOTHING but problems on Med. Duty cab over trucks and now they put them in Pick up's and one tone's . My 88 Ford as i had one fail at a busy intersection with a 1950 Oliver on the trailer at Rush hour . It was the master cylinder on the first round a week after i replaced the master cylinder the slave cylinder went , Never close to home . So when i replace the parts i bought TWO and added that to the get me out of trouble parts behind the seat. Two qt's. of brake fluid , one master cylinder , one slave cylinder two U/Joints for the rear shaft and one computer .

More info on the fox please

(quoted from post at 20:16:41 10/05/20) I was a VW mechanic back in the 60's . About half of the Bugs I worked on had those pop out back windows. I had many a call to drive a Bug back from the city with the broken clutch cable. They seemed to break in the heavy stop and go traffic.

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Don't do it with a modern straight drive you will wipe the lining off the synchronizes... its gets expensive fast...