more on the hydraulic lift, pto problem

[brobro]

on my tractor, the primary pto shaft is engaged the moment the tractor begins to run. This means that the hydraulic pump starts pumping at that time and the hydraulics are on. When my hydraulics went out the output shaft of the pto stopped as well. I was thinking that maybe the hydraulic problem was because of a plugged suction filter or low fluid but upon further reflection, I wondered why the pto output stopped too. It seems to me, based on the drawings in the book, the pto output should continue to turn even if the hydraulic pump has no discharge pressure. I asked the folks at the local Ford tractor place and they said either the primary pto shaft was broken or the pto clutch plate was gone due to improper adjustment. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[Brian]

I would go for the clutch simply because both PTO and pump have stopped working. Over pressure in the pump would cause the pump to split and not affect the PTO at all. The pump drives from the PTO drive gear as you say so, as the gearbox internals are pretty bomb proof, the clutch is your only common area.

You mentioned having her split before. It is possible that you have damaged the PTO drive plate and caused the problem, if you had trouble putting her back together.

[john.n]

you could find out if it is nothing wrong in the back end by engaging the pto raising the lever in the quadrent and turning the pto shaft with a spanner. this should make the lift arms raise. dont have then engine running though!

good luck with the repair.

[brobro]

I suspect the clutch as well. I don't think I damaged it in any way during installation as I never used any unnecessary force and took care that the splines were properly engaged. I did have to make a pretty radical adjustment to the external linkage that connects the clutch pedal to the clutch throw-out bearing. This was necessary to bring the bearing in contact with the clutch fingers. But things seemed in order as the gears shifted properly and the pto engaged without any grinding. The tractor was in use about 15 hours and there was never any smoke or smell of asbestos to indicate the pto pressure plate was in jeopardy.

[Brian]

If the rivets sheared in the disc hub you would not get any indication.

[brobro]

The clutch I installed was rebuilt; who knows by whom....undocumented morons from somewhere using inferior/worthless material. I engaged the pto and was able to turn it cw/ccw without any problem. With the pto disengaged the output shaft spun very freely as anyone would expect; with it engaged it was much more difficult to turn but it did turn as I said. That would seem to indicate that the primary pto shaft is adding to the resistance and therefore is not broken and it also tells me the pto clutch is not bearing properly against the engine flywheel. If it were, I would not be able to turn the thing at all. but then, I am an idiot. anyway, thanks for your reply.

[brobro]

$400 bucks for is properly adjusted? I can understand that accurate dimensions can be lost over the fifty years since this tractor was last produced. You go to a parts dealer and say you want this clutch and a few days later you have it and it appears pretty much like the one you just exchanged but.....butt.....I guess if you have heavy duty and you need a tractor to do it it is better to have a recent model and leave the antiques for the nostalgia get-to-gathers. The tractor itself is a champ; that Perkins engine is a marvel but maybe not for like it used to be use.