1961 Fordson Dexta Dual Clutch Assembly Refit

[TNEngineer]

Hi All!

New member from Tennessee here, so I just want to start off by saying hello. Also, I have lurked around the forum for quite sometime taking full advantage of this wealth of knowledge on these awesome tractors! Awesome site you guys and gals have here!

Ok so now down to business. My dexta has the dual clutch, and it starting giving me trouble about a month ago. It started intermittently by not wanting to go into 3rd gear (in hi or lo range). It would grind even when fully stopped, and revving at low rpm's. So at that point i knew something wasn't right. Then one day, the clutch simply would not disengage. The pedal felt very soft. You could start the tractor in neutral, throttle all the way down and then finesse it into gear, but you better not want to get it out of gear suddenly. To stop, you had to just kill the motor. If the tranny was under any kind of load at all, you couldn't pull it out of gear with team of mules lol.

At that point i knew i had major clutch issues. I split the tractor (with the help of the awesome manual that i downloaded for FREE) and pulled the clutch assembly. Disassembled the clutch assembly, and found the transmission clutch disc had all but exploded! I have attached pics of said disc.

I have 2 questions: Should I just go ahead and buy an entire clutch assembly, or try to find new disc(s)? Next, if I buy a new assembly do I need any special adjustment tools, or is it a simple bolt on type of deal?

Thanks,
TNengineer







well, i guess i should have read the "posting images" thread before adding them into my post. Gonna resize them then post in another comment.

[Brian]

Go for the complete clutch it will bolt straight in and you do not have to worry about setting it up. Watch the thrust bearing though, the original one is no longer available so I am told and the one supplied is thinner and the buttons do not run in the right place. I went to a bearing supplier and looked through his stock to find a bearing with the right thrust surface area then made a spacer to go behind the thinner bearing to bring it forward on the hub.





Bit blurred but you can see that the old bearing thrust surface is forward and comes down lower to protect the front of the mounting hub.



The spacer behind the new bearing to bring the thickness up to the old one.



New Bearing in position.



Track of clutch buttons on the old bearing. You may find that a new bearing supplied with the clutch has a narrower thrust surface and the buttons contact the mounting hub.

[TNEngineer]

Go for the complete clutch it will bolt straight in and you do not have to worry about setting it up. Watch the thrust bearing though, the original one is no longer available so I am told and the one supplied is thinner and the buttons do not run in the right place. I went to a bearing supplier and looked through his stock to find a bearing with the right thrust surface area then made a spacer to go behind the thinner bearing to bring it forward on the hub.

Thanks a lot Brian!

Are there any inherent risks in trying to reuse to old thrust bearing?

[Brian]

Not something I would recommend. They tend to fail and wear the new buttons off meaning another split and clutch will be needed in the near future.

[dewaltdisney]

As a solution I wonder if it is worth looking at getting your bearing refurbished? I found this USA company who might be worth approaching http://www.masseyind.com/bearing-refurbishment.html

I have no idea how much it would cost but at least they would work tot he fine tolerances needed to make the fit perfect.

DWD