B6000E Clutch Issue -Stuck

[edinottawa]

Will most likely apply to other machines as well. Occasional use B6000E, kept under cover and never left out in the rain. Used it one day and the next day the clutch was stuck, wouldn't release. Tried a few of the tricks listed here and on the web to release the clutch, no success. Finally made the decision to split the machine to see what's up. Dealer said just South of $1000 (Canadian) if all parts were needed so I decided to tackle this myself with a little professional help (mobile mechanic) despite never having split a tractor before now.

Pressure plate, clutch disc and flywheel were rusted together, and there were water droplets + rust stains on the flywheel. Also rust stains from water pooling at the bottom of the bell housing. I can only ascribe this to condensation since no flooding or rain events had been anywhere near this tractor, and the drain plug in the clutch bell was installed.

Mechanic said the flywheel, pressure plate, release fingers and disc were in excellent condition, just clean them up and reassemble. Pilot bushing was also in good nick. Throwout bearing was seized so I ordered the bearing and some other unrelated maintenance parts. OEM Bearing from Kubota dealer was $36 (CDN). Bell housing gasket is NLA so left in place.

Mechanic suggested that since this was a "rice paddy" tractor, that the drain plug wasn't necessary and leave it out. That would allow some air circulation in the bell housing.

Put it all back together and the little K is running like a Japanese watch.

See my other posting about changing that pesky fan belt.

Comments and questions welcomed.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Mechanic suggested that since this was a "rice paddy" tractor, that the drain plug wasn't necessary and leave it out. That would allow some air circulation in the bell housing.

Only half right.

The cavity is supposed to be completely sealed and as such should not get any moisture in there.
Taking out the plug will allow humidity and moist air to get into the bellhousing and rust parts up.

 

[edinottawa]

Thanks Wolfman; since there is no way this puppy was left out in the rain, have you any observations on how moisture got in there and how to avoid a problem in the future? I'll put the plug back in but I am leery of accumulating condensation again. Perhaps for some folks with greater mechanical skills than I splitting a tractor is a walk in the park, but for me it was quite time consuming. Be easier the second time around tho

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Water/condensation probably got int from the throw out bearing slide seals, common for those to go bad.
Do you use it over the winter?

What I would do is make a spit pin plug, its the plug with a pin that lets water out but limits water or air from getting in.

I'll see if i can dig one up or a picture of one.

 

[Russell King]

There are drains for conduit fittings - search Crouse Hinds ECD for example. You may be able to get correct threads (not NPT probably) or adapter from ? to NPT

OR

Drill and tap existing plug to make it the adapter


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[edinottawa]

I spend the winters waaaay South, so not used in winter at all. In other correspondence today, the Kubota shop manager said to leave the plug out. I'm listening to all comers, so you can tell me more about the "split-pin" solution.

What about a tank drain fitting from a compressor? Most are made in China, should be metric and can most likely be found with the same thread size (~12mm methinks).

W/R to that seal on the bearing carrier, it seemed OK to me and had a good coating of grease. I didn't replace that one. There was no rust on the transfer shaft so the seal most likely wasn't compromised by abrasion. There's no rust to speak of on the shaft and link/coupling heading to the transmission. There is a large access hole on the bottom of the tunnel. The yoke that actuates the bearing carrier was clean as well.

If it is condensation from warm weather-to-cold cycling, then I don't think a drain fitting would be much help. Up here in Ontario we get a lot of temperature changes in winter, sometimes as much as 30-40F differential within 24 hours. With the tractor stored in the shed, the temperature fluctuations would moderated, but not by much.

In other news, I recently scored the dedicated S850 rotavator (rear mount tiller) for this tractor including the elusive "duplex rear wheel group" which is even rarer than the tiller...Some of the parts I ordered included the metric nuts required to mount the tiller to the PTO housing. Going over the tiller, releasing all the seized bolts and replacing oil and grease will be my next little project.

AAAAND; in the realm of "Ripley's Believe It Or Not", this tractor still has the factory plastic protector over the PTO splines. 40+ years!

 

[edinottawa]

recovering from sticker shock, Thanks Russell
The "ECD" breathers are explosion-proof and are in the $150 price range (USD; about a Zillion $CDN)

HOWEVER, the "CD" series are much more palatable at a paltry $22 for the 1/2" NPT version.

keep 'em coming!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

If you leave the plug out spray some WD-40 in there on occasion to help keep the moisture to a minimum!

 

[edinottawa]

Thanks for the input!

OK to put WD40 into a clutch area?

I found an image of a "split - pin drain" on Messicks' Kubota site. This seems doable with the existing drain plug; drill a hole in the plug, insert aluminium or stainless nail, peen the end and presto, split pin drain. (at least I think that's the concept)

On "Yesterdays Tractors" forum, some folks are drilling a hole in the bell housing and installing a cotter pin to keep the hole cleared of debris. Some of the 1930's & 40's tractors as manufactured had open drain holes in the bell housing.

It seems to me that there is a crowd gathering chanting "Let it Breathe!"

I am learning as we go

 

[D2Cat]

Yep, that's the concept. You can insert a cotter pin and split it a bit. Leave pin in loose enough it can move freely. Been used for years. And drilling a hole in your existing plug is fine!

It's not a space flight!!