Clutch or Tranny?

[plowboy]

Hi all,

It got dark by the time I got my 2420 Farm Pro back to the barn today after working my tractor in the fields, so I have not had time to Start diagnosing the issues she is having.

While working her I noticed I was having trouble getting her to move forward or reverse with any sort of power. It finally got so bad that once she would start rolling simply turning the wheels would cause her to not move any further and leave me sitting there. I decided I better get back to the barn asap but it still took me forever (dark). At any rate I found if I reduced the rpm range to a lower zone I could better move and just slowly made my way back home that way. Any ideas where I should start in the morning in troubleshooting this issue? Tranny, clutch or other? Thanks in advance for any and all help! Wayne

[ronj]

Wayne,
Was the engine revving and the tractor barely moving - or were they both bogging down?
What sort of work were you doing in the fields before the tractor starting acting up?
RonJ

[plowboy]

I was scraping the ground with the FEL to remove tiny trees. roots and all. (Probably abusing the clutch)? The engine was running great just could not get the tractor to do much but crawl along. As I said, by lowering the engine speed the better I could move and travel. I am in hopes adjusting my clutch linkage will help but am not sure how or which direction to go with it. It was almost like if the clutch pedal could move more to the forward direction I woulda been good to go. Is it possible I burned out the clutch? Or perhaps damaged the tranny? There is room for clutch linkage adjustments in both directions.
Thanks for the response and please keep me posted as to my best way to proceed.
Sincerely,
Wayne

[Rich Waugh]

Sure sounds like the clutch going or gone. You can try adjusting it a bit, but if there's a lot of wear on the friction discs you'll need to split it and replace them.

Your tractor has a 2-stage clutch with two friction discs and pressure plates, one for the PTO and another for the transmission. The PTO clutch engages first as you release the clutch pedal and then about halfway up the drive clutch should engage. I'm assuming your PTO still has full power and engages/disengages okay?

Tractor clutches should never be used to control speed or power - that's what the gears and the throttle are for. On a tractor, the clutch should either be all the way in or all the way out. People who try to start the tractor moving in 2nd or 3rd gear ruin their clutches quickly, as do those who ride the clutch or slip the clutch to control speed. These machines are heavy and yet only have a clutch about the size you'd find in a much lighter pickup truck. Therefore, you basically engage the clutch quickly, almost "popping" it, rather than ease it in like you would on a car.