Adjusting Clutch on 1995 312/8

[Dakota8338 115]

I ran a search and did not find a previous thread, so if there is one, someone is aware of, provide that as a reference.  The clutch seem to be a little "touch" in my '95 WH 312/8 and although adjusting the peddles take up is fairly simple & straight forward.  I have adjusted one turn forward, one turn back, two forward, two back, etc, etc and still can not seem to make any real improvement in the clutch's engagement.  Does anyone have any secrets to adjusting the WH clutch. 

 

As a side note:  The shifting is smooth and I recently drained and flushed the old gear oil and replaced it with Lucas Synthetic Gear Oil.  

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,102]

There is no clutch adjustment. Adjusting the rod to the pedal only determines the location of the pedal to accommodate short and tall operators.

There will be a damper at the belt idler pulley that is there to control the rate of engagement. It's purpose is to prevent wheelie's.

What is your complaint?

When I make a cold start I let the tractor warm up with the transmission in neutral and the clutch out. That allows the belt to flex around the pulleys and warm up. Then it is good to go. If I don't let the belt run first it engages real fast the first couple of times.

 

Garry

[BOB ELLISON 2,981]

What you could have  is a weak gas spring or a damper . That took the place of a spring. Mine was weak and it would engage slowly then jump forward.  I just got a spring and it's good now. The replacement spring is 108035 . 

[Dakota8338 115]

It probably would not "pop a wheelie" but just as soon as the clutch release is begun the 312 is ready to go.  There seems to be no difference if is has just been started or after an hour or more use.  The owners manual really does not address the clutch adjustment, and I mistakenly though the rod adjustment was the clutch's adjustment

 

The drive belt is not new, and I don't think that is my problem Bob from the way you described a problem there, but I will check it out Wednesday morning and see what everything looks like there.  My old C-141 had a spring, but I am not sure how the 312 is arranged. 

 

But thanks for the assistance fellows.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,102]

Should have mentioned the drive belt needs to be totally covered with fabric. Some have raw rubber on the sides and they will not slip in the pulleys which is what provides the smooth clutch action.

 

Garry

[BOB ELLISON 2,981]

@Dakota8338 just as @gwest_ca said the belt has to be able to ride on the pulleys and slide without grabbing . Then as you release the clutch the tension pully will engage the belt slowly. Check the belt and clean the pullys. It may need a new belt and a clean pully. That may fix your problem 

[Dakota8338 115]

22 hours ago, Dakota8338 said:

My old C-141 had a spring, but I am not sure how the 312 is arranged.

 

Duh!  I don't know where my mind was, when I wrote that. 

 

When originally adjusting the clutch length, thinking I was adjusting the clutch's engagement, the spring was right there.  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was remembering there being a spring on the belt side of the transmission, attached to the pulley which engages the belt when the clutch pedal is depressed/released.  There isn't!  It seems the spring on the old C-141 is stronger than the one on the 312 (and that spring is nearing 40 years of age), so I am going to order a new spring for the 312. 

 

I do appreciate the assistance.

[Racinbob 11,234]

I believe 95's used a gas strut and no spring on the left side. Later on they put the spring back on and used a gas damper. I'd suggest that you get the spring mentioned and remove the strut completely. That puts it back to the set up that worked well for decades.

[Dakota8338 115]

13 hours ago, Racinbob said:

I believe 95's used a gas strut and no spring on the left side. Later on they put the spring back on and used a gas damper. I'd suggest that you get the spring mentioned and remove the strut completely. That puts it back to the set up that worked well for decades.

I purchased it used, at about five years of age, so it may have had the gas dampener originally, but it presently has the spring.  To be clear, it came to me with the spring, regardless of what it left the factory with. 

[wallfish 17,083]

On 4/4/2018 at 9:51 PM, Dakota8338 said:

so I am going to order a new spring for the 312

That spring only provides tension to the belt for when it's engaged. If the belt isn't slipping while you're driving it, there's probably enough tension on the belt. A new spring only will not stop the belt from engaging quickly. Gary and Bob gave some good advice, the proper belt and clean pulleys should solve the quick belt engaging problem. The engine pulley must be clean and smooth to allow the belt to slip as it is being engaged by the clutch pedal. That belt slipping is the "clutching" and what allows slow smooth engagement to the transmission.

To clean the engine pulley you can remove the belt, start the engine and carefully use a wire brush in the pulley groove or just hand brush it with the engine off.  Make sure there are not chips or pits in the pulley and NO PAINT or rust. Paint in the pulley groove will always cause the belt to grab prematurely. Replace the belt with a new (properly sized) belt. A short belt can also cause the quick engagement.

Post some pictures of the pulley grooves and belt routing. Never know what previous owners have done over the years so it possible something else is going on too.

[LAWRENCE JEWETT 4]

I just bought a 98 314-8 that has a bad gas spring and as a result, no working clutch. I removed the gas spring and replaced it with two springs from my local hardware store as a short term fix. One on the left and a smaller one on the right. I checked the price of the replacement gas spring and at $99, that was a non starter. I searched this forum for a less expensive alternative, but was unable to find one. Maybe its out there. I removed the gas spring and researched alternatives. I found one on Amazon that matches the dimensions. Not sure of the stock item pressure, but the new one has 33#. The cost was under $14. Here is the info if anyone is interested.  uxcell 85mm Stroke 15kg 33 lb Force Lift Strut Prop Damper Auto Gas Spring.

[peter lena 8,734]

did you ever lubricate any of the metal to metal friction points ? this is a very simple  ,varidrive like belt tension system. if you go after each motion contact point, with lubricant, ensuring its smooth movement, along with loaded spring tension , you will probably find the hang up point. I agree with Dakota on that strut issue, that easily could be holding total engagement back, take it off . then you are using only spring tension and free moving contact points for your  motion. you might also find a bearing failure on the large engagement pulley, that would also slow response/engagement down . remove the belt drive cover , pto side and look at the issue, easy to find it from there. good call on the synthetic gear oil, change the shift boot ? pete