The hand clutch on my WD45 is slipping... if I grab it and pull back it'll stop slipping (or at least there'll be enough forward motion that I don't think it's slipping). When I first got the tractor (a whole 5 days ago) the hand clutch grabbed really hard. Now it doesn't grab, the engagement is very snooth and linear, even if I just pull the lever back without trying to feather it.
Here are couple clues as to what might be wrong. I checked the oil through the smaller of the 2 fill plugs (didn't have a 8 point socket big enough for the other). These are the fill plugs with square heads that are angled at 45 degrees on the left side of the tractor behind the hydraulic fill plug/dipstick. It was low so I added oil till it was at the bottom of the threads... it took about 6 quarts of 80W90. Since the hand clutch is a wet clutch, do I need a friction additive in the oil? Most of the gear oil at the autoparts store has limited slip additive, I bought my oil from tractor supply specifically to get oil without the additive since I didn't think the tractor needed it.
The other cause could be abuse. My 6' Bushhog runs a little close to the rear tires and over rough terrain (the only type of terrain I have) the mower will catch the rear tires, which puts everything in a bind and could be slipping the clutch and caused it to wear out. I never recall it slowing down when this would happen, but it causes a series of sharp jerks as the tire lugs catch on the front of the mower. This certainly isn't the best thing to do to a clutch.
Any idea which of those 2 is my problem and how to fix the clutch if it's damaged? Or maybe I had a return spring break since I need to pull back on the lever to keep it from slipping? Thanks!
Here are couple clues as to what might be wrong. I checked the oil through the smaller of the 2 fill plugs (didn't have a 8 point socket big enough for the other). These are the fill plugs with square heads that are angled at 45 degrees on the left side of the tractor behind the hydraulic fill plug/dipstick. It was low so I added oil till it was at the bottom of the threads... it took about 6 quarts of 80W90. Since the hand clutch is a wet clutch, do I need a friction additive in the oil? Most of the gear oil at the autoparts store has limited slip additive, I bought my oil from tractor supply specifically to get oil without the additive since I didn't think the tractor needed it.
The other cause could be abuse. My 6' Bushhog runs a little close to the rear tires and over rough terrain (the only type of terrain I have) the mower will catch the rear tires, which puts everything in a bind and could be slipping the clutch and caused it to wear out. I never recall it slowing down when this would happen, but it causes a series of sharp jerks as the tire lugs catch on the front of the mower. This certainly isn't the best thing to do to a clutch.
Any idea which of those 2 is my problem and how to fix the clutch if it's damaged? Or maybe I had a return spring break since I need to pull back on the lever to keep it from slipping? Thanks!
