Burning clutch smell?

[ericher69]

I was moving snow the other day (rear 5ft blade) with my b2920 with 51" front mount blower engaged.

I started smelling this burnt brake type smell...I have a cab on the tractor.

The tractor was in 4wd med range spinning all 4's and grabbing traction.

Didn't notice anything out of the norm except for when moving heavy snow.

Could the clutch be slipping? Or is this the "hot hydraulic" smell that everyone refers to.

Don't know if I should get the dealer to check or not. Warranty is up.

Tractor is 2008 model.

Thanks

ericher69

 

[Tx Jim]

I was moving snow the other day (rear 5ft blade) with my b2920 with 51" front mount blower engaged.The tractor was in4wd med range spinning all 4's and grabbing traction.
ericher69

I think you should try low range instead of med range.

 

[ericher69]

Tx Jim,

Thanks but doesn't really answer my question

Low range was too slow for the task at hand

Deep snow with a full rear blade

 

[Toolguy]

Those kinds of symptoms are very difficult to diagnose unless it is done at the time they occur. It would be almost impossible for someone else to find it unless they could duplicate the exact conditions you experienced when you noticed it. I suggest that the next time it happens that you get off the tractor and check around for anything that could be hot or looks out of place. On a newer machine such as yours it is quite likely that it is just a hot paint smell from the HST housing if you are working it hard. There shouldn't be anything that would give a "burned clutch" smell since your machine does not have a dry clutch. Maybe pull the dipstick on the HST and smell it. If that is what you smelled then you have found it. I don't think you can hurt anything by running in M gear. Spinning the tires on ice and snow should not pose any problem at all for a machine that is made to work in the dirt. Good luck and I hope you don't find anything seriously wrong.

 

[ericher69]

Toolguy,

Thanks for the advice and reply

Just one Thing; the b series does have a single plate dry clutch

Anyway to tell if it has been slipping without splitting the tractor?

Thanks

 

[Toolguy]

I stand corrected. I have a B3030 and it does not have a clutch so I wrongly assumed yours didn't either. It could be the clutch that you smell, then. With any dry clutch you need to have some free travel in the pedal before the disengagment begins. That is done by a linkage adjustment. If there is no free travel then the clutch may not be fully engaging causing it to slip under load. Something else to check out.

 

[ericher69]

Toolguy,

No problem

Will check freeplay in pedal and repair manual for adjustment spec... Hope I didn't glaze the clutch!

 

[ericher69]

For those of you with bseries 23/26/2920

Have you ever experienced any type of clutch slipping? From what I have read and understand from this site is that the engine will start to bog down if I don't let off the hst pedal. Is this the case?

 

[TripleR]

I doubt that you have done any damage to your clutch as the only time you really "use" it is when engaging the PTO to feather in an implement. You will press it in at other times, but it is not under any load and is not going to slip.

 

[ericher69]

Talking with a buddy and he seems to think that setting park brake hard and putting tranny in high range I should be able to diagnose a clutch problem

Put hat pedal down and should be able to stall engine... And see if there is a slipping clutch and burnt smell!

He also told me NOT to actually stall but just lug down engine

Any feedback on this diagnostic technical?

 

[Tx Jim]

Tx Jim,

Thanks but doesn't really answer my question

Low range was too slow for the task at hand

Deep snow with a full rear blade

It is very difficult to diagnose a problem via an ISP. My point was if I smelled what I thought was a slipping clutch I'd put trans in a lower gear if available which in your case a lower gear was available. I find it hard to believe that spinning tires moves snow faster than no spinning tires. But each to their own.

 

[SPYDERLK]

It is very difficult to diagnose a problem via an ISP. My point was if I smelled what I thought was a slipping clutch I'd put trans in a lower gear if available which in your case a lower gear was available. I find it hard to believe that spinning tires moves snow faster than no spinning tires. But each to their own.

The clutch should not slip in any gear. Max clutch torque is the same for any gear and is supposed to exceed what the engine can deliver. If it is slipping it must be noted quickly and dealt with or the clutch will be damaged. ... ... To the OP: I dont know about the brake idea. It should work. But why not just chain it to a tree on good ground and pull from the tractor drawbar?
larry

 

[ericher69]

Spiderlk,

Snow outside right now, frozen ground...problems with traction

Thanks for the reply

 

[ericher69]

Tx Jim ,

I guess the problem is that I should have the tires loaded to increase traction

I'm trying to make up for it with momentum

Thanks for the reply

 

[Tx Jim]

Tx Jim ,

I guess the problem is that I should have the tires loaded to increase traction

I'm trying to make up for it with momentum

Thanks for the reply

I'm under the impression that once traction is lost(tires spin) faster spinning of tires makes traction worse not better.

 

[Verticaltrx]

Talking with a buddy and he seems to think that setting park brake hard and putting tranny in high range I should be able to diagnose a clutch problem

Put hat pedal down and should be able to stall engine... And see if there is a slipping clutch and burnt smell!

He also told me NOT to actually stall but just lug down engine

Any feedback on this diagnostic technical?

That 'might' work, but most likely it would just open the relief valve on the HST, in high range it opens without much load. As someone suggested, make sure the clutch is properly adjusted, if the dealer and/or factory didn't get it set right it could be partially engaged and therefore slipping under heavy load. I would check the adjustment and then go about using it regularly, if the problem still occurs then start doing other tests.

 

[ericher69]

Ok,

Talked with dealer yesterday and he assured me that they have not had any problems or technical bulletins relating to a slipping clutch on b series...

The tractor is under warranty till October of 2011

Should the dealer cover the cost of checking for a slipping clutch if the problem persists?

 

[SPYDERLK]

Ok,

Talked with dealer yesterday and he assured me that they have not had any problems or technical bulletins relating to a slipping clutch on b series...

The tractor is under warranty till October of 2011

Should the dealer cover the cost of checking for a slipping clutch if the problem persists?

The potential problem should be laid to rest. I think you should find a way to do it. Its easy on a gear tractor but the hydro has a potential to confuse interpretation. If you could have someone specifically knowledgeable come to your place and explain and interpret the symptoms to either ease or alert you. Unfortunately I have no experience with a HST/clutch hybrid so I cant be sure to give you purely appropriate info. I seems to me tho that you should be able to tell by clutching and declutching under hi drawbar load. You wouldnt want to do it much because I dont think the clutch is intended to be used that way routinely. Doing so could wear it out fairly quickly. :confused3:
Good luck
larry