farmtrac replacement clutch

[rox29160]

Anybody know where to buy replacement clutches for a 2003 Farmtrac 320dtc? I've talked to several dealers and they tell me they are on backorder with no idea on when they will be available. Any aftermarket possibilities?

 

[Dallas_Lilly]

That should be the same clutch as the Montana 3240 and you could see if a montana dealer would have better luck getting one. Any idea why it failed at such an early age?

 

[rox29160]

The tractor looked brand new and only had 270 hours on it when I bought it. I didn't think I could go wrong buying a tractor with such low hours and looking to be in tip top shape. The man I bought it from said that 90% of the hours were put on it by his grandson just riding around in the yard. I thought that sounded even better! I was thinking the tractor hadn't even been worked hard during the little hours it was used. Boy was I wrong! Being this is the first tractor I have ever owned, I didn't know to check the clutch adjustments. The clutch wasn't slipping under load so no red flags there. Everything worked great for about the first 10 hours I put on it. I can only figure the man's grandson rode the clutch the whole time and wore it out. He adjusted the clutch as much as he could and must have decided to sell it when he found out a new clutch is $850.

I'm not sure that this is what happened, but it definitely played a part in my opinion since the clutch had been adjusted several times before I bought it. The only thing that makes me the least bit concerned that this is not the case is the fact that the clutch went out all of a sudden. My dad used it over the weekend and everything was working great. It sat under the carport for a week and when he got on it the following weekend, the friction point for the transmission was all the way at the bottom instead of the top like it had been. The pto friction point was so far down, it wouldn't even allow the pto to engage. We adjusted the clutch and got it all working but there was no play at the top of the pedal like there its supposed to be. We took it to a mechanic and he adjusted it back so it had play at the top, but the pto could not be used. He told us to use it like this until it completely wore out. I used it for about an hour moving dirt with the fel and the clutch had to be adjusted again to get it to go into gear. I did this about two more times before getting so aggravated I loaded it up and took it back to the mechanic for a new clutch. Now we find out that the clutches are on backorder.

Anybody else got any ideas as to what else might have caused it to wear out all of a sudden like this.

 

[john99]

I doubt it’s your clutch as these are pretty tough to wear out with so few hours. What I have seen on tractors that have been subjected to the operator constantly slipping the clutch is that the studs on the clutch plate that engage the throw-out bearing will get loose from slipping the clutch constantly and with time eventually fall out causing the clutch to quit working.
You probably just need to replace these studs, be sure to lock-tite them and re-adjust the clutch pedal free play.

 

[rox29160]

How would I go about checking to see if this is the problem? The tractor would still have to be split in two halves, correct? I have it at the mechanic now, but he has not started working on it yet. If this is something that can be easily checked without breaking the tractor down, I'll get him to check this first. We still can't find a replacement clutch for this tractor. We have checked several different clutch manufacturers and nobody has one for this model. If the clutch is wore out, the only option right now is to have the factory clutch rebuilt. If your theory is correct, it may save a little time as long as we can find the right parts to fix it.

Side note: I went to try and buy a service manual for this tractor and was told Farmtrac didn't even make one. I'm beginning to wonder if I made a bad choice in buying a Farmtrac. I can't get a clutch and I can't get a service manual. The first 2 things I've tried to buy for this tractor are not available. Has anybody else had problems finding parts for these tractors?

 

[john99]

Split the tractor and check the clutch, most likely it’s the studs mentioned before, the job can be done in under 4 hrs. If the clutch is worn its much cheaper to rebuild than buy new. There is a service manual but it doesn’t get into a lot of detail on simple things.If your shop can’t change a clutch without someone holding there hand I would find another shop. Sometimes these shops have favorite color so when you show up with a different color they give you the runaround. Send me an msg and I give you better contacts for parts

 

[rox29160]

You hit the nail on the head John. My mechanic and I broke the tractor down Thurs. night. The clutch adjusting bolts are the problem. Two out of three were sheared off. The other one was worn pretty bad. My mechanic tells me the cluth and release bearing look good and that he would just put new bolts in there if it were his tractor. Thats what I decided to do. Only problem is I can't find the bolts. The dealers tell me they come with "clutch rebuild kits" and you can't buy them separately. I called several clutch rebuilders to see if they have any separate bolts and everyone told me they come with clutch rebuild kits. I never thought it would be such a headache finding bolts. My mechanic says they have to have a beveled head like the originals for the throwout bearing to ride on. Anybody got any ideas on where these bolts might be available.

 

[CMunger]

Call "Ag Parts LTD" in Iowa, 800-445-6698, they carry parts for clutches, they also reman this clutch and could have these bolts.

Chuck

 

[montanaman]

Call "Ag Parts LTD" in Iowa, 800-445-6698, they carry parts for clutches, they also reman this clutch and could have these bolts.

Chuck

I've checked with AG parts and had no luck. Very nice folks. You may have to resort to having a machine shop make you some bolts if all else fails. Shouldn't be a big deal to have the right size grade 10.9 bolts beveled to match the factory bolts.

I think that the most important part is to get all three bolts at the right height so they are loaded evenly by the throwout bearing. I think from the information that I have that the measurement is 100mm from the face of the flywheel to the top of the bolts but knowing it and being able to measure it are two different things. With no inspection hole in the bellhousing, you can't even cheat it once the tractor is back together.

Ken

 

[rox29160]

Thanks to all. Ag Parts Ltd had the bolts I needed. My mechanic put the tractor back together yesterday and everything seems to be working great. I hope this solves the problem. Don't understand why they would have sheared off like they did. Hopefully there is nothing else wrong which caused them to wear quicker. But again thanks to all for your help.

 

[montanaman]

Thanks to all. Ag Parts Ltd had the bolts I needed. My mechanic put the tractor back together yesterday and everything seems to be working great. I hope this solves the problem. Don't understand why they would have sheared off like they did. Hopefully there is nothing else wrong which caused them to wear quicker. But again thanks to all for your help.

Could you please provide info on the bolts like a part number or who you talked to there? I had spent about ten minutes on the phone with them inquiring about these bolts and was told they aren't available??

I'm glad that you must have checked with them before reading my post because I do my very best to provide accurate information and I was told they did not have these bolts!!

Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks and sorry for the bad info,
Ken

 

[rox29160]

I talked with a guy named Jeff. They didn't list parts for the 320, but he searched around and found a similar clutch which used the same bolts. The head of the bolts he sent were a size bigger, but that shouldn't matter. The threads, pitch and length were the same. I gave him all the thread information so he could cross reference. I don't have that info with me now, but I will see if I can dig that up for you tonight. We simply took the old bolts and figured out the thread from a tap and die set.

I'm guessing you have a Farmtrac 320 with the same problem? I wonder if these are defective.

 

[montanaman]

I talked with a guy named Jeff. They didn't list parts for the 320, but he searched around and found a similar clutch which used the same bolts. The head of the bolts he sent were a size bigger, but that shouldn't matter. The threads, pitch and length were the same. I gave him all the thread information so he could cross reference. I don't have that info with me now, but I will see if I can dig that up for you tonight. We simply took the old bolts and figured out the thread from a tap and die set.

I'm guessing you have a Farmtrac 320 with the same problem? I wonder if these are defective.

Thanks for posting. I had another talk with them yesterday and think I got everything straightened out.

I just don't like passing out bad information because I have been given bad information so I was very curious as to why I was told they did not have these bolts! As it turns out, they do in fact have them as you know and I've ordered a few sets to have on the shelf.

I don't have a Farmtrac but the bolt is used with a lot of DaeDong applications. I don't think the bolts are defective but there have been some early hours failures and I think it is due to poor adjustment or not being torqued right at the factory.

Ken