Ford 5000 Clutch Alignment Tool

gfreeman11 · Dec 23, 2013

Ford 5000 Gurus,

I have a 1972 Ford 5000 4Cyl Diesel. I had to replace the frost plug at the rear of the engine behind the flywheel. I had to split the tractor to do it not knowing what to expect. Tractor had been sitting up for some years now and was going to get rid of it but decided to give it a DYI stab. Well everything has gone well thus far; split the tractor, replaced clutch throw-out and pilot bearings, rear main seal, frost plug, clutch disc and pressure plate. Now the hard part, putting it back together. The problem I'm having is the clutch alignment tool sent to me has the wrong clutch alignment configuration on the splines. My tractor has a 15 spline input shaft & 25 spline clutch disc. Seems no one ( parts stores) out there sell this configuration and the actual SW510 tool in the manual costs about $600 from New Holland. Is there a special tool I can use to align this configuration? I am thinking of making one myself and or just taking the input shaft out form the transmission, aligning the clutch and then putting the shaft back in but don't really want to do that. Any help or suggestions would greatly be appreciated here. I think I can eyeball it but don't want to mess us anything as I have come too far to mess up now. See pic below of the frost plug and rust that came from it out over the years. Finally it just popped out a couple of years ago and I couldn't run it anymore leaking fluid from behind the starter.

Greg
Upper Marlboro, MD

AGRIMAN · Dec 23, 2013

You don't need a tool, just align the disc to the outer edge of the pressure plate. Install the disc and pressure plate, then tighten the bolt just enough to hold the disc in place. Place a long extension, pry bar or screwdriver through the disk and into the pilot bearing. Look at the difference (gap) between the outer edge of the pressure plate and the top of the disc. By bumping the extension, you can move the disc around until the gap is equal all the way around. Tighten the bolts and you are ready to go.

I usually just use my fingers to feel the gap, but you can use a pocket scale to measure it.

gfreeman11 · Dec 24, 2013

AGRIMAN said:
You don't need a tool, just align the disc to the outer edge of the pressure plate. Install the disc and pressure plate, then tighten the bolt just enough to hold the disc in place. Place a long extension, pry bar or screwdriver through the disk and into the pilot bearing. Look at the difference (gap) between the outer edge of the pressure plate and the top of the disc. By bumping the extension, you can move the disc around until the gap is equal all the way around. Tighten the bolts and you are ready to go.

I usually just use my fingers to feel the gap, but you can use a pocket scale to measure it.

Thanks AGRIMAN, I tried that method and when I was putting the tractor back together ( test only ) there was a little binding and I assumed it was the alignment of the disc to the plate that was causing the problem; so I backed off and left it alone until another day. Besides, I didn't have anyone to help me that day. It's no way of telling what is binding once you get it that close to being closed cause you can't see in there; so I am going to look at it again this coming Saturday. Maybe I just need an extra hand to turn the crankshaft and pto a little more when I'm trying to close it. Thanks for your feedback, really appreciate knowing someone else out there did it without the tool cuz I cant afford the one the book calls for. So at the worst case scenario, I'll make my own tool if I have to. Once again thanks. Also thanks for the pics and info you guys post on this forum.

jimmysisson · Dec 24, 2013

Got a wood lathe? You could turn a dowel down to snug fit in TO bearing and disc spline. BTDT
Good luck next try.
Jim

gfreeman11 · Dec 24, 2013

jimmysisson said:
Got a wood lathe? You could turn a dowel down to snug fit in TO bearing and disc spline. BTDT
Good luck next try.
Jim

Thanks. Will follow up with info on how it went; seems there's not many photos on this 5000 series on the net anywhere and New Holland isn't very much helpful. Will try a homemade wooden tool first by taken the pilot hub out.

gfreeman11 · Jan 13, 2014

gfreeman11 said:
Thanks. Will follow up with info on how it went; seems there's not many photos on this 5000 series on the net anywhere and New Holland isn't very much helpful. Will try a homemade wooden tool first by taken the pilot hub out.

AGRIMAN - You were right. I used your method with the tool to align the disk with the pressure plat and it worked. I couldn't find a tool and didn't really know how to make one. After tightening down the pressure plate, I Gently moved the front half back towards the trans of the tractor. While I was putting it back together, I kept turning the flywheel with a large screwdriver until it got all the way back. BTW, I used threaded rods in the trans case to help with the alignment of putting it back together. That was really a good idea since I wasn't on a hard surface or level ground like in a garage. Anyway, everything works fine now and I'm NOT looking forward to that anymore. This all started with a simple freeze/frost plug coming out at the rear of the engine. Now to work on the starter, leaking hydraulic fluid and power steering nuisance. Thanks Guys !