ford/new holland 1920 clutch housing cracked! Splitting myself!!! Any suggestions

outdoorsman538 · Sep 8, 2013

I just purchased a 2000 Ford New Holland 1920 4x4 with a Woods 1016 loader with 1700 hrs on meter for $5,500.00. I just found a large crack in the clutch housing that I did not see before purchasing. The loader bolts directly to the housing which leads me to believe the crack came from over loading\ twisting the loader lifting or pushing on tree stumps or something of that nature. I don't know how I missed it when I was looking it over but its too late now as I purchased it as is! I will be replacing clutch housing with a used one from a tractor salvage yard for $875.00. I will split the tractor myself to replace the cast iron clutch case so I am looking for tips to help! Should I just go ahead and replace clutch discs and release bearing? They do not slip but when I place my foot on the clutch there is a squeal coming from what I think is the release bearing so if nothing else I will replace it. Over all the tractor operates flawlessly and looks pretty good except for a few small dings in the sheet metal here and there. I still feel like it was a good deal at the price I paid from what I see in comparison!

Briana03 · Sep 10, 2013

Welcome to TractorByNet!

I moved your thread to the Ford/New Holland Owning & Operating forum.

kirkawilson · Sep 10, 2013

I purchased my 1998 New Holland 1920 in 2011 knowing that the clutch was gone. Before purchasing, I priced an installed new OEM dual clutch from an independent tractor guy at $1200 and used that price in negotiations. The clutch housing was fine and had the clutch replaced immediately. All is fine with the clutch since and I have a good relationship with an experienced tractor guy that is very valuable.

Bottom line...tractor splitting requires heavy tooling and experience that I was not willing chance on my first tractor. If I had it to do over, I would still leave tractor splitting to the experienced tractor guy that knows many tricks to doing the job right the first time.

Utopia Texas · Sep 11, 2013

Be sure you double up on what ever you use to hold the two halves after the split. I caught my younger brother using 8"X16" cinder blocks one time to hold up a 6' wide rhino shredder. We traded out the hollow cinder blocks for a chain hoist and solid wood blocks under the unit. No harm in doing the work yourself if you are capable but getting put in a wheel chair for the rest of your life is another subject. Better safe than sorry!