Replacing John Deere 790 duel clutch

[Robfnk]

I do all my own mechanical work but have never done a clutch replacement. So any advice would be greatly appreciated. Are the after market clutch plates comparable to the OEM? Where is the best place to purchase a clutch kit? I know JD dealers are good but they want an arm and a leg for parts and they are made by someone else with their name on it. for most parts I've been able to get them at a fraction of the cost. When changing the clutch is there anything else I should consider replacing while the tractor is split? the tractor is a 1998 model and has just over 2000 hours on it.
Thanks for any help, Robert

 

[5030]

I believe LUK makes the clutches for JD. Fitment wise, if it was me, I'd bite the bullet and buy OEM.

 

[Robfnk]

My JD tractor was assembled in Japan with Korean parts. My dealer stocks almost nothing. They have tried to charge me as much as $65 for a single bolt. To replace my clutch they want over $6,000 which is more than my tractor is worth and with my model and serial they are not even sure what clutch fits my tractor until they see the old one. Many of the so called after market parts are made by the same company making them for JD. I have a bigger tractor (not JD) that I use for most of my work and only use the JD for light mowing around my house and picking up debris so $1,225 makes more sense to me.

 

[ArlyA]

Can I asking you how its shifting is? Seems JD put a unsynchronized tranny in this tractor.

 

[Robfnk]

Can I asking you how its shifting is? Seems JD put a unsynchronized tranny in this tractor.

Shifting to a higher gear is fine but to go lower you need to stop first.

 

[ArlyA]

Do you have a loader on yours? I'm wondering how inconvenient this tranny will be doing that type of work. I'm seeing these used JD tractors FS. Tanks!

 

[joecdeere]

Hoye Tractor used to be the go to for Yanmar built tractors, ASAP bought them out

 

[Saucymynx]

Shifting to a higher gear is fine but to go lower you need to stop first.

Are you sure that’s not the way it’s supposed to be? I have a John Deere 670 and it has always been that way. non-synchronized. I can sometimes speed shift going up but I always have to stop going down.

 

[5030]

Are you sure that’s not the way it’s supposed to be? I have a John Deere 670 and it has always been that way. non-synchronized. I can sometimes speed shift going up but I always have to stop going down.

The gearboxes on my M9 Kubota's aren't synchronized except for 1st gear in all ranges and I have no issue downshifting or upshifting and I never touch the clutch either. Guess 28 years of driving big trucks allowed me to master the technique of matching gearset speeds to shift without a clutch, which I do and don't even think about it. Called in trucker terms 'floating the gears' and I float them all the time. Not that a clutch is a worry part because my M9's don't have dry clutches anyway. Nothing in the bell housings except a damper plate that dampens the driveline when going from forward to reverse (like in loader operations), takes the abrupt shock load out of the driveline and makes directional changes much smoother.

The 'clutch' if you want to call it that is a wet multiplate assembly that lives in the main gearcase and is actuated with hydraulic pressure and the clutch pedal acts on a proportioning valve on the side of the gear case and 'clutch freeplay is achieved at the clutch pedal via and adjustable linkage. You can set the lockup pressure on the clutch assembly externally by using a pressure gage but mine is always within spec when I check it.

I would never purchase any tractor no matter what make if it had a dry clutch.

 

[jyoutz]

I believe LUK makes the clutches for JD. Fitment wise, if it was me, I'd bite the bullet and buy OEM.

Yep, it’s always smart to go OEM for clutches. I might go aftermarket for a water pump or another easy to change part, but nobody wants to split a tractor twice.