Broke the clutch pedal on my '51 John Deere Model M, so spent the day fixing it.
The pedal was getting difficult to push and worse to release because there's no obvious way to lubricate it. It pivots on a keyed sleeve over a shaft that connects the left split brake pedal to a control arm on the left side of the tractor. The brake shaft and clutch sleeve rusted to each other, and both tended to operate at the same time. You can't easily remove the shaft because it is conected to the throw out arm inside the transmission.
I didn't realize there was a key in the sleeve. The clutch pedal has a slit and pinch bolt attachment, and I had removed the bolt and tried to rotate the pedal out of the way -- hardly used any pressure, but the casting broke because of the key.
The iron was only 1/8" thick at the corner of the key slot, and that's where it broke. What a bummer!
Since I also couldn't get the shaft out, and a brake control arm was pressed onto the end of the shaft outboard of the clutch pedal sleeve, there was no way to repair the old pedal by brazing or welding, because I couldn't then slide it back on. Also I didn't like how little metal there would be in a repair. I was really surprised how little metal was actually holding that thing together. Frankly I would rather lose brakes on a tractor, than suddenly lose the clutch pedal! That could be really nasty.
Finally I decided to make a new part -- kind of like the big end on a connecting rod -- with a cap held on by 2 bolts, and a keyway. That way I could clamp it back over the shaft. And it would be removable for getting lubrication in the key slot so the clutch sleeve wouldn't freeze to the brake shaft again.
So spent the day machining it out of a substantial square block of steel, bored to fit the the sleeve, split and keyed. I did a lot of trial fits, because there were some clearance problems -- it's a much bigger hub. Finally after grinding clearance where needed, I cut the old hub off of the old brake pedal and welded the pedal and arm to the new hub.
It was nearly dark by the time I was able to drive the tractor back to the house from the field where I had been working. My mother in law, up for a visit said, "Here comes the grease monkey!" I definitely looked the part -- took about a pint of Fast Orange to get ready for dinner.
The pedal was getting difficult to push and worse to release because there's no obvious way to lubricate it. It pivots on a keyed sleeve over a shaft that connects the left split brake pedal to a control arm on the left side of the tractor. The brake shaft and clutch sleeve rusted to each other, and both tended to operate at the same time. You can't easily remove the shaft because it is conected to the throw out arm inside the transmission.
I didn't realize there was a key in the sleeve. The clutch pedal has a slit and pinch bolt attachment, and I had removed the bolt and tried to rotate the pedal out of the way -- hardly used any pressure, but the casting broke because of the key.
The iron was only 1/8" thick at the corner of the key slot, and that's where it broke. What a bummer!Since I also couldn't get the shaft out, and a brake control arm was pressed onto the end of the shaft outboard of the clutch pedal sleeve, there was no way to repair the old pedal by brazing or welding, because I couldn't then slide it back on. Also I didn't like how little metal there would be in a repair. I was really surprised how little metal was actually holding that thing together. Frankly I would rather lose brakes on a tractor, than suddenly lose the clutch pedal! That could be really nasty.
Finally I decided to make a new part -- kind of like the big end on a connecting rod -- with a cap held on by 2 bolts, and a keyway. That way I could clamp it back over the shaft. And it would be removable for getting lubrication in the key slot so the clutch sleeve wouldn't freeze to the brake shaft again.
So spent the day machining it out of a substantial square block of steel, bored to fit the the sleeve, split and keyed. I did a lot of trial fits, because there were some clearance problems -- it's a much bigger hub. Finally after grinding clearance where needed, I cut the old hub off of the old brake pedal and welded the pedal and arm to the new hub.
It was nearly dark by the time I was able to drive the tractor back to the house from the field where I had been working. My mother in law, up for a visit said, "Here comes the grease monkey!" I definitely looked the part -- took about a pint of Fast Orange to get ready for dinner.