Dexta Clutch Issue

I work as the director of a vocational program at a children's home here in NC in additon to farming part time. One of our class projects was to overhaul a Fordson Dexta. When we started, the clutch worked properly, but after finishing the engine and reassembling the tractor, it will not release. The clutch was stored in a low humidity, dry place and not altered or dismantled, just unbolted from the flywheel and bolted back on as one unit. The throwout bearing is not binding and is traveling the full distance. We found some burrs on some of the splines but filed them off. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks, Wesley

Is that a dual stage clutch and did you align both
clutches during assembly. The one I had guy put a
rebuilt clutch and did not align things properly. I
don't think it ever moved out of its tracks. I
bought the first one. He bought the 2nd one.

it is a 2 stage clutch but it was never disassembled. The clutch and pressure plate are held on to the flywheel by 6 bolts and the whole thing came off as one unit.

When you unbolted it from the flywheel YOU did disassemble it. You may not have taken the disk out of the assembly but you did let them fall out of alignment. The bolts hold the pressure plate to the flywheel so it can hold the spring pressure on the clutch plates. When you unbolted it you loosened the spring tension and that would allow the clutch plates to fall out of alignment. Then if you just shoved it back together and forced the input shaft into the clutch disk with the bell housing bolts you more than likely damaged the clutch disk by bending it. When ever you have a clutch/pressure plate off of a flywheel you need to use a alignment shaft/tool to center the clutch disks when you re-bolt the pressure plate to the flywheel.

Think about it. The transmission input shaft has a small diameter on the very front end that goes into the center of the flywheel. It runs in a bearing or bushing. So when you push in the clutch pedal it will be able to hold the clutch disks centered. So when you are assembling a pressure plate and clutch disk to the flywheel you need to have it centered so the input shaft can slide through the assembly and into the pilot bearing or bushing. The burrs you found on the transmission input shaft where caused by you forcing the engine/and transmission together. I alway just snug the bolts and rock the tractor around a little until it slides together smoothly without using the bolts to force it together.

You need to take the clutchs and pressure plate a part now and check for damage. I see this happen all of the time when force is used to pull the transmission back together with the engine block.