1957 Fordson Major Sudden loss of PTO and Hydraulics

lsaami · Jul 31, 2023

Hey YT crew, heres the deal.

I was out rototilling with the Major this evening, humming right along. Suddenly the PTO stopped turning. No bangs, no clangs, no smells of clutch burning. I disengaged the PTO (at the rear, this has raised PTO option) and went to lift the attachment up thinking I broke an u joint or something and I had no hydraulics either!

Now obviously something went wrong between the clutch and the pto. This is a 57, and it does have the two stage clutch. I also hear a slight whirring with the clutch fully engaged. Not sure what that means, and it doesnt sound out of the ordinary.

Now the question is, did I finish off the clutch, or did something break? Any way I could test before tearing the whole thing apart? Another note, I do have power to the transmission, so the tractor is mobile.

Majorman · Aug 1, 2023

PTO Disc hub sheared off in Dual clutch would be my guess.

lsaami · Aug 1, 2023

So its time for a clutch. I suppose thats better than carnage in the rear end.

Thanks for the guidance as always, Majorman!

SkipperII · Aug 1, 2023

Make sure to put wedges between the front axle and the front casting, before you separate the tractor.

Majorman · Aug 1, 2023

There is very little in the rear end to go wrong, only a shaft through and a gear to drive the hydraulic pump. As you said both stopped together, that indicates the problem is further forward. The only other place is the gearbox and over 80 years of playing and working with the tractor, I have never seen anything come adrift in there but always could be wrong. The only other place is the clutch unit. The dual clutch was always the weakest point on that tractor due to its design. I have seen them fly apart, the tractor come to a stop without the river hearing a thing but when I split her, the biggest piece left was a clutch lever. Not as bad as one of my Australian friends though.

SkipperII · Aug 1, 2023

I remember picking a few up, always at the bottom of a long downgrade, had to winch them onto the truck. Split them and there was virtually nothing left of the aluminum clutch housing, bigger than an US penny. Operator had shoved the clutch in, let it coast, then let the clutch out to slow it, at the bottom.

Majorman · Aug 2, 2023

The one in the picture went whilst driving a saw bench on the belt pulley. One of the flywheel lumps went about 25 yards. The replacement clutches are far more substantial but a bit pricey.

1957 Fordson Major Sudden loss of PTO and Hydraulics

lsaami

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Majorman

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lsaami

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SkipperII

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Majorman

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SkipperII

Well-known Member

Majorman

Well-known Member

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