my clutch is slipping....will it hold till this spring???

[roger 4400]

   Hi everyone.
   On my 1959  Oliver 550 tractor, the clutch started to slip last week after 2 hours of plowing the 1 foot of snow we had. I guess that pushing was hard and the clutch got hot and slip. I do not want to do a *tractor split *this winter. My trailer is stored and the mechanic shop is an hour away .....and should come with a $2000 bill.
    Anyone had this experience..and will Oliver hold till april if I use it this winter ( I need a tractor to clean the 400 ft driveway ). I,m trying to use the tractor as less as I can. 
     Anyone of you ever did a tractor split on an old tractor to change the clutch and is it quite simple???
Or does it have to be done by an experienced mechanic???
    To all of you the best season wishes and that we keep safe and healthy. Roger
     

[Polly]

check your clutch linkage  8) it could be their is not enought freeplay their should be approx one inch when you start pushing the clutch in before you feel it start to engage   good luck 8)

[isawlogs]

I have the same tractor ,  there is some adjustment for it on the linkage . you need to lenghten the push rod some if the adjutment is not at the end yet .
  It aint the biggest job to get done , you will need some good floor jacks , that have wheels to support the back   the front you can rest on blocks , pretty straight forward if you have good jacks and level ground .

[york]

thats right-go to tractor supply and get the book for you tractor and adjust the clutch...I just split a Belarus 420A for new clutch change-was not too bad a job-the new clutch cost more than the 420 is worth....Bert

[roger 4400]

 Thanks for your fast answers.
   When I push the clutch pedal down there is one inch free play and then I feel resistance.....it is why I think that the clutch is worn . But if I adjust the linkage and maybe have 1/2 in. play will it help ??? Thanks

[isawlogs]

Yes it will .. did you know that that is a double clutch ... first step down , you disengage the motor from trany , push all the way down and you disengage the ower-take-off 

[roger 4400]

Marcel I did not know.... because I have an arm on my right side that is a clutch that engage the pto and need +- 30 pounds of pressure to be on. I thought it was another clutch for the pto....so when we are shifting gear on our Oliver we *stop* the pto action.....I never noticed... thanks for your answer.  Merci Marcel et je te souhaite la meilleure santé a toi et ta famille.

[isawlogs]

You will only stop the PTO action if you push all the way down on the pedal .

[roger 4400]

Thanks Polly and Bert.
In fact I have the I and T repair book for all Olivers but the explanation are not that explicit. And I,m asking myself if it worth it to put a lot of money on a 50 years old tractor???? You fix an end ...another one will get down in some time....
I,m dreaming about a 45 hp Kubota with an hydrostatic tranny....but when I see the price I get awake real fast....lol lol.....best wishes.  Roger

[isawlogs]

 Well if you decide on selling it I would/might be interested in a good parts tractor .

[roger 4400]

Marcel if I sell it I,ll tell you.
Does it make any harm to the tractor to depress the clutch pedal all the way down every time I shift gear ????

[isawlogs]

No it dont ... Do you know what year that your 550 is . ??? 

edit:

Due .... I re-read the first post ... ! Same year as mine .

[logwalker]

If you find you can't adjust it, it would last longer if you used a lower gear. Less slipping.

[srt]

I'm kinda surprised at a $2000 bill for a clutch change out.  My neighbor is a retired Moline mechanic, and I've seen him split a U302 , replace the clutch and put it back together for another friend to drive it home late that night.  The job didn't start until after work.

I don't begin to know the difference between a Moline U302 and an oliver 550, but I remember they were in cahoots at one point.  I'm guessing that since your Oliver is a '59, and my Moline 670 is a '67, they were entirely different tractors, and may not be an easy job.

Sorry I don't have an answer to your question about the clutch holding up.  Just a thought about the price.

[beenthere]

roger
I say don't be afraid of splitting it...just that I recall the hand-operated clutch for the PTO that you mentioned was a bit of a bear to line up when putting an Oliver 550 back together.

Back in the late 80's, I helped a friend buy a 550 and the PTO clutch wouldn't work right. We split the tractor in a cold haymow of an old barn, and found a part that had come loose. But it wasn't a major job (after getting the loader off, and a rolling stand to hold the front end up).

The I&T book is what we followed.  The tractor is pretty simple, with little of the wires and plumbing that today's tractors have involved.

But the adjustment on the clutch would be first to try as Marcel said, and can also hope you don't have a bad rear engine seal that might be leaking oil onto the clutch. Might be a reason it is slipping. If so, used to "burn" it off my getting up against a tree, and slipping the clutch while the tractor was in high gear. The heat would do a temporary job of removing oil from the clutch plates.


I did a Google search on Oliver Shop Manual 0-201, and brought up a pdf shop manual. Shows the 550 split apart and the "how to" details, as well as clutch R&R. Appears it was Cockshutt that went in with Oliver on this tractor. Hope it helps.

[stonebroke]

If you don't fix it ,it will find the most inconvenient time to go out totally, like when there is a three foot snowstorm. Experience talking.

Stonebroke

[Polly]

    that old oliver is a good tractor i would think doing the work yourself 500 dollars would replace clutch thats a lot better then big money for new one bragging rights on the old oliver is worth millions 8) 8) 8)

[york]

Hi,
If your Oliver has good motor,tranny and rear-to split and change out the clutch,i think i would-I did my Belarus,but it was a mistake,Belarus are junk,to begin with...

The biggest deal was removing the loader-used floor jack with wheels for front and screw type house jack at the rear-parts ran little over 900.00 and was a exchange deal..labor was me..Bert

[roger 4400]

 Thank you all for your infos..
    Beenthere, it is possible that I have an oil leak because it is loosing some oil under, some engine and tranny oil. First I,ll try to adjust the linkage , then try to *dry * the plate from oil .....and then I,ll split the tractor myself...In april if possible...Yesterday morning I used it for an hour and a half in 5  in. of snow no problems...BUT  when I use it on a big storm it looks like heating after that period of time and loose traction. And I,m sure that if I loose all traction IT WILL BE WHEN I NEED IT THE MOST, you,re right about that..I,ll pull it with the 250 near the garage and place some hooks on the floor and use chain and a chain block to haul it. The mechanic I called told me it would take +- 15 hours to do it ( industrial bucket on it) $50 an hour =$750 and the clutch, friction plate to be turned, maybe some bearings,  a new or rebuilt clutch some surprise  etc... +- $1000 plus taxes   ET VOILA a nice $2000 bill.

[Larry]

This is from a memory that has faded over the years...and I'm going back maybe 30 or so.  The 550 has an engine clutch and a separate independent pto clutch working off the lever on the right side.  The engine clutch is pretty standard...the pto clutch is maybe 5 fiber discs along with metal discs.  A good inspection of the pto clutch is called for...replace if at all suspicious.  I would guess the parts are going to be high priced...they were high priced 30 years ago.  The hardest part is getting the pto clutch adjusted properly.  A capable mechanic familiar with the tractor should be able to do the job in close to 4 hours.  A shade tree mechanic (like me) could do it in maybe 8 hours.

I always remember that old Oliver...mind could sit for 6 months and fire first time at 15° below.  I never had one lick of trouble from that little Continental engine.