Kick back when ingageing clutch on l15

[rjwoelk]

Every so offten when I ingage the saw clutch I get a kick back. I have to back off and try again. What is causing this.
It is not consistent, new blade , new belt , old belt makes no diff.

[ncsawyer]

What exactly is the "kickback" you are getting? Does the belt squeal when you try to engage the blade or does it choke the engine off? I have not run a LT15 so I am not too familiar with how the blade engage and brake work.

[rjwoelk]

As you push the lever to tightin the belt to run the blade the lever jumps back against my hand, back off and ingage and it is usually ok. Just does it off and on. Saw dust between the blade and the drivewheel? Drive belt not lining up with the sprocket?  Any ideas out there?

[ncsawyer]

It sounds more like a possible belt alignment issue.  I would check all the pulleys to make sure a set screw has not backed out allowing one to slide on the shaft resulting in alignment problems.  Another thing to check is the drive belt tension.  If it is too loose, it could possibly be coming partially off a pulley and getting in a bind.

Also check the brake or anything that could be "stopping" your drive pulley from turning.  I know on my old LT40, that if the brake strap got wet (mill got rained on) and the blade was left disengaged, the brake strap would stick to the brake drum and wouldn't allow me to engage the blade.  It would just squeal the belt or choke the engine off.  I would have to unstick the brake before it would let me saw anything. 

Keep us posted on what you find.

[MartyParsons]

Hello,
I would guess the belt is running up on the side of the idler pulley. The clutch handle on the LT15 is hooked to the pulley. Check the alignment of the pulley and the bearing. You may need to move the pulley on the engine or move the engine to help with the alignment.
When I do a service to these (LT15 LT28 LT35) if the mill has some hours on it. I remove the clutch shaft and lube the bushings with never seize or grease.

Hope this helps.
Marty