Clark winch problems

[nblogger]

Does anyone on here know anything about a clark winch,i have always run gearmatic but never a clark winch,this one worked perfect (have only had it a week) but now it won't release the chokers only drop about two feet.

[oldseabee]

The Clark 300 and 400 found on the 664, 666, 667, 668 Skidders, winch is operated with Clutch pressure from the Transmission system. There is  a set of discs inside the drum similar to a clutch pack. they are loaded by a spring pack. For free spool to work transmission pressure is applied through the winch control valve to a piston that compresses the spring pack and releases the drum to free spool. Pressure required is 240 to 280 PSI. Low pressure will allow the dics to drag. There are seals on the piston and piston shaft to hold this pressure in. You can check clutch pressure at the clutch pressure control valve mounted to the convertor, check at idle with hot oil. Sudden loss of free spool is more likely a mechanical failure inside the drum or free spool assy., but check pressure first. The spring pack is about 10,000 lbs of tension so disassembly has to be done very carefully or the whole thing will leave the building. The 665 skidder has a 200 series Clark winch which operates similarily but disassembly is different. Which do you have?

[nblogger]

I have a 664b not sure what year 1977 i think.

[nblogger]

Also i would like to add that this skidder has sat for three or four years ...i bought it about a year ago with a bad engine and just recently got it going,i have only run this for about three days and today it just got worse as the day went by.

[240b]

sounds like oil in drum  no fun to fix  there is an update to have a drain machined into the drum..   clark dealer in morrisville, vt is very good ask for jason.

[nblogger]

Wouldn't oil on the drum cause it to slip when carrying a load?

[oldseabee]

Oil in the drum won't always cause it to slip. The connection of the drum to the drum shaft is a spring loaded clutch pack. It's made to run dry but it will take quite a large load to make it slip even if there is oil in the drum. Oil in the drum can make the clutch plates stick together which will affect free spool. Later winches added seperator springs to prevent plate sticking, not sure what year this was but if the winch was ever rebuilt the springs should have been added.

[donny hochstetler]

I don't want to hijack someone elses thread  but I had some questions about a clark winch , I have a 666 B clark   The winch freespools fine  , winches good , but when you winch in for the return trip to the woods  ,an you let of the lever, it keeps on winching ,so I just put it in the release position, not ideal but it works,  also it pushes oil out of the breather , not much,  but just enough to make a mess,  this oil seems to drip down right onto my driveline brake , then the brake won"t hold  >:(  I was wondering if my housing which should be dry,  is full of oil,  would a drainplug work ,  just wondering .  P S   I just use my skidder in the winter for 2 , 3  months , its a sweet little machine for the most part, someone jerked the old detroit, and installed a 6bt cummins, it runs quite nice,  new paint, needs centerpins.    o. k . I better shutup .   thanks

[oldseabee]

2 things on your 666B winch.
1. The breather really is supposed to be a check valve that will let air in but not let oil or air out. Problem is that the plastic poppet can come out and now you just have a breather and splash oil can get out and make a mess.
2. The winch has a single disc clutch brake that is supposed to keep the winch from creeping in the hold position. This brake is located at the front of the winch toward the left side of the machine, the housing lines up with the pinion shaft and pinion shaft bearing, the brake is supposed to lock the pinion shaft to the case in the hold position. If that brake is not working, oil drag on the input clutch can cause the winch to creep especially with cold oil. Pressure is applied to this brake from the winch control valve in th hold and freespool positions. You can take the hose loose from the clutch brake housing and put a guage in the end of the hose, then start the machine, put the winch in hold position and see if you are getting 240 to 280 PSI with hot oil. If you get low or no pressure, there is a problem in the winch control valve or in the line, other wise the problem is in the brake, could be seals on the piston or shaft, cracked piston, or disc worn out.

[donny hochstetler]

thanks seabee I"ll check into some of these things

[tndayton]

I have a Clark w311-1 winch that will not hold in center position of the control valve. It continues to winch in especially with increased engine RPM's. When in the hold position it lugs the engine down. Has 250psi to brake and I just replaced the brake disc, piston, seals, and brake housing. All of these parts were bad apparently from previous slipping(disc was burnt bad and splines were gone). It seems to me like the drive clutch is over powering the brake although the drive clutch should be disengaged when in the hold position. I would appreciate any help I can get with this problem and/or anyone in eastern Ohio that may be able to fix this winch. Thank you.

[oldseabee]

First thing that comes to mind is if you have just rebuilt the pinion brake, you could have installed the sprag backwards so that it freewheels when it's supposed to hold and locks down when it should freewheel. The sprag or one way bearing is installed between the taper bearings.
First I would take the line loose from the input clutch and put a guage in it. You should get 240-280 PSI in the winch-in position and zero in the hold and freespool positions, if you have some pressure there there is a leak internally in the winch control valve or the internal spools have seized up. there are 4 moving parts inside the winch control valve and sometimes if machine sits for a long time or has water in the oil these parts can  stick together.
Next I would try to turn the input shaft by hand with the engine shut off. If you can't  turn it by hand or it is extremely hard to turn you may have some warped discs in the input clutch dragging and if they are dragging enought they can overcome the one disc pinion brake and allow the winch drum to rotate.
Transmission oil is the source for the winch hydraulics and needs to be hot to do any testing.

[tndayton]

Could you give me a call at 330-771-2426. I would like to talk to you more about my winch problems. thank you, Tim.

[plasticweld]

I had a similiar problem on my 664 the winch would release fine when it was cold then as the machine warmed up it would release for  a little bit and the pull really hard, It turned out I had the idle set to low on the machine so there was not enough preasure being built up. A quick way to see if this is the problem is to put a small stick under the pedal and speed the machine up a couple hundred rpms and see if it gets better. I turned my speed up on the govenor and have never had any more problems ... cheap to try anyway