Bell housing removal

Offgrid · April 05, 2013, 04:13:45 PM

Hello all. Well the beast managed to survive until the last snow storm of the season. 4km of plowing per storm no falling off the road, thrown tracks or engine problems aside from a steady blue haze. Anyway, as I was finishing the laneway I pushed the clucth in and it went straight to the floor and did not disengage. I checked it out and the pin that the clutch linkage attaches to inside the bellhousing must have lost the pin or nut that holds it in place and the linkage rod slipped off. The question I have is, how does one get the bellhousing off with out removing the entire engine? I tried some orthoscopic surgery with a mirror, magnet, and pliers while upside down but only accomplished a headache.

fraser1 · April 05, 2013, 10:12:26 PM

Remove driveshaft, unbolt clutch cover and remove.

Offgrid · April 05, 2013, 10:22:09 PM

I have tried that. The housing comes out until the frame narrows in and it won't go any further. Maybe its time for a bigger hammer.

fraser1 · April 06, 2013, 03:02:51 AM

Remove the shaft from clutch cover.

oliverchris · April 06, 2013, 06:07:19 PM

Or undo front engine support bolts and shift front mainfame support forwards, to allow engine to tilt up at rear. I usually just lift out whole engine vertically, clutch and bellhousing attached.

fraser1 · April 06, 2013, 07:39:52 PM

That is a lot of extra work just to get the clutch cover of. I think I would rather pull out the clutch shaft and bearing.

oliverchris · April 06, 2013, 09:41:30 PM

Sorry, I thought he was trying to get the bell housing off.
If so, it should come off nicely with the clutch housing removed, but with grime & friction it can still sometimes be tough. Sounds like he's moved it a bit already though, so he's half way home

fraser1 · April 06, 2013, 10:23:48 PM

Clutch shaft has to be pulled part way out so cover can be lifted straight up.

Jack in NB · April 07, 2013, 11:19:36 PM

As I recall, there are a couple of notches in the clutch cover that when it is rotated slightly, slide back along the top frame rails.

fraser1 · April 08, 2013, 12:20:16 AM

I never gave those notches any thought before, I have always pulled shaft out a few inches then lifted cover up. Next time I will try rotating cover like you said.

Offgrid · April 19, 2013, 08:06:50 PM

I got it off. I loosened the bolt that hold the bearing at the rear of the housing and everything came out. Turns out it was more than just the linkage. I put it all back together and lost the clutch within an hour. One of the bolts that holds the clutch fingers sheared off by the end of the rod where the linkage connects to the yoke. I think this is due to the wear bolts on that contact the throw out bearing being worn down. Are these things common or just cletrac item?