Is there such a thing? Can this be done at home, or do you need special equipment? I need to rebuild the PTO clutch on my International 340 tractor. It has a multi-plate basket style wet clutch like a motorcycle or automatic transmission. The Case-IH dealer wants a bazillion bucks for the friction plates ($60 something each and it takes 6). Can I take the old ones somewhere and have them re-lined? Can I do it myself? Where do I get the stuff? I guess I would have to know the original material and thickness? Am I gonna be able to cheap out on this one?

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1986 SE 350 V8

Most of that stuff is riveted in place, and generally, the friction material should be relatively easy to figure out. Used to be that you could go to the parts store and actually buy just the friction material and rivets, not so sure you can do that anymore. IMHO, if the assembly is pretty easy to get at (ie, doesn't take more than 20-30 minutes of time to remove), then you could probably risk a DIY job. On the other hand, if the assembly is a PITA to R&R, better to just spend the money on the parts, and save yourself the aggravation of the DIY method going bad and having to do the whole thing again. At the same time, many of the tractors and such were designed with the fact that they are used in an environment, and in locations, where parts may not be readily available, and thus, tend to be made with materials which are either super-durable, or relatively easy to reproduce from locally available resources. You may find that a local tractor/farm supply (or NAPA parts store) has relining materials on the shelf.

I went through some of that stuff with an older John Deere commercial mower. Parts ridiculous expensive for some of the mower deck drive mechanism. In then end, a mix of parts that I made fit from newer models (cheaper parts), and some creative 'engineering', and all is well.

I dunno if you can get them or not locally. My father had the brake discs made for the Leyland tractor, but they don't get the abuse a pto clutch does. He bought rivets at hardware store here in town.
Are you a member on Yesterday's Tractors?

Yes, I'm tesmith66 over there, too. I haven't even bothered to ask over there because most of those guys are farmers and pay whatever it costs and then write it off as a business expense. One guy told me he had over $750 in his PTO. I'll post this over there and see what I get.

I assume these have the friction material bonded on (like in an auto tranny) and are thin, not 1/4" thick like an automotive clutch or brake shoe. Here is a pic of the mostrosity...



Number 39 is the disc in question.

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1986 SE 350 V8

From the pic, it looks like those disks would just be fiber, as they grip to the externally splined metal plates on both sides. Exactly what would the fiber parts be bonded to? Don't they just ride in between the steel plates?

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 03-24-2009).]

Dunno, haven't been inside it yet. From pics I have seen of similar units, those are thin steel plates with friction material bonded to both sides. I am trying to figure out if I can have them relined, reline them myself, or bend over and get a good old-fashioned red reamin' (which I hear is a bit better than a green reamin')

All I know is I have the PTO adjusted as tight as I can get it and it still slips under load. It will engage and disengage fine, so I'm hoping all I need to do is replace the friction plates and be on my way.

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1986 SE 350 V8

Done many, many, many of them. Same type clutch packs are used for powershifts and power reversers.

Short answer is no, you can't reline them yourself. The friction material is bonded to the thin metal plates. Now for the worse news. If the system is functioning correctly and has the correct hydraulic pressure, they shouldn't be out. You probably have another issue and if the plates are burned it's a symptom, not a cause.

You need to check your hydraulic pressure to the pto clutch. There should be a test port somewhere outside the transmission to check the pressures. If the pressures are within spec, then you probably have some seals leaking. The seals I'm talking about are in the 22-24 area of your parts diagram and the 49-53 area. Those often DO go out, causing the clutch to not fully engage making it slip, then burning up the plates.

When you have it apart, you also need to check for scoring and discoloring of the steel separator plates. If they are "blued" or discolored, lay them on a piece of glass to see if they're warped. If they're warped, they're toast as well and you also need separator plates.

Just don't tear it down, put new plates in, and expect it to be fixed, because it probably isn't (even though it might engage fine for a while, with leaking seals or low pressures it's just going to take the new clutch plates out in short order).

John Stricker

quote Originally posted by tesmith66: Dunno, haven't been inside it yet. From pics I have seen of similar units, those are thin steel plates with friction material bonded to both sides. I am trying to figure out if I can have them relined, reline them myself, or bend over and get a good old-fashioned red reamin' (which I hear is a bit better than a green reamin') All I know is I have the PTO adjusted as tight as I can get it and it still slips under load. It will engage and disengage fine, so I'm hoping all I need to do is replace the friction plates and be on my way.

Thanks for the info, but this is a dumb mechanical setup on a late 50's tractor. The steel plates are less than $7 each, so those are no worry. I plan on replacing all seals while I'm in there, so that's no problem, either. It's just so irritating to have to pay so much for so little. If I had a newer, 86 series tractor, I can get a rebuild kit for $50-$60. I guess I'll just have to play along...

Since you said that I looked again and you're right, it's not hydraulic actuated. It's got a simple fork that applies the force to the clutchpack not hydraulic pressure.

Simple is sometimes best and it is in this case for sure. I forgot they even used those, most of the old mechanicals used something similar to shift dogs and not a clutch pack.

You still can't reline your own plates.

It doesn't really look all that bad, at least it appears it all comes out the back cover so you don't have to split the tractor like you do on a lot of them. Those prices sound really high, though. I can get a complete clutch kit for a 706 through 1466, which includes 7 fiber and 9 steel discs, for $55 from Abilene Machine. I don't know why these would be so much more for your tractor.

These Guys have them for $24.00/ea for the discs and $7 for the separators. The front and rear pressure plates are each $37, though. That would at least get your $360 plates down to $150.

John Stricker

quote Originally posted by tesmith66: Thanks for the info, but this is a dumb mechanical setup on a late 50's tractor. The steel plates are less than $7 each, so those are no worry. I plan on replacing all seals while I'm in there, so that's no problem, either. It's just so irritating to have to pay so much for so little. If I had a newer, 86 series tractor, I can get a rebuild kit for $50-$60. I guess I'll just have to play along...

Good find. I ruled out Wenger's because their prices are usually outrageous. Those are used, BTW. Messick's wants $56.56 for new, and I assume the local dealer will want more. Looks like I might be buying used.

The whole PTO unit unbolts from the rear of the tractor. If I get the rear high enough, I may not even have to drain the tranny, which is good because 10 gallons of HyTran (even the cheap generic stuff) is expensive. I can't imagine what you spend on fluids for the big tractors. I'm not operating a farm, so I can't write this stuff off.

Better get this sucker fixed. Mowin and post hole diggin season is fixin to start.