Model 782 - Electric PTO Clutch

[fraso]

Back in 2006, I repowered my CC Model 782 with a Honda engine. While cutting some very heavy grass this summer, one of the blades got jammed, which may have caused slippage at the clutch.

I'm not sure how long the PTO was operated with a jammed blade (seconds?, minutes?) but the drive pulley does look a bit overheated on the outside (rust seems darker than in the old topic's photo) but the inside isn't discoloured and seems fine. I'm not sure of the hours on the belt but it's been on for several seasons and there are some worn spots on the bottom of the vee. It doesn't look like there are any burned spots on the belt. There also don't appear to be any burned spots on the mower belt. My guess is that the clutch slipped rather than the belts.

I have a some questions:

• Can this clutch withstand slippage for (say) one minute?
• Is there a rebuild kit for this clutch?
• If I need to replace the clutch, what would be my best option?

[gitractorman]

Fraso,
Hey Neighbor! Never realized that you are only about 20 miles from me here in Grand Island. I remember your Honda conversion a few years ago, but not sure I ever looked at your location.

I'm not sure that the clutch would actually slip. They're pretty sturdy and typically either work or don't work. My guess is the belt slipped on the pulley for the blade, but the extra work caused a lot of heat on everything. I've seen this happen plenty of times, and if left long enough, the belt will break. My guess is it didn't happen more than a minute before you caught it.

To your questions, again, I don't think the clutch will slip, but you should follow the service manual and check the tolerances and adjust as needed. The 4 spring loaded bolts are where you adjust the clutch.

I'm not sure if there is a rebuild kit, may just have to check with a Cub Cadet dealer.

You can get the clutches online, but there are a lot of very similar ones. Just check your parts numbers. Again, may just be easier to go to a dealer, but may be more costly.

Good luck,
Bill

[fraso]

Thanks for the quick reply. If you're on the south end of Grand Island, we would be very close neighbors as my street is just across the river from the Beaver Island State Park. On a clear day, I can see General Motors too.

When I installed the clutch on the new engine, I'm pretty sure that I got the air gap right and I never had any slippage issues when previously cutting heavy grass or snow. If anything, heavy snow would burn out a drive belt. I would think that the engine would stall before the clutch would slip. I never paid much attention to the clutch pulley after installing it and it may very well have gotten rustier over time.

Because we've had such a wet spring and summer, I have a savanna growing in the back of my property so I will have to go back to cut the rest of it. I also have ambitions of finally trying out my tiller this year. I just want to be prepared with a plan for a new clutch if my original were on its way out.

[gitractorman]

Wow, that's close, although, I'm at the north end of the island. However, I spend a lot of time out in the West River waterskiing.

Yea, I'd double check the air gap, and run her till she dies. The tiller won't be any problem on the clutch, as the gear reduction in the tiller really takes the brunt of the punishment. I had one on a 149 and it dug through our clay without any problem. Nearly jarred my brains out, but the tiller dug right through and the tractor never even caughed. I tilled about an acre of my back yard in 90-degree weather one summer, hottest, dryest part of the summer. Not sure I thought that through too much, but she did a fine job.

Bill

[fraso]

Well I've been running my tractor steadily since the previous post in 2013 but the tractor finally quit last summer and I just got it going again today. It looks like extended slippage from heavy grass cutting wore the clutch enough to seize the mechanism with dust when it was shut down. After getting the clutch freed up, I had a pile of clutch dust underneath.

It looks like I can get NOS, rebuilt, used, and upgraded clutches - none of which are cheap. I see that there is heavy-duty upgrade [Stens?] Xtreme X0147 PTO Clutch for my Cub Cadet from various sources, with eBay being the cheapest (US$234.95 +freight). Not impressed that the exchange rate pushes the price up to C$330.73.

Does anyone have any advice about replacing a PTO clutch?

[gitractorman]

I have been installing these clutches whenever I need to replace one and they are WAY better than the OEM clutch:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PTO-Clutch-For-Cub-Cadet-782/264554181520?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item3d98a87390:g:2xoAAOSwYupd5Wqf:sc:ShippingMethodStandard!14072!US!-1&enc=AQAEAAACUBPxNw%2BVj6nta7CKEs3N0qWG%2BwcJpAeJvlC65pTJmsizV%2BvQmwf9x6sT3cGrUpZJ2f7lVIkHeczgcazg0ii6d6M9P1ejHoKGfy8MQhzUl1eAgxF%2BX2O4R5GAtybAfOMHM0GMPWNSstYL7Lez2ikIw50M84vUQZwq%2B80yqk1nTcDw6gl%2FrP7o8zZGgZQAsc2zaq6lTOZ7i5zH78XweZJQXOSTgeHVp73EGJO1y2bFkLv5I0mCfsm%2F87bNmHYw8SqAigxr8keXbOMfOSI4nckDSABgbp4%2FgVQa%2B2zNNB5v9SGhBCIjPaNso%2FmihKF5SjgzxzOn4kIk6%2FOWPzSamb4AFn7hbGEHrHbsSYDWyRS8Y6E81hFwePfJABdFpgBlON4wxz%2Bj9np2ZEUKy06mocktLB1GUb3jCqmwczRQ6X1R%2F1lyQyX0BNNIPHVRm1KTzPbZJa%2BqJNhLtyak4DjmD883TZsEXfp0pBciyuInWipa3zL3X0NoPWd3COae2MvfECf1Gjqha5hw0W7IvnjzB9ocmkc6AJRNNmRKJJli3uCUCiz1epr51Htu0YxHn%2BpoG7fppa7R9nXjcTHOlYWIlWVk3t4nRdcjuJ2j8NSbCXSYq0joEVdYCMub2vKpYaR4Wojqp1v%2BMBpCaM7Nkxfetyj8N%2BmSK4%2FyECVpivTZNZM%2FcBe%2FTEHC0qhrVOu8gElnics%2BWyv1CxyyXmjjSNwJorTwBLAG3gmskw4tQh7fJWrt3t8iCB2VYeIlfQ%2Bc2HWda46PGN%2BucpI4BHqI88oQUe%2BRswk%3D&checksum=264554181520dbf1d81dd8234aa084c807811b8457e7

Oh, by the way, in 2015 I moved to the south end of Grand Island, pretty close to Beaver Island. So, we're even closer neighbors now.

Good luck,
Bill