Clutch Release Bearing

[Toppdogg]

Good afternoon,
Just bought another ‘49 Cub to replace my '48 that I totally restored and yes I sold over 11 years ago and now want to take my 2 grandsons on rides. All I can say is I have so many memories from the one we had on the farm growing up! Anyway the reason for my post is I went to grease clutch release bearing and when I removed the cover plate found this mess it feels like a shredded shop cloth. Any ideas?
Thank you,
Chris

 

[Jim Becker]

Two thoughts come to mind:
1) Mouse nest,
2) Previous owner stuffed a shop rag in there to hide the oil leak.

 

[Toppdogg]

Two thoughts come to mind:
1) Mouse nest,
2) Previous owner stuffed a shop rag in there to hide the oil leak.

Hi Jim,
Yes your second thought makes sense. No access for a mouse to get inside.
Thank you,
Chris

 

[lowgearfarm]

Years ago, smoke started coming out of the clutch housing on my '49. Inspection revealed the smoke came from a mouse nest that had caught fire. There was no plate covering the lower flywheel nor a plate covering the round inspection hole. Both plates were missing when I bought the cub in '76 and I was slow (by many years) before buying replacement plates. It is possible in the case above that the previous owner had neglected to keep the housing mouse tight for long enough for mice to build a nest, and later tightened things up before the eventual sale.