Hard to get Trusty in gear

[vhgmcbuddy]

My Trusty does not go into gear easily – putting the first leaver across causes much crunching (even when on tick over) – The second leaver always goes across without a fuss; does anyone know how to improve this? (I have a 1948 single gear trusty)
I have noticed there are clutch springs available on this site, would replacing them help potentially and if so where do they go? (I can’t see any existing ones).
Any help appreciated.

[vhgmcbuddy]

The crunching noise when moving the first lever to engage drive to one wheel is probably caused by the countershaft inside the transmission housing rotating. This could either be down to the engine idle speed being too high or a problem with the centrifugal clutch causing it not to disengage when the engine is idling, more often than not due to worn out clutch springs. Moving the second lever won’t cause any crunching because the countershaft will no longer be turning, as engaging drive with the first lever you moved will have stopped it from spinning. The countershaft sticks through the left side of the transmission housing, just in front of the left hand wheel, so is easy enough to see whether it is spinning or not when the engine is idling. There are some photo’s of the transmission and clutch in my Trusty in the Projects section of this forum, although the clutch on your Trusty will be slightly different, it works in the same way.

[joegrgraham]

With my single speed Trusty, I sometimes get the same thing.
I have found it is due to the clutch drum rotating through friction (the belt pulley can easily be stopped by hand) a little copper grease on the shaft where the drum runs should help.
Joe

[trusty220]

A quick fix that you can try is to lubricate the bush in the clutch drum – look inside the clutch carrier (it sticks out of the circular housing to the right of the engine) and you should find a key with a grease nipple sticking out of it. If you use a grease gun to push the grease in it travels along inside a drilling in the key, then out onto the keyway on the engine crankshaft and ends up on the bush for the clutch drum. It saves dismantling anything and is worth a try.

Of course, if that doesn’t cure it the engine revs may be too high or one of the clutch springs may have stretched. To inspect the springs take off the circular cover (held on with six screws) and shine a torch into the workings. Obviously, don’t do this with the engine running! What you’re looking for is movement or slackness in either of the clutch shoes that would cause them to drag on the drum when the engine is running.

Good luck!

[vhgmcbuddy]

Thank you for the suggestions – I will try them all out and let you know what solves it.

[halfa]

Hi, having had this problem myself, I cured the problem by removing the whole clutch unit from the shaft and polishing up the shaft with some grey scotchbrite. New springs were also fitted. I will also say be very careful when reassembling the unit, do not over tighten the retaining bolts because you can crack the casting easily and they are not repairable. Cheers.

[trusty220]

Also, make sure that the clutch shoes are fitted in the trailing position rather than leading. If they are in the leading position they will drive well but will not disengage because they naturally pull themselves into engagement.

Clutch shoes fitted in the trailing position don’t naturally bite and so disengage more freely. This applies to all centrifugal clutches, not just the Trusty ones.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Thank you all – I am on hols for a couple of weeks, but will be trying all your suggestions once back and if you don’t mind I might have a few more daft questions along the way. In the meantime I will order a pair of springs and some grey scotchbrite (whatever that is!). Looks like I have got a lot to learn.
I also have what I believe to be a mk 1 clifford rotavator which need renovating, so will probably have more questions about that too.

I very much appreciate your willingness to share information and help a newbie like me.

Trusty220 did you get my pm regarding my trusty number, etc?

[trusty220]

Yes I did, but I’ve been a little busy the last few days so I’ll deal with it over the weekend.

Have a good holiday.

[vhgmcbuddy]

I finally got round to having a look at the trusty clutch today.
All seems in good order, though the pads are worn down to the rivets, so will need to get them re-done (anyone know a good place to get the relining done?)

The clutch shoes engage and disengage just fine and the springs look new. However, whilst the shoes come away nicely from the housing at low revs, everything is still spinning.
I tried to grease the bush in the clutch drum, but grease just came out of the side and would not go in the nipple. I removed the nipple and got it working, but had broken my useless grease gun in the process, so will get another one tomorrow and try to grease that up properly.
If that doesn’t work does anyone have any other suggestions as to what is causing it to still spin at low revs (despite being disengaged)?
Thanks

[wristpin]

Perhaps what ever lubricant is in/on the bush is sticky enough to transmit some drive. Do you know if it is a plain bush (bronze / phosphor bronze?) or an “oilite” bush that is impregnated with oil. I’m not familiar with the Trusty setup, so am working blind, but have come across similar situations with Ransomes Mastiff lawnmowers and also some older Suffolk Punches – usually resolved by replacing worn bushes or restoring the correct profile of the end of the shaft running in the bush to reduce the friction area.

[trusty220]

The bush in question is normally a phosphor bronze one. When they become worn they can wobble about on the crankshaft and pick up drive intermittently. The best solution is to replace it, although lubricating it through the crankshaft key can have good results as well.

[vhgmcbuddy]

I greased up the clutch bush today using a grease gun until it seeped through + put copper grease on the shaft. The clutch drum rotates by hand independently from the shaft no problem, but once the engine is started it rotates rapidly and is not easily stopped (even on very low tick over). Do I conclude from this that the bush needs replacing? If so are they available and from where? Is fitting easy?
Also, can I assume that the key slides in with the tapered end facing down at the back?
Hopefully there are some photos here – If anyone sees anything amiss please say. Any help much appreciated. Many thanks, Ben.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Picture

[vhgmcbuddy]

Try again

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