53 CA hand clutch question?

So I finally got around to running my CA once I got all the fluids changed and felt comfortable that it was mechanically sound. My question starts as to do with the hand clutch that's mine seems to work but I'm not sure if it's working correctly? With my brush hog hooked up to my tractor driving along with it mowing and I pulled the hand clutch towards the rear of the tractor on the right hand side the tractor stops moving in the PTO continues to turn...( I'm trying to figure out the benefit of this hand clutch?)
When does it come into play to use it in on what implements?

Ok, that makes sense and it's the only thing that I could see the benefit of while I was test running at last week and I tried out the hand clutch to see if it worked which it did it stopped forward motion of the tractor and kept the PTO running...
This leads me into my second question which is now that I have the brush hog hooked up to my Allis Chalmers CA, I've noticed that I really can't hold the height of the brush hog in a certain position at either all the way up or all the way down because of how the pumpworks I believe (with the hand lever of the hydraulic pump in the vertical position the brush hog is raised all the way up ,and with it in the horizontal position all the way down against the floor plate of the tractor the brush hog is against the ground. But I also have an issue with once it's raised up and lowered it will work repeatedly in real time as I actuate the pump handle, but after a few raises and lowers it get stuck in the raised position even with me standing on the brush hog deck with the handle in the horizontal position it will not go down (the only way it will go down is with a tractor turned off and sitting for about 15 minutes it slowly goes back down?)
I'm wondering if I need to adjust the pump screws as described in the manual to get my raise and lower to operate correctly or what would cause this? Thanks Matt

Edited by Hunt4Allis - 15 Jul 2019 at 11:36pm

You can leave the PTO running to turn and make another pass. .However while mowing, you will likely run into a heavy clumps of grass which will lug the motor down to the point it will stall if you don't reduce the load on the engine. You do that by using the hand clutch to stop travel while the mower clears the grass under it, without feeding more into it as when traveling while mowing. If you push the foot clutch the mower will just stop and not clear. Then you will need to put the tractor in neutral, take the PTO out of gear, and let the clutch out to have hydraulics back to lift the mower, before you can start the mower turning again.

You can use the hand clutch to stop travel and use the hydraulics. If you push the foot clutch the hydraulic pump stops turning.

The blades on a fully wound up brush hog will develop enough momentum to propel the tractor forward several feet when the foot clutch, and power to the PTO, is disengaged. Try this simple exercise in a open area; with brush hog running as if in heavy weeds and tractor in motion, try to quickly stop the tractor's forward motion by depressing the foot clutch and applying the brakes. Then repeat the exercise by using just the hand clutch and brakes. Now imagine you were about to run into an obstacle in both cases. You may want to develop "muscle memory" on quickly stopping the tractor with the hand clutch before you take it out for work with the brush hog. You should also think about installing an overriding clutch on the pto stub for brush hog work.
With respect about your issues with the operation of the hydraulics start by making sure that the 3 set screws are set correctly. Unless it has been removed, there should be a sticker showing how to set the 3 screws; also, it is described in the operators manual. If that does not solve the issue, and your tranny is full of trans-hyd fluid, you may need to remove the pump and service it.

Edited by GregLawlerMinn - 16 Jul 2019 at 8:14am

Ted J wrote: Gerald will see this and post a link to his manual online.  Print out the part of it for the CA.  A written copy is a MUST. I use my hand clutch for turning sharp corners and to start the mower before I go forward and also when stopping.  Otherwise you miss spots.

I have the manual printed off

your comment that says I used to hand clutch for turning sharp corners is the type of thing that makes me question if mine is working correctly because if I pull mine towards me all motion of my tractor stops but the PTO continues so how could I continue to turn if the tractors motion is stopped or am I thinking out of line maybe I need to do the pull of the lever and be doing something else in combination when turning?

Edited by Hunt4Allis - 16 Jul 2019 at 8:59pm

I did that exact thing in our pasture that has already had one cutting about a month ago just to see how it acted the first time and everything went okay but then the hydraulics seem to stick with it in the up position and I could not get it to lower oh, I think it might be in the settings of the hydraulic pump. I'm going to look into that next, thanks Matt

I use the hand clutch for mowing with my sickle mower and baling hay.  For example -- if I'm about to hit a fence post or something , i'll use the hand clutch to stop the tractor, but leave the sickle mower running - I don't want to stop the sickle mower from cutting, I just want to stop moving while I turn the steering wheel -

The manual I have is the shop manual, not the operating manual.

http://geraldj.networkiowa.com/Trees/Allis-Chalmers-G-B-C-CA-Service.pdf

Gerald J.

Ted J wrote: To use the hand clutch to aid in turning, you use it just as you would a foot clutch, you don't have it all the way back, but let it slip a little while turning.  It takes practice, but you'll figure it out.  Yes, it wears down the clutch, but that is what it is for. As for the hydraulics, you'll have to start from scratch and adjust them correctly.  This is usually the biggest problem with them.  It is the wear and tear on the linkage and allows slop and thus aren't in the correct place.  Follow the manual and adjust them and while doing so, check for slop in each step.  Worn out holes, worn pins, worn linkage, can all give you some of the problems you have.  Can you weld? How does the hand clutch aid in turning when using a brush hog? Yes I have a wire feed MIG welder that can weld up to 3/8 in...

foot clutch  used to change gears , start the engine , turn pto on and off .                        hand clutch   every thing  else.      hyd pump sounds like it may need a kit in it , and some linkage adjustment .  you  can slip that hand clutch and ease through tough spots .   unless i read somthing wrong in the first post , do you pull the clutch back to go ?  and push ahead to  stop ?

It was pretty handy once I started running around with the brush hog to be able to pull back on the handle about halfway and slow down around corners keep the mower running full speed