D17 series IV Gear grinding

My D17 is hard to put gear with out grinding. I have done a bunch of reading here and I believe it has to do with the engine clutch not fully releasing when the pedal is depressed all the way. It seems like it will go in gear with little to no grinding when the ambient temperature is 30 degrees or less. Or even some times at start up when it's warmer. I think this happens because the transmission oil is thick and causes enough drag to slow all the moving parts through drivetrain to go into easier.   The transmission is full of oil. The clutch seems to work correctly in all other aspects. Is there any way to verify or correct this without splitting it? I have pulled the inspection cover and looked at the clutch while a helper operates the clutch pedal. One thing I have notice is that the splined shaft that i can see through the inspection window continues to spin even with the clutch pedal fully pressed. That seems wrong to me but I have very little knowledge of how this should work. Or should I be looking for a other problems. I want to get this corrected so I don't end up with a tractor that jumps out gear. Also I do wait a little bit after pressing the clutch pedal to put it in gear and I do come to a complete stop when shifting between gears.

If the clutch pedal isn't fully releasing the pressure plate when fully depressed, the tractor will want to take off and "go" just as soon as you begin to release the clutch pedal. Is this true or not??  If this is a recent clutch replacement, and it's been doing it ever since, I might think maybe it isn't being fully released. This situation would/will improve as the clutch wears in. That could take a while tho.

Dr I would say yes that is correct that the clutch starts to engage when it released 2-3". I can see some rust on the splinters visible from the inspection hole. I am not sure of age of the clutch. I have owned this d17 about a year and the previous owner did not say anything about the clutch when I bought it. Would the splines I can see be the ones you are referring Dr?

I believe it has. I remember it donig it once when I was test driving it. I thought it was just me being unfamiliar with this particular machine.

Where do I need to split to remove that bushing? Any special tools needed to do this job other than stands?

Be sure to replace the pilot bearing in the flywheel, as it could be rough/dry causing your complaint as well.

I would fix it as no good will come from grinding gears .  The DR has given you FIRST CLASS advice, and will be standing by to help you further.   My number one concern is your lack of experiance and your safety .  If you can post pictures of your rigging to split the tractor especially the engine, with help from us you can do the job and it won't cost hardly nothing.

re: tractor splitting
Any chance you've got an overhead steel I-beam? If so put tractor underneath, parallel to it.Use one chain hoist to support rear of 'engine half, another chain hoist for the 'back half'. Be sure to put blocks/wedges between the tire rods and axle to keep front tires from flopping around and causing no end of grief ! use solid wood blocks to support the tractor NOT hollow cinder blocks.
The nice thing about using the I-beam is it is EASY to smooothly split and then reconnect the tractor,chain hoists allow for precise alignment.
That being said I bet a lot of farmers used a stout tree....

Jay

To eliminate gear grinding when shifting, I place the PD lever in neutral, depress the foot clutch, shift into gear, release the foot clutch then engage the PD lever. May sometimes have to slightly release the foot cutcch some to shift into gear. Has worked well for me on my D14/D15 and D17s I have had.

I also had to take this bushing out of 170 n 175's ,ran into this problem when installing new clutch's .

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Thanks Dr. You have given me a good list to start with. This is off topic but the valve cover gasket on this 17 is leaking a little also. I plan to replace the gasket. What is your preference a rubber or cork gasket?

Adding shims under each pressure plate mounting bolt area and the flywheel does exactly the same thing as machining the flywheel to a deeper depth.  .030" shim is the same result as changing the flywheel depth .030".