M6040 Clutch Easy to Push

[CowPunchinSodBuster]

I have a 2014 M6040. It has about 1400 hours on it. I have owned it since new. I have been doing quite a bit of work with the loader moving dirt and gravel and while operating it recently, noticed that the clutch was suddenly much easier to press down. Almost spongy, though is returns to normal as I lift my foot back up and it engages. For the life of the tractor I have always felt normal resistance while disengaging the clutch, but while operating I noticed it became much easier to disengage. The hydraulics all function normal. The shuttle shift works as it should. The pto operates as normal. Any ideas on why suddenly this would be happening?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

That is usually indicative to pressure plate fingers failing.
Or sight chance that the pedal return spring has broken, changing the resistance.
Check this spring.

 

[CowPunchinSodBuster]

That is usually indicative to pressure plate fingers failing.
Or sight chance that the pedal return spring has broken, changing the resistance.
Check this spring.
View attachment 101531

Thanks for the reply. I checked your suggestion on the spring, and if the one I took a picture of is the same one that you highlighted, I fear that my problem is most likely your first suggestion.

 

[fried1765]

I have a 2014 M6040. It has about 1400 hours on it. I have owned it since new. I have been doing quite a bit of work with the loader moving dirt and gravel and while operating it recently, noticed that the clutch was suddenly much easier to press down. Almost spongy, though is returns to normal as I lift my foot back up and it engages. For the life of the tractor I have always felt normal resistance while disengaging the clutch, but while operating I noticed it became much easier to disengage. The hydraulics all function normal. The shuttle shift works as it should. The pto operates as normal. Any ideas on why suddenly this would be happening?

I see a tractor split in your future.
Frequent loader use is harder on all clutches.

 

[CowPunchinSodBuster]

I see a tractor split in your future.
Frequent loader use is harder on all clutches.

Ah, that is what I was afraid of. That is beyond my realm of comfort to do myself. Any guess on the amount of labor hours a dealer would have into something like that with this model tractor?

 

[fried1765]

Ah, that is what I was afraid of. That is beyond my realm of comfort to do myself. Any guess on the amount of labor hours a dealer would have into something like that with this model tractor?

Absolutely no idea!
FWIW: I too had never done such a thing, but I was able to find a very competent "shade tree mechanic", and I worked with him.
I learned a lot, and since the replacement (Ford 1920) clutch failed after less than3 hours, I learned..... twice as much?
It took the two of us a looong day the 1st time, and a bit less than 8 hours the second time.
Someone here on OTT can likely give you a dealer hours estimate.

Buy your parts and pieces from a dealer, or reputable supplier.
Some on E-Bay, may not be good.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Thanks for the reply. I checked your suggestion on the spring, and if the one I took a picture of is the same one that you highlighted, I fear that my problem is most likely your first suggestion.

Yes that's version 2 of the pedal return spring, so yes a failed pressure plate is likely.
I'm a bad one to tell hours or prices, I'm either too fast or too slow and charge way too little.

 

[CowPunchinSodBuster]

Yes that's version 2 of the pedal return spring, so yes a failed pressure plate is likely.
I'm a bad one to tell hours or prices, I'm either too fast or too slow and charge way too little.

Thanks for your reply and thoughts. I've got a call into my local shop right now. I am sure they are 4-6 weeks out. Maybe I can limp along till they get a chance to look at it. Thanks again!

 

[Dave_eng]

That is usually indicative to pressure plate fingers failing.
Or sight chance that the pedal return spring has broken, changing the resistance.
Check this spring.
View attachment 101531

Not certain on the following but does that model have a hydraulic shuttle shift?
If it does then it does not have a clutch in the normal sense of the word.
It would have a "damper disk" to connect the flywheel to the transmission shaft.
Dave

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Not certain on the following but does that model have a hydraulic shuttle shift?
If it does then it does not have a clutch in the normal sense of the word.
It would have a "damper disk" to connect the flywheel to the transmission shaft.
Dave

If you look at the picture he posted it has a rod attached to the pedal, that is only on a mechanical shuttle / mechanical clutch models, the hydraulic models all have cables.

But it is a very good point as I went into it assuming it was a mechanical clutch.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Thanks for your reply and thoughts. I've got a call into my local shop right now. I am sure they are 4-6 weeks out. Maybe I can limp along till they get a chance to look at it. Thanks again!

If you give me the tractors serial number I can tell you exactly which sub model you have and verify that it does indeed have a mechanical clutch.

 

[CowPunchinSodBuster]

If you give me the tractors serial number I can tell you exactly which sub model you have and verify that it does indeed have a mechanical clutch.

You bet! Here ya go. I'm grateful for any info you can find for me.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

You bet! Here ya go. I'm grateful for any info you can find for me.

Well son of a gun!
I'm really glad you posted the serial number and now I have egg on my face!
Dave was 100% right, I got fooled by your picture, what I'm seeing as the clutch pedal rod is not, it's the brake linkage and behind it is the clutch cable.
So you do not have a mechanical clutch disk, you have a hydraulic clutch, they don't fail very often, but most of all they don't give the pedal feedback.
So you can throw everything I've said right in the dumpster!

Now if the "clutch" feels like it's engaging normally, except softer pedal, it could be any number of things and none of them are expensive or that serious.

It might be a simple case of some pivot part had some rust or corrosion on it and it just decided to break free.
Might be the cable is failing, real easy and simple fix, but usually that makes the pedal harder to operate.

Might be the second spring on the side of the valve body has failed, (second picture) check it.
Look at all the linkage in Red circle (second pic) for any abnormalities.

Might be nothing at all...

 

[CowPunchinSodBuster]

Well son of a gun!
I'm really glad you posted the serial number and now I have egg on my face!
Dave was 100% right, I got fooled by your picture, what I'm seeing as the clutch pedal rod is not, it's the brake linkage and behind it is the clutch cable.
So you do not have a mechanical clutch disk, you have a hydraulic clutch, they don't fail very often, but most of all they don't give the pedal feedback.
So you can throw everything I've said right in the dumpster!

Now if the "clutch" feels like it's engaging normally, except softer pedal, it could be any number of things and none of them are expensive or that serious.

It might be a simple case of some pivot part had some rust or corrosion on it and it just decided to break free.
Might be the cable is failing, real easy and simple fix, but usually that makes the pedal harder to operate.

Might be the second spring on the side of the valve body has failed, (second picture) check it.
Look at all the linkage in Red circle (second pic) for any abnormalities.

Might be nothing at all...

View attachment 101718

View attachment 101720

I don't know how I missed this reply. Thank you!

I'll check those things this morning. Seriously, I appreciate your expertise and you using your time to help a compete stranger. I grew up farming and ranching, but my mechanical expertise ends at routine maintenance. I'll be sure to post what I find so that hopefully it can help someone else out in the future.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I don't know how I missed this reply. Thank you!

I'll check those things this morning. Seriously, I appreciate your expertise and you using your time to help a compete stranger. I grew up farming and ranching, but my mechanical expertise ends at routine maintenance. I'll be sure to post what I find so that hopefully it can help someone else out in the future.

I'm really hoping you just popped the bottom spring!
That would be a really quick, simple, and cheap fix!

 

[lugbolt]

there's a spring on the bottom of the "clutch" valve, under the tractor. Climb under it and look for the clutch cable, where it attaches to the transmission. Supposed to be a spring there. The spring is often broken or missing, when it's gone, the clutch pedal gets really really easy to push.

 

[CowPunchinSodBuster]

I'm really hoping you just popped the bottom spring!
That would be a really quick, simple, and cheap fix!

I’ll be darned. I finally had a minute to climb under the tractor to check the spring. Took me a minute of looking for it to discover that it is completely missing! That would explain the difference is resistance I have noticed. Thank goodness for folks like you guys that are smarter than I am! I’ll get one ordered and until then I’ll have peace of mind that I am not further harming the machine. Thanks again!

 

[CowPunchinSodBuster]

there's a spring on the bottom of the "clutch" valve, under the tractor. Climb under it and look for the clutch cable, where it attaches to the transmission. Supposed to be a spring there. The spring is often broken or missing, when it's gone, the clutch pedal gets really really easy to push.

You were exactly right! The spring is completely missing. I appreciate your help!

 

[CowPunchinSodBuster]

there's a spring on the bottom of the "clutch" valve, under the tractor. Climb under it and look for the clutch cable, where it attaches to the transmission. Supposed to be a spring there. The spring is often broken or missing, when it's gone, the clutch pedal gets really really easy to push.

You wouldn’t happen to know the part number of that spring, would you?

Edit: I found the part on Messicks and have it coming, thanks again!

 

[fried1765]

You wouldn’t happen to know the part number of that spring, would you?

Edit: I found the part on Messicks and have it coming, thanks again!

For future reference:

When ordering parts from Messicks it is a cost effective to ask them to ship via USPS.
Unless you specify USPS, Messicks will always ship UPS, and then the cost for shipping of small parts is frequently more than the part itself.