Clutch issues

[DIXIEDOG]

My dealer has learned to say that "this is just held on by these bolts" but make sure to save the parts as they'll be needed if you want to trade it in or "if you jumper this connector you don't have to damage the safety system" should you ever want to trade it in.

That is a good thing to say....the dealer told me it was a "non removable" safety device. I honestly didn't look any closer after he told me that, that sticking out was a deal breaker for me. It stinks that Gators are such a small portion of sales at JD dealers I don't think they put much effort into learning the product line and that does a disservice to their customer, at minimum if they don't know the correct answer to your question they should just say so.

[Dane]

I brought my Gator into the shop at work today and removed the primary/drive clutch. It is sticking pretty badly. Even with the engine off it will not fully open and was always gripping the belt. With a little pull on the plate the clutch would open but not moving freely the way it should.

It's been a growing problem and I had gotten into the habit of shutting the engine off and occasionally rocking the vehicle until it dropped into gear. With the warmer summer months it became hard to put off any longer. On a positive note my engine & clutch have a straight bore which is much easier to remove than the stock tapered one.

[MBDiagMan]

I haven't checked in on this forum in quite a while. Looks like I am behind and need to catch up.

Unfortunately, some of the dealers do seem to be doing a little dance and song around some of these issues.

[MBDiagMan]

Dixie,

I can't say this with a guarantee until I see the clutch, but I bet I could fix your shifting issues by going through your clutch. I went through this myself and that is what got me going. I have all the equipment now and have enough experience with these clutches that I am feeling pretty darn confident that I can make one work better than John Deere can and for less than their new clutch price.

Let me know if I can help.

[DIXIEDOG]

Dixie,

I can't say this with a guarantee until I see the clutch, but I bet I could fix your shifting issues by going through your clutch. I went through this myself and that is what got me going. I have all the equipment now and have enough experience with these clutches that I am feeling pretty darn confident that I can make one work better than John Deere can and for less than their new clutch price.

Let me know if I can help.

I'm sure that the clutch could be serviced but when the dealer is going to put a new clutch/belt on at no cost it wouldn't make sense for me to send it off to anyone. Surprisingly enough the clutch assembly that wouldn't be in until at least July 10th showed up early....they got it today so they just picked my Gator up and they'll be fixing it up right off. I should have no more shifting issues soon.

[MBDiagMan]

Sorry Dixie. I somehow missed that your Gator is still under warranty.I am glad you are getting it fixed. Please keep us posted about how it all goes.Enjoy it!

[MBDiagMan]

Dixie, I am sorry it didn't occur to me before. If it's not too late, ask your dealer if you can have your old clutch. That way you will have one that can be properly set up later if need be. By having a core you could have it done without putting your Gator out of service while the work is being done.A new clutch from Deere might not be a fix for the long term. Don't get me wrong. I hope you never have any more trouble with it, but it's always good to be prepared.

[Dane]

I tried getting my old clutch when Deere replaced it under warranty and the answer was "no". The dealer said they had to return the defective clutches to Deere. I also asked when they did my carburetor and again the old, bad part had to go back to Deere but it never hurts to ask.

[MBDiagMan]

Not surprising Dane. Most companies want the old parts back if for no other reason than to discourage warranty fraud by the dealers. What has been surprising has been the one or two people on this or the other forum, that actually DID get the old clutch after warranty.

[Bunky]

Not surprising Dane. Most companies want the old parts back if for no other reason than to discourage warranty fraud by the dealers. What has been surprising has been the one or two people on this or the other forum, that actually DID get the old clutch after warranty.

Our company wants higher dollar parts back usually to recondition and perform failure analysis to help track field issues. We can activate returns for low dollar parts if we see part usage higher than predicted to do FA.