My father bought an old Twenty-Two more than 35 years ago (2F8728).  It worked and worked while my father and I enjoyed toiling side-by side to maintain a small piece of property during my childhood.   There came a time when it was used less and less, and a family friend was in need.  My father gave it the maintenance treatment and handed it over, ready to get to work for someone else.  I always assumed I would be using it some day on my own property and was therefore sad to see it go, however it made sense to pass it to a home in need.  

Unfortunately, the new owners allowed it to fall into disrepair.   It sat unused after an unknown "break" 3 - 5 years before I came to realize its fate.   I was able to convince the old family friend to let me pull it out of it's grave.  Now I've taken ownership and my father and I have started the project of hopefully bringing her back to life and back to work.  My father and I are not mechanics, so please forgive my poor descriptions.   

Repairs thus far:

1. The Radiator housing was left without anti-freeze and we have repaired a very large rupture near the bottom.
2. Replaced the throttle control spring that had broken (which I'm assuming was the unknown break that began it's long rest).
3. Serviced magneto (back to strong spark).
4. Serviced Carb.
5. Replaced sparkplugs and wires.

Current state:

Starts up and runs.  It was certainly emotional to get it running again.  I think it is still a bit fuel starved for some reason, but I'm not prioritizing this at the moment.  Before we spend more time tuning the fuel issue, we'd like to solve a different problem.   We cannot get it in gear while it is running.  This is where my terms are going to make some people laugh, and I'm sorry, but it seems the clutch plate is fused up.   What doesn't make sense to me is that we can put it in gear (engine off) and pull it with a different tractor with the clutch pushed in (tracks turning - engine not turning) so the clutch is doing something, just not disengaging whatever component needs to be free in order to actually have the clutch break stop the mechanism that allows us to get it in gear while running.  Clutch break is certainly engaging.  

Is there anything this group would be willing to suggest that I can try without breaking it in half?  We've done a long soak and slow rotate in a mixture of acetone and transmission fluid with no change.   

Appreciate your time and shared knowledge.    

You may get away with taking the clutch inspection cover off. (The plate on top of the bell housing) You may have to remove the fuel tank to get a better look down in the clutch compartment. What happens some times; the pressure plate gets stuck from sliding on the spring studs with rust or just dirt. Earlier 22's have just a sliding fit of stud to the pressure plate that is more prone to sticking. Yours has stamped cups holding the springs but they may be gummed up a bit. There are 8 studs with a spring and nut holding them in compression. Remove each nut. Turn the engine as you go. This will take the pressure off of the pressure plate. Now try to disengage the clutch by pushing the clutch pedal. It may take some persuading with a prybar to get the pressure plate to move some. If you still can't free it up; Put the springs and nuts back on loosely and try what Neil said but It's not easy trying to pull start your 22 in reverse due to the gear reduction. Pulling the steering clutch levers back and then pulling forward in third gear letting them go may work. But very confusing and make sure you have a lot of room if you can't get the tractor stopped.
Get us some pictures looking in there please.

Welcome SlowHand, it sounds to me like the clutch brake is not working, the lining might be worn away or broken, or covered in oil if you are lucky, because you mention you can put the 22 in gear with the engine stopped, and then pull the Cat with another tractor with the clutch pedal depressed and the engine does not turn, that tells me your main clutch is releasing as it should.

All these old Cats have a small circular brake pad on the gearbox input shaft that stop the shaft turning when you go to put the tractor in gear, if that clutch brake is faulty you get the exact symptoms you describe. You might need to remove the gas tank so you can get access to the clutch brake through the top inspection cover, you can then see it easily.

They are adjustable to take up brake lining wear, look at my pics, it is a Cat 22 clutch brake, and you will see the staggered bolt holes in the brake collar that allow you to rotate the collar moving it closer to the main clutch, people have also converted them to a 2 piece brake lining for easier replacement if the original brake lining is worn out completely or broken.

I suggest you remove the gas tank in any case, and give it a really good internal clean, because you mention fuel starvation issues and crap builds up in the bottom of those tanks over years, check the taps and fuel lines for partial obstruction while you are at it, because the 22 is real gas guzzler.
Good luck
Mike

I'm confused. You started the tractor in neutral but can't put it in gear while it's running. OK .  You said clutch brake working. How do you know that?
Did the tractor start when you pulled it in gear? You said tracks turning engine not.
Master clutch slipping under engine compression ? Possibly master clutch is not disengaging entirely and clutch brake (On the input shaft) doesn't have enough adjustment to stop the clutch from turning.
I would go back and confirm the clutch is releasing completely with my first post. Make sure it is adjusted correctly in conjunction with the clutch brake.
Just to clarify; You're not thinking the steering brake pedals are considered the clutch brake ?

Neil
Appreciate these thoughts, Neil.  Unfortunately the wheeled tractor on the property is not heavy enough to try your first suggestion, but we'll be contemplating your other thoughts.  Push comes to shove, we may end up splitting it in two, if for nothing else the learning experience.  

side-seat post=259628 userid=956
... Remove each nut. Turn the engine as you go. This will take the pressure off of the pressure plate. Now try to disengage the clutch by pushing the clutch pedal. It may take some persuading with a prybar to get the pressure plate to move some. ...

This is something we haven't tried.   Thanks Side-Seat. We can see (and feel with our fingers) a slight movement on the spring studs that you mention when depressing the clutch, but the movement is very slight.

And to your question about how I'm determining a functional clutch-brake; perhaps I'm making a poor assumption but we can certainly feel, what I'm assuming is the clutch brake, working when we depress the clutch and are stopped from being able to manually crank it.   We can also hear engine lull if pushing the clutch down (hard) with the engine running at low RPMs).  

To try and clarify, Tractor tries to start (when in gear and clutch out) while being pulled and I'm sure it would if we had a pulling machine that was heavy enough to continue to turn it over.  What was confusing to me is that with the clutch depressed  (in gear) while being pulled, the tracks will turn but the engine is not trying to, so the clutch is disengaging the engine from the tracks while in gear to some degree.

I can appreciate the question, knowing that we are not mechanics, but no, I am not thinking the steering brakes are clutch brakes.


Mike Meyer

Thank you for your response and associated pictures.  We'll have to look to the maintenance book to see if we can figure out the adjustment you describe. Your description and images of the clutch brake make me sure that the lever bar I was seeing pressing against the drum (that I thought was the clutch brake) is not actually the clutch brake.  Live and learn, I suppose.  We'll get our borescope back in there and have a better idea what to look for.  Maybe I'll even get some borescope screen captures up on the forum for you all.  I hope removing the gas tank gives us better access to adjust the clutch brake as you suggest, what I'm assuming is the clutch inspection cover seems like a very small window to work from.  Sounds like I should be grateful that the scenario I've described means that the main clutch is releasing as it should.


Thank you all for your comments.

My sage advice is do not split that 22 just yet, you might open a Pandorras Box that will take potentially years to close again, particularly if you are not particularly mechanical, or have lots of tools, so try all the simple fixes first. It sounds to me like your clutch is working, the clutch brake is towards the back of the clutch compartment, just get a flash light and you will see it, and with nimble fingers you will get the adjusting bolt undone, and the clutch brake ring rotated into a position slightly closer to the main clutch, this will make a huge difference to its performance, and is not difficult to do, just use lots of loose juice.

I would not be scared to put a couple of gallons of diesel into that clutch compartment, and have it sloshing around while the flywheel is rotating, I've done that to my old Cats over the past 15 years. Caterpillar in their old Owners Books suggested washing the clutches with gas or kerosene if they became contaminated with oil, I prefer diesel, it is much safer, plus the oil content will help lube everything around the clutch, like the linkages, and plates, for better movement, just make sure the clutch compartment drain plug is fitted before you add the diesel.

Take that fuel tank off and clean the whole system, both the big tank, and the small one, because you will be surprised at how much rusty dusty crud you will get out of them, plus the 22 fuel tanks are well known for having rusted out bases, it was a design flaw in their support saddle, trapping moisture under the tank. Better you find out now, and get the tank repaired, before setting off to your back field for a days fun plowing, with 20 gallons of gas leaking all over your boots and a hot engine.......

I like to blow air or oil back through fuel lines from one end to the other, I'm assuming your fuel taps are working correctly, as is your fuel pump? If you are unsure about your fuel pump, test it, till then, just use the small pony tank. Next remove your carb and give it a really good clean, if your engine is trying to fire, that suggests to me you have some fuel getting into the cylinders, but not enough.

Your carb fuel bowl float valve might be choked with crud, or jets inside the carb are blocked, I'd expect to see that in a old Cat that has been sitting around for years. Modern gas is shocking on fuel systems, it will dissolve the zinc galv off a new tank, and will go gummy if left to dry out in carbs and fuel taps. As I said before, try all the easy fixes first, before even thinking about splitting that tractor, if it ran before, it will run again, even if it has to be tow started.

The most important thing you must do before trying to start that engine is confirm the oil pump is making sufficient pressure, this is critical. With every old Cat I've dragged home and I'm starting for the first time, after changing all the oils obviously, I remove the spark plugs so there is no chance of the engine firing off, and I slowly drag the old girl in gear and watch the oil pressure gauge closely.

If it jumps quickly up to 20 or 30 PSI, then I know I can move on to trying to start it, but if the oil pressure gauge doesn't move, or only shows a few pounds, you need to then check if your old oil pressure gauge is reading correctly, or start looking for why there is no oil pressure. Just dragging that 22 slowly, even hand cranking it with the spark plugs out, will quickly give you oil pressure if everything is ok.

The most important thing about this whole process is safety, it is absolutely critical you are 110% certain you know how to stop that engine if it does start, and that the fuel system does not leak. Too many good people have been killed or badly injured when a new to them antique tractor engine took off on them while it was in gear, and they discovered too late the ignition switch doesn't work!

The foot clutch Cat 22s are notorious for a sticky master clutch when started after a longer set. A trick I have learned is to push the clutch all the way in and to stick a piece of board between seat and clutch pedal to hold it released while it sleeps. Adequate oil squirted into the clutch sliding mechanism is critical as well. The oiler is located under the back of the fuel tank on the top of the housing.

Hi Mike.  I am Slowhand's father.  On the question of whether or not the clutch brake is working or not perhaps you can help us answer that.  When the CAT 22 is running and not in gear the engine slows greatly when the clutch is depressed.  I am assuming that this is due to the clutch brake attempting to stop the transmission from rotating so it be put into gear.  Assuming the clutch plate is frozen to the flywheel it would seem that slowing the engine would be the logical result.  Thoughts?