Cat d5 direct drive 94J flywheel clutch adjustment

Hi all. Working on the D5 again trying to see if the flywheel clutch adjustment has anything to do with the clutch not snapping into an engaged position. The machine operates fine but i have to hold back on the clutch lever. In my manual the adjustment process dictates to loosen locknuts and rotate the ring. However, when I loosened the 2 locknuts (item 1 in my photo ) I have nothing that will move. Below is a photo I took. I assume the part that should turn is the double arrow. Also, the 3 mechanisms marked with "?" don't move very far when I pull the handle back. Any guidance would be appreciated.
[attachment=51702]tmp_7676-dozer 007a-402605354.jpg[/attachment]

The plate with the arrows on it has to be turned until the clutch lever has a pull of 35 lbs. tighten the lock nuts on the small square plate to 30 ft lbs. Unless someone adjusted it to tight and it wont snap in.

Is it supposed to turn by hand or do I use a prybar, etc.? Once I loosened the 2 nuts I thought it would just turn. The manual does not state the amount of effort required for it to turn.

Yes it takes some effort, it said to tap the lock tabs so they are loose. You could try a pry bar or long drift punch to turn it also.

Ok I will have to take another look at it and see what I can do. The photo was taken with the clutch lever forward in the brake position. Is that what those cams (marked with "?")should look like when the clutch is disengaged?

Sounds like the clutch is too tight. I would back it off a little and try it.
Chuck C

I agree clutch may be to tight. I just adjusted mine of my D7E the other night. Spec on it is 60LB on the clutch lever and 80lb on the nuts.

There should be 2 plates and nuts with keepers on them.

Once you back those off you can stick a long pry bar down in the tranny and pry on the lugs a little and it will turn it to adjust.

Hi all. I was able to get in there with a prybar and turn the ring easily as you stated. I turned it counter clockwise and noticed the cams getting more and more travel distance compared to before. I still have no over-center feel. I loosened it getting more and more travel. Now the clutch handle touches the battery box. I am uncertain whether it needs to go further or not. I would have to adjust the lever to go any further. I have some new photos to upload. Are videos allowed to upload to the forum?

[quote="Garlic Pete"]If you now have the clutch lever touching the battery box because you have loosened the clutch, but you still don't have a snap over center, maybe it wasn't too tight to begin with.

I would try tightening it by turning the adjusting ring clockwise and see what happens.

Somewhere in there, you should find a point at which you there is a snap over center and you can still snap it. If you go too tight, it won't snap over center. If you go too loose, it won't snap and eventually you wouldn't even be able to apply enough pressure to get it to even slip.

Most of my experience is with dry clutches, but I think the concepts are still the same. One thing I have found is that a small movement of the ring is a very big difference in adjustment. I usually move the ring like a half inch or maybe an inch at a time, then tighten everything down and see how the handle feels. I have found it is really easy to blow past proper adjustment and go from too loose (no snap) to too tight (still no snap) without realizing I had passed the proper adjustment point.

If you clutch lever now has so much travel it hits the battery box, you must be way too loose on the adjustment. I would assume at that adjustment you probably couldn't even get the machine to move if you tightened everything down. If that is true, you know you're loose. Now all you need to do is sneak up on correct adjustment at small increments.

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Pete.[/quote]

This link is to a brief video I took. I'd really like thoughts on whether the travel distance looks normal or whether it should move more. https://youtu.be/YjA1U0OYjAA

The locks are supposedly 30'lbs, but I usually go about 25. The only thing that will happen if they are loose, is the clutch will get harder to snap over. Then you just back it off a bit and try again. I've had the clutch out of the machine and the flywheel off. To replace broken parts, thanks to the previous owner. I wouldn't want to do that again to replace one of those clamp bolts.

Hi Team,
as the studs/nuts used are very soft and a fine thread is used--not Grade 8--the nuts strip easily.

An often found fix and one I have used to get clients going again is to use a very well greased 5/16" UNC or UNF die nut to cut a new thread on said stud.
Just remember to only tension the nut enough to do the job as the lock plates do hold the adjuster ring fairly securely with little tension--used to use Thread Lock to stop the nuts unscrewing with the reduced tension--so they can be adjusted again easily in future.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Eddie B.