86 Par Car clutch came off...twice

mmattingly

I have a1986 Par Car that was running great. Went out the other day to use it and it struggled to start. I thought it was cold and just needed choked. Finally got it to back up out of the parking spot, but would not run in forward. I could hear the clutch make a couple of loud clunking noises. When I got up to raise the body and check the engine, I saw the clutch laying behind it on the floor. It came loose from the pulley and the weights had all come apart inside. I had another good clutch on an old motor so I pulled the pulley off the Par Car and installed the other clutch and pulley. When I tried to start it, the same thing happened. Sputtered and threw the second clutch off the same way as the first.

Anyone know what may have caused this and can those clutches be rebuilt? All the parts appear to be there.

BGW

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Lochlin

Is the whole clutch coming off the crankshaft or just a part of it? I just don't see how the whole clutch can come off unless the clutch nut / bolt broke or is missing. Even then, those clutches should be on the crank so tight that they need a ton of force to get them off when the nut / bolt are removed.

There should be a lock washer there too. Is all of this stuff in place?

mmattingly

The pulley did not come off. Just the part containing the weights. I put it on with a big impact wrench. Could it just not be torturing the bolt enough to keep it from unscrewing?

As far as reassembly goes, it seems the reason the weights came loose is because the spring holding tension on the Comet clutch came off. I have all the parts, so if I know where and how the weights go back into the slots in the clutch shouldn't I be able to reassemble?

mmattingly

Not torturing the bolt, torque the bolt.

Lochlin

Sorry about the delay. Yes, you should be able to just reassemble that clutch and it should work fine.

The bolt thing is anything issue. You definitely don't want to over-torque things because if you strip the threads you're screwed. I would get some of the high-strength Loctite and put it on. That might hold things in place.

mmattingly

Got it back together and used locktite blue. It held fine, but today a new problem came up. Not sure what is going on. The clutch and entire crankshaft seems to be spinning freely, but the piston is not turning over. Don't know if the pulley is spinning on the crank or what is going on. I'm going to look closer this weekend.

backyard

The end of the crankshaft is slightly tapered. When the bolt gets torqued, the clutch fits very tight against the crank. The clutch shouldn't just spin on the crankshaft. You have some kind of issue with the taper or you may even have the wrong clutch.

Post some pics of the clutch and the crankshaft with the clutch off.