Weasel Clutch Replacement

[Dave 56]

Just thought I'd pass along what I found out in the process of replacing the clutch in a weasel I recently purchased. It's a 1945 M29C, hull no. 6167, serial number 10617, if anybody's interested. On to the clutch story:

After cleaning out the fuel system, sorting out the wiring (hidden kill switch), changing the oil, installing a new battery and making sure it still had coolant in the radiator, I got it running! The first attempt at a test drive (immediately after, "wow, it runs!") pointed out one small problem: the clutch was not disengaging. The weasel had been sitting "for a couple years", long enough for the gas to go really bad, and the clutch flat refused to cooperate. Yes, I started it in low range, low gear and test drove it anyway...

I figured either the clutch went bad and they (Bubba's family) parked it, or it was stuck from sitting too long. When I took it apart, it turned out to be stuck, as in "rusted to the flywheel". A light tap on the edge of the disc with a hammer and big screwdriver broke it loose, so it wasn't really stuck very tightly. Time for a new clutch.

Interestingly, everything looked almost new, except the disc was thin and due for replacement anyway. So the hunt was on to find the parts. Long story short, the existing clutch including the pressure plate, release bearing, disc and linkage were all stock 1935 - 1956 Studebaker Champion parts. Very similar, but NOT JEEP PARTS.

The Details: The stock side-linkage T84 appears to be the same as a jeep T84 with a short tail shaft. However, the weasel input shaft is 1" 10-spline while the T84 in a WWII jeep has a 15/16" 10-spline shaft. Both discs are 8 inch diameter, which could catch you off guard if you weren't paying attention. Luckily I had both jeep and weasel transmissions and clutch discs on hand for comparison. Sneaky weasel almost got me...

I ordered all the parts at reasonable prices from Chuck Collins at Studebaker Parts.com. Those of you who are long-time weasel nuts, er, enthusiasts, probably already know all this, but I thought maybe some of the guys like me, new to weasels, might find the clutch saga interesting.

Keep 'em Rollin!

Dave

[mfggunner]

save yourself some headaches,while its down pull that clutch cable and soak it in diesl for a couple of days,