Lets rebuild a Comet 102C

[400brian]

It occurred to me that perhaps the best use of the Comet 101C I just went through might be the Wife's sled, as the 100C on it is of unknown health.

I remembered that I had bought a 102C off e-bay some years ago ( before Comet closed ), so I dug it out to have a close look at what it's condition might be. It has been sitting a long time, it is quite oxidized, and there is some rust showing. It does not have the can on it, but it is a "made for JD" clutch.

For anyone who has never worked on a Comet clutch, the first thing to remember is that the cover plate cap screws have been installed with Locktite. Get out the propane torch, and warm each tower up to melt the Locktite before trying to remove the fasteners. This was the nicest fitting cover plate I've ever removed, I had to tap it with a hammer to get it started, and once off, the bushing looked like new!

OK, so now for the spider. This too has Locktite in the threads, and you need a spanner tool to turn it off. I made one several years ago, and I have successfully used it on most attempts. But as this clutch was looking like a diamond in the rough, I got my brother's genuine Deere spider tool; JDM 41-3. I have JDM 41-5, which is what you use to hold the fixed shaft from turning.

A photo:

[400brian]

You flip the whole clutch over, and clamp the square "nut" in the vise. Then you warm the spider hub up to melt the Locktite. Once warm, I held the spider tool up against the spider with a big screwdriver, put a breaker bar in the square hole in the tool, gave it a gentle push, and the spider broke loose.

Removing it from the vise, I removed the tools, and spun the spider off by hand. This is a really nice clutch, it is a exact duplicate of the 102 I have sitting on the bench out of my '78 LF. "R" weights, black spring.

There is a bit of rust to be polished off the fixed shaft, the whole thing needs to be soda blasted, and the rollers in the spider have rusted, and need to be replaced. The sheaves are surprisingly smooth, and the bushing in the moveable seems to be in great shape as well.

After clean up, if I swap the "R" weights with the "F" weights in the X8's 100C, I should have a good clutch for the X8.

[harleysportster]

Great pictures showing how to mount the JD tools. The newer style 102s do not have the hole drilled in end of the fixed shaft requiring the use of the newer style Comet Grunt Tool.

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Actually I love my grunt tool and use it even if the hole is present. Highly recommend.

DA

[400brian]

Here's a look a some of the issues.

[400brian]

A little elbow grease got the fixed looking a lot better.

[400brian]

Soda blasted the spider and moveable. Didn't bring them back to new appearance, but its better, and its at least clean.

[400brian]

Cleaned up the arms, and re-installed with new washers and bolts. I prefer the bolts, as it eliminates the pesky little roll pins, and the tightened bolt actually ties the towers together, strengthening the clutch slightly.

Installed the new pins, rollers, and buttons, which were sourced from Dennis Kirk.

Cleaned the cover plate, and did a bit of polishing. NOTE: this cover is steel! I have edited the 101C thread accordingly. The earlier covers were aluminum, it appears that when they discontinued the can, they switched to a steel cover plate.

Everything is just finger tight at this point, The spider has yet to be locktited and tightened, same thing with the arm pivot bolts.

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Brian, I need to talk to you about soda blasting.

dA

[80spitfire]

Clutch looks good! I'd love to see pics of your soda blasting setup.

-Brian

[400brian]

My soda blasting rig is as low-buck as I can imagine, it is a Gilmour Handi Sand Blaster. I think my Father bought the thing years ago, maybe from Harbor Freight, maybe from the hardware store, I don't know. It was sitting on the bench, so I tried soda in it and it worked. It appears that it is no longer available, I can find info and reviews on it, but none to buy.

An available option might be this unit from NAPA; http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Catal ... 0361146945

I have no personal experience with this unit, but I have heard guys on VS talking about using a NAPA blaster, I suspect this one is it.

I buy feed grade bi-carb at the feed mill in 50 lb bags.

Soda just cleans, with a really good set up it may remove paint, mine really doesn't. Eastwood and others sell the high dollar units.

I've done clutches, carbs, spot blasting on a tunnel, and engine cases. If you look up "the little power house" thread in the restoration section, you can see the engine. If this thing craps out, I'll have to buy something, because I like the finish that soda blasting gives.

[400brian]

OK, a 102C clutch is rebuilt and ready to install on the X8.

It has been cleaned, and new rollers, pins, and buttons, have been installed. I re-used the arms out of the 100C that came off on the X8, but they were installed with new pivot bolts and washers.

We do still have snow here, so I guess the thing to do is get it installed and try it out.

[400brian]

Installed the clutch this afternoon, spent 15 min. chipping the ice under the sliding shop door, finally got it open enough to get a sled through, fired up the X8 and took her out.

It was good! Engagement is much smoother, and the sled is much more peppy. It doesn't come to a stop near as fast as before, I'm guessing that was due to the belt getting pinched coming in and going out before.

So for now, I'm going to declare victory and move on.