Comet 100C

[400brian]

Well here are some shots of the 100C off my JDX8. The odometer is showing 1500 mi. The sled has sucsessfully ran 5 Vintage Challenges, but has went through a couple of belts doing it. On the last VC, I was seeing high RPMs on the tach, and jerky clutch engagement. I had seen this before, several years ago the green machine Katy has been riding started doing the same thing. I pulled the clutch off and took a look at it, and found wear inside that relegated the clutch to the spare parts box. I had another 100C I had bought off e-bay, so I installed it and it has been working OK since.

On taking the can off, I found a teaspoon full or so of black crud inside ( you'd think that must be throwing the balance off ). Once the spring tension was off, I could wriggle things and see just how badly it was worn, and it is bad!

[400brian]

The 100C has grooves in the fixed shaft as you can see, I have no idea why they did that, but you can see the wear on the right half where the grooves are gone. The one I took off the green machine looked the same, I was just looking at it in the junk box.

The bushing in the moveable is also very worn, as is the bronze bushing in the cover plate.

I'm hoping I can salvage the arms, and maybe the spider, but I won't know about any of that until I get it apart.

[Jimmy]

Matt, I thought years ago John Deere had a recall where they took the can off of the clutch or recommended that you take the can off to help it run cooler and like you said to stay in balance due to crap accumilating on the inside. Anybody remember this?

[400brian]

To remove the can on the 100 and 101, I feel you would have to replace the cover plate with the current design, because of the way the cover and can have the bushing sandwiched between them.

Even on the 102C used on the 340/S ( and I'm guessing on the early Cyclones and LFs ) the cover plate was aluminum, where the 102 off my '78 LF ( which did not use the can ) was steel.

If Deere put out a PIP, I'd like to see it.

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Matt, I thought years ago John Deere had a recall where they took the can off of the clutch or recommended that you take the can off to help it run cooler and like you said to stay in balance due to crap accumilating on the inside. Anybody remember this?

Yes, I remember. But just as importantly, I've slept since then so I don't remember where I saw it. I don't even remember what I had for breakfast but am relatively certain it was not a piece of Katie Lindner's pie.

DA

[400brian]

With much effort I was able to salvage the arms. I had to resort to cutting the roll pins off with the oxy/acetylene torch. Despite much heating of the spider, I was unable to get it to turn off, so the whole thing got pitched into the junk box. Next stop: Alcoa.

[JDT]

Well it held up well for you even in that state.