Stiff clutch on Super M

I recently purchased a 1953 Farmall Super M which runs well and is in fairly good condition for a non-restored tractor, however, the clutch is so stiff I can hardly use it. The seat is already forward as far as possible without major modification but my legs are short and I can hardly push the pedal far enough to disengage the clutch. The previous owner informed me the clutch has always been stiff and he suspected it is related to keeping the ceramic clutch plate from slipping. Now my questions:
1) What is a ceramic clutch – I have never encountered one before;
2) Is it likely the tension is related to proper operation of the ceramic clutch;
3) Short of pulling the transmission apart, is there any way to lighten the tension on the clutch pedal or will I need to contrive a hand-operated assist using as much leverage as I can???

Any insights will be greatly appreciated.

Cody: You say stiff clutch, and I say stiff compared to what other tractor? I've owned 16 working Farmalls lifetime, everything from a Cub to a 1066. The two stiffest clutches I've encountered are Super M and 560D.

I remember once little project in a community organization. A neighbor who had not driven tractors in 20 years took my 560 for the day. Lot of stop and go type work. When he got back that evening he was quite weak on the clutch leg. He remarked how one forgets. His previous experience had been M and SM.

Make an extension for the clutch pedal. Also get a "soft pedal" extension for the clutch shaft. This was made by M&W Gear from Gibson City I. You may have to make this also. Somebody that has one should by able to give you the size of it and possible a picture. Armand

I have seen guys bolt an oak block of wood to the surface of the clutch peddle

The clutch on my M and 706 were stiff. I was thinking of rigging some type of hand clutch on the 706.

It may be the position from which you push.

steveormary

Is it stiff from sitting "rust". There is a greese fitting in the throw out bearing if you look in the side of the transmission . Seeing as we we don't know much about this tractor maybe you just need to take it out and work it to free everything up.

I have a 52 Super M with a heavy duty industrial clutch in it set up for pulling and it's not bad to push.Make sure the pedals have been greased as well so there not binding on the transmission shaft. It shouldn't be hard to push.


Let us know what happens.

I just figured was the natuure of the beast. I have an M, H, C, B, I4, they all push easy, except the M, it is very stiff to push. And I am 6'3", so it is not because I cannot reach the pedals.
Jim

Cody: The history of these tractors is letter and early Super letter series started out with an Auburn clutch, very easy to push the pedal, however the Auburn clutch was not noted for it's longevity. Especially true after we started getting a lot of loaders.

In 1953, IH switched to the Rockford clutch much more durable, because they had more and heavier springs in the pressure plate. This also made the clutch pedal much harder to depress. Even on my little SA and 130. My 1953 SA was one of the last to come equipped with an Auburn clutch, while my 130 had a Rockford clutch. Even when you encountered those two clutches new on those little offsets, the Rockford was much harder to depress than an Auburn. When I changed my SA from Auburn to Rockford the difference was a 3 spring pressure plate to a 6 spring pressure plate. I expect the difference was even greater on a larger tractor. My SM, 300, 560, 504 and 656 all came new with Rockford, never had an Auburn clutch, thus I never experienced the difference. I do remember my dad commenting on the difference between H and 300 on loader work. They used to spread all the manure on 5 farms, with him loading 5 spreaders. I do remenber him complaining about his left leg after a day with 5 spreaders chasing him loading with 300.

My point in all of this, if you do a lot of tractor work, your left leg will thoughen up to the task. This is why I asked you, "compared to what other clutch"? could be a SC, a pickup, etc. Sure, you can check the lubrication on release bearing, pedal pivot shaft, however your never going to get a SM pedal to depress easy, relative to other clutches I mentioned.

If the clutch pedal is simply hard to fully depress due to it being a long reach, OEM tractor parts (possibly others) sells a clutch extension. It looks like a heavy duty bracket that goes on the yoke at the end of the clutch operating shaft which runs from the end of the pedal. It won"t move the pedal closer to your foot, but it may make it so that you wouldn"t have to press the pedal in as far to disengage the clutch. Part # OEMCX54 - pg 87 of 2009 catalog. Just a thought.