smoking clutch

[gavin]

just got back from cutting and at the end of the day as i was cutting about a 3 foot sappy hemlock the clutch was smoking pretty good. sappy bark and chips were getting clogged in the bar and near the sprocket, which happens lots, but i've never seen the clutch smoke before. it was piping hot. think its a problem with the clutch? or just got clogged up and was working too hard? i think the clutch springs and/or pads might be getting older because even with the idle all the way down the chain dances really slowly down the bar. oh yeah its a husky 394xp. here's 2 pics of the clutch:

oh yeah other than when it was getting clogged everything else is fine. nose sprocket rolls smooth, the chain is sharp, rakers are all set right, and the drivers are mint.

 

[ScottWojo]

Ok, not sure about Huskies,,, but here is what I know about stihls....

Just recently I bought a MS 660, soon to be on eBay. It was believed to have an oiling issue. I pulled everything down uncluding the clutch. Well when you got the clutch cover off you see the problem...there was years of saw dust packed into the clutch area. So bad was it that the arm that runs the oiler was jammed up away from the sprocket.

I can imagine that you may have a similar issue. Just start taking stuff off on the clutch side and eventually you may get to a very obvious cause.
If you had no problem with cutting wood, and you did not notice any clutch slipping, I have to think that you may have foreign bodies near the clutch or sprocket causing friction.
You also may want to check the bearing that the sprocket rides on.
Good luck and please post your findings.

 

[PES+]

It is likely your bearing take off the clutch

You have a lot of hemlock pitch all over the inside of the clutch and it most likely moved into the bearing and gummed it up.

A sticky bearing will cause the clutch creep and it also appears that around the brake band packed up with grunge and was causing a little brake drag.

You may be able to save the bearing but it is likely in need of replacement.

 

[newguy18]

Heres what you need to do pull the clutch and sprocket and clean them down with a good carb cleaner it can't be beat for removing sap and wood chips then replace the sprocket bearing even if it appears good I've seen them break and ruin a clutch.Clean inside the sprocket where the clutch sits and all around the sprocket area including the oil pump.You should be good to go after that.

 

[Grande Dog]

Howdy,
To get the kind of heat you're talking about, you must have glazed the clutch and the drum. Look at the surface of the drum where your clutch engages it. If you can see a reflection, it's glazed. You'll also feel a lip on the drum from the wear. In the field, rough up the surface of the clutch and the drum and finish the day. On the bench, toss the drum, install a new one, and rough up the clutch shoes. The chain creep is either your sprocket bearing or clutch springs.