Any trick to removing homelite 360 clutch?

[MOE]

I would like to swap clutches from my parts saw to my 360 prodject saw. I took the plate,(3 screws) off, it looks like it threads off backwards. Is there a trick? I've held the flywheel and tried turning the center peace with a channel lock. I'm afraid to get to rough with it. thanks

 

[Lawn Masters]

I tried the same thing on my DM50, and sheared the flywheel key doing so. DO NOT hold the flywheel to try removing the clutch. I need to know how this is done too.

 

[klickitatsacket]

put a piece of pull rope in the cylinder through the spark plug hole to stop the piston. Next if your clutch has a nut attatched to the clutch.... LET GO! Take a drift punch and a hammer and tap the clutch clockwise. Be careful not to break the shoes.

 

[Lawn Masters]

That would work in most cases, I tried to get it off with EVERY means at my disposal, just short of cutting the clutch in half and putting a new one on it.

 

[klickitatsacket]

when I get a stubborn one I spray it with a penetrating oil and let it sit for a day or 2. Then again there is always the wise ars that uses re lock tite

 

[Lawn Masters]

I'd almsot swear this one has been welded on, but I cant see any welds. its SUPER TIGHT , never been removed at all in the saws lifetime.

 

[Mike mandry]

Well, I might get bashed for this, but it worked for me.

I stuffed the cylinder with rope & removed the 3 clutch shoes.

I also might add that the 360 has a slot in the flywheel meant to be used as a stop, but I prefer the rope method.

Next, I VERY CAREFULLY heated the clutch spider with a propane torch - just for a few seconds. Over-do it & you will cook the crank seals.

Used a large (5/8 O.D.) brass punch & mallet on the spider & off she came.

I fought mine for hours using other methods with no luck. I only use this method as a last resort, but it always works & I haven't screwed anything up yet..........

You just have to be careful & really pay attention to what you are doing.

A lot of thought & a little finesse will beat brute force every time.

Mike

 

[galde]

I learned the hard way a long time ago to not use starter rope to block the piston. It is thin enough to get into the exhaust port or a intake port and possibly damage the piston when the rope gets sheared off. I use a dedicated piece of 5/16 inch diameter braided nylon rope in a bight so there is no rope end in the cylinder to possibly get hung in a port. Before inserting I put the piston at bottom dead center with a foot or so of slack starter rope tied or clamped (this is for when the crank has to go the other way while tightening the clutch --- if there is no slack in the starter rope, you can damage the starter dogs or starter pulley). Try to get enough rope stuffed into the cylinder so that the piston is totally blocked when the crank has turned about 90 degrees. If you insert insufficient rope and block the piston just short of top dead center, then the crank can exert excessive force (think of a vise-grip plier). I have seen many saws damaged or ruined from striking the clutch with a hammer and punch. Neither the cranlshaft, the bearing, nor the clutch is designed to take that kind of battering. I have seen three kinds of clutch in the Homelite 360. Clutches are properly gripped with a spanner wrench designed for that particular clutch. If you have a good vise, then you already have a universal spanner. If you have the "S" type clutch, insert a matched pair of drill bit shanks into the holes in the clutch, grip the shanks in the vise, and turn the saw (push the rear handle downward) to loosen the clutch. If you have the clutch with three screws holding the outer plate onto the spider, then remove one screw and grip the heads of the other two in the vise. If you have the three-legged spider without any holes, then tighten the vise on two matched shanks spaced to bear on two safe spots on the clutch. The shanks must be matched in diameter so when the vise is tightened, they are both gripped and will not spread apart. Remember to have some slack in the starter rope when blocking the crank against the ccw rotation while tightening the clutch. This is to avoid damaging the starter dogs, etc.

 

[Molecule]

I insert about 2" of a say 5" sample of 7/16" climbing rope will just fit into the sparkplug hole. When pushed in straight across to the exhaust-side of the cylinder wall, it will put the connecting rod-to-crankshaft angle about at the desired 90° (or close enough thereto that the cosine of the angle won't make a difference in the forces generated, for the typical case of a 36mm stroke and a 64mm con rod). This position should minimize the forces in the rod bearings and on the piston sidewalls. If the crank (or flywheel) is turned only 90° from BDC, the connecting rod will be at roughly 74°. Because starter rope must overlap itself at an unknown location(s) within the cylinder, it's possible that all the overlap will occur at a point on the piston head which is eccentric to the wrist pin, shifting forces to the weakest link in the system, the piston sidewalls.

As the single strand of 7/16" rope is squeezed down, you at least know the stresses are distributed across the piston top, and a fair share are directly supported by the wrist pin.

When heat sealing the end fibers of a fat rope plug (to keep end fibers from getting loose inside the cylinder), round the end, and then soften any heat lumps with a hammer, so that the tip of the rope isn't bulkier than the shaft of the rope (shifting forces away from the wrist pin).

 

[MOE]

I will try the rope method the next time I work on it. Has anyone had good luck by swearing at it,(tried and it didn't seem to help)?

 

[Ax-man]

Moe.

Does your clutch look like the one at the top in the picture, a three shoe clutch, if it is you might be able to fab a clutch removal tool like the one shown. If the clutch is a six shoe I wish you luck, I hate those style clutches and the goofy tool that is used to to remove it.

Some times the holes on a six shoe are so egged out you have to resort to the hammer punch method to get it off, not a good way to go about it to get the job done.

Larry

 

[Lawn Masters]

I have the 3 shoe clutch. at least I dont have that 6 shoe thing. there is a simple solution to the problem though, just weld a nut on the clutch, then, grind it down to a certain height so it doesnt run against the cover.

 

[Molecule]

may not adapt perfectly to that particular clutch, but simple modifications to a standard 3/8 socket (e.g. cutting out 1/8" notches on appropriate sides of the socket) take about 10-15 minutes if you have a vice, a hacksaw and a bastard file.

I haven't heard of anyone swearing at the rope method, but on this site I have heard of people who used the metal plugs which screw into the spark plug hole. All the stress goes to a single point on the piston top, and the tool can poke a hole thru the top of the piston. Also, the plugs for blocking the piston at BDC by jamming a stop into the exhaust port, I've seen where hard insert tools will indent the soft metal at the top lip of the exhaust port casting.

 

[SIRCHOPALOT]

when all else fails, get a bigger hammer!