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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

1: Removing Clutch Assembly

The first step is to remove the clutch assembly from the drive train. This is required anyway to gain access to the flywheel retaining nut and thereby access to the ignition system.  The chain shown in Figure 1 has a removable link making its disassembly simple.  The use of penetrating oil then allows the sprocket retaining nut to be removed, followed by the sprocket itself from the splined shaft.

More penetrating oil enables the three nuts and bolts which hold the clutch ball bearing cassette to be removed, and after releasing any tension on the clutch cable, disassemble the clutch release forks assembly. A useful tip at this point is to store the disassembled nuts, washers and spring in the order ready for reassembly….or to photograph the details of this assembly order.

Depending on how much clearance you have, you may or may not be able to remove the clutch assembly from the machine.  In the case of this Atco Scythe, the engine needed to be shifted slightly to provide sufficient clearance to remove the clutch.  The clutch is attached to the flywheel via the tabbed shaft and the associated slots in the outer clutch body housing as shown in Figure 2.