212 Variable Clutch

dan on the one i have some times when its not working right I spray a little black grafite on the center pice. and seam to help for a coupel of weeks. iam shure that the new pices are very pricey. hope this helps. Bob

The pulleys are fine but the sheave is chewed up. Do you know how this comes apart?

Welcome Dan &Bob.i believe i would remove both belts and and polish the shaft ,on both sides of the pulley ,till is is smooth ,and till the center pulley moves free ,,it don,t want to be to loose ,just free , David

Dan at this point you need a service manual ,and move to 200 series ,you will do better ,David

Thanks for your help.

Dmed99 said:

I have a 212 Deere and the variable clutch doesn't work well. I have finally taken it out of the tractor and the center section is sticky and the sleeve is rough. Is there a way to fix this or should I take it to a dealer?

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If you have the unit out of the tractor, there's no reason to take the variator to a dealer for repair. They will try
to sell you a new variator, or even a new tractor. BTDT. A new variator was in the $400 price range last time I checked.
I have had pretty good success taking a variator to a machine shop. The machine shop turns the hub smooth and then
bores a new bushing for the sliding sheave which has the correct tolerance according to the Service Manual.
Getting the unit apart takes a large pin spanner and a vise. My machine shop made the pin spanner for me.

Dmed99, I found 2 on e-bay (search john deere variator) for $184 and $400. Both done by the same company. The 184 one was good enough to only need a partial rebuild. The 400 one was rebuilt for the most part completely. I bought one from this dealer last year. He is also a member here. I haven't had any problems with it .

Jim

Dmed99, there at 2 on ebay (search - john deere variator). One for 184 and the other for 400. I bought a rebuilt one from this dealer last year for my 1980 210. Works just fine. The dealer is also a member here.

Jim

You guys realize that thread is 10 years old and both guys are banned.
I guess better late than never.