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I'm not even sure how to ask this, but I'll try.
I have one of these earth augers (power post hole
diggers).
It has a 2 cycle 3HP engine, under the engine is a
Centrifical Clutch,
and under that is some gears (transmission), and the auger
(drill)
goes below that.

The problem is the clutch is not disengaging. When I pull
the starter
rope the drill already turns, and when it does start, I'm
already
digging which makes it impossible to have enough hands to
set the
choke lever and control the thing. Because of this, it
got away from
me, but finally killed after bouncing around on the ground
for a
minute.

I took this cent... clutch apart. It works sort of like
the rear
brakes (drum brakes) in a car. The engine connects to a
round piece
of steel, there are two dogs that fit around it with pivot
points, and
a spring on each end to keep the two halves together. I
understand
the principle. When the engine turns fast, the springs
stretch and
the dogs contact the "drum" surrounding it. Pretty much
the same as
the way drum brakes contact the drum, except this is
centrifical.

On disassembly, I found the assembly attaches to the
engine shaft with
a set screw, and there is a key to lock it to the shaft.
Everything
was in working order, no rust, good springs, everything
clean.
However, the set screw had fallen out, so the whole thing
was floating
in there. I got a new set screw, and tightened it well.
I pushed the
assembly tight against the washer spacers on the engine
shaft. I
noticed the indent from the original set screw was in that
same exact
spot, so I know that's correct.

I put the whole thing back together only to find that it
still will
not disengage. As I said, everything appears in perfect
working order
on that clutch. This leaves me puzzled. I just dont know
what else
to do with it.

Has anyone worked on these sort of things? What can I do
with it?

One other thing. I am wondering if the whole clutch could
be upside
down. I bought this auger at an auction, and the last
owner could
have tampered with it. When I removed the clutch
assembly, I noticed
that the upper part which contacts the spacers under the
engine was
very smooth, whereas the bottom side showed some wear
marks from being
loose (with that set screw out). I reassembled it the
same way. This
entire clutch assembly could be flipped over and installed
upside
down. It will fit either way. How can I tell which way
is right?
This is where I dont know how to word this question....
(here goes my
best try). In relation to the rotation of the motor, how
can I tell
which is the correct way to install it to make the dogs
fly outward
when the engine speeds up? I can easily tell the rotation
direction
by pulling the rope a little, but after that, I'm
lost......

Finally, if the clutch assembly were backwards, I would
suspect it
would not engage at all, rather than engage all the time.
Is this
correct thinking?????

(Unfortunately this thing has no brand name, no model
number, so I
cant even get a diagram for it).

Sure could use some help.....

Mark



It's possible that the engine is not idling slow enough to
allow it to disengage. Adjust the idle and see what happens.

Frank