So I had an idea last night & I chucked it up in my metal lathe. what happens is if I hold it back its initially locked up pretty good, but not solid. Same way its felt in my hands since I got it. But, once its turned a few times it gets looser & feels like any other clutch thats not locked. I can then hold it back (while wearing welding gloves) & it slips easily for as long as I want to hold it. I then took a heat gun & warmed the front to 225 ish, I could see the spring turn the fluid valve, but no change. IT never locked up. Leave it sit for 15 seconds & its stiff again until its broke loose. While I am not sure whats happening inside, it does not appear to be functioning correctly at all. My lathe only has a 10" swing, so it would have been better to have a fan bolted to it & let the blade resistance be the real test, but that would take a different setup. Was fun testing it. I am easily amused when I experiment with parts like this that I have taken for granted for decades, but never completely understood how they work. I used to have a Silverado truck that the fan would lock up & sound like a street sweeper for about 30 seconds "almost" every time I drove it. It would then release & go quiet. Did that from the day it was new. Was kinda weird, never had a car or truck do that, but it might have had an exceptionally loud fan too.
I would like to say this clutch has lost its fluid, but there is for sure some thats locks it up initially. Probably low. Once I know its toast I might open it up for curiosities sake
