GC2300 - Any Harm to Leaving it in 4x4?

[kmbusse]

Do not leave in 4 wheel if not necessary. I did, and it cost me a lot of money to replace the front gears when they went.

 

[vicos]

My 2300 is very hard to get out of 4WD. I hate to really have to pull it hard for fear of breaking something. Often times, I'll just go forward or back until the handle will easily release. Anyone else have this issue or a solution?

 

[TRR]

I have 2 tractors from different companies, both need to rock the tractor fwd and back to get out of 4WD and sometimes into 4WD. It will go easy (all things are relative) if all the gears are lined up with the stars and the moon. Otherwise, have to rock it to get it all "unbound". The binding tells me there is a lot of pressure on the driveline causing wear which is why I only use 4WD as needed.

 

[rjmack]

It will go easy (all things are relative) if all the gears are lined up with the stars and the moon. Otherwise, have to rock it to get it all "unbound". The binding tells me there is a lot of pressure on the driveline causing wear which is why I only use 4WD as needed.

same here, i usually shift out of 4wd as i'm backing away from the pile, or feather the reverse pedal.

also, if you look at the front driveshaft slipyoke, you'll see that it is really very small/light duty looking.

 

[blueriver]

Here is my thought ... if it was meant to be in 4x4 full time, there would be no lever to engage and disengage.

I only use 4x4 when its needed.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I dont even leave my old trucks in 4x4. Tractor gears are in a bind all the time in 4x4, wearing out. They are expensive. I strongly recommend using four wheel only when absolutely necessary. I have almost twenty 4x4's around my shop right now. We only use 4x4 in the skidder when necessary, of course it has a lock option that makes all four pull with no differentiation in the axles. Hope this helps.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Do not leave in 4 wheel if not necessary. I did, and it cost me a lot of money to replace the front gears when they went.

My 2300 is very hard to get out of 4WD. I hate to really have to pull it hard for fear of breaking something. Often times, I'll just go forward or back until the handle will easily release. Anyone else have this issue or a solution?

These are signs of a significant mismatch between front and rear drive. -- usually overdriven front. -- In itself on ground surfaces it should not be sufficient to damage the front drive if well lubed. Over time tho, the front tires will wear down and could make mismatch worse [depending on which side of neutral it started out]. ... I almost always go in and out of 4wd on the fly, while traveling straight. There should be no resistance to quickly engaging. If there is resistance disengaging Ive found it effective to do a momentary full throttle speed up followed by letting off while simultaneously operating the lever.
larry

 

[ray66v]

overdriven front. -- In itself on ground surfaces it should not be sufficient to damage the front drive if well lubed.
larry

Except, this particular model has an unknown, (to us), number of tractors which had front pinion gears that were not properly hardened.

The owners manual does warn about potential damage, if the front wheels are not allowed to slip.

 

[Wacky]

Often times, I'll just go forward or back until the handle will easily release. Anyone else have this issue or a solution?

This is normal, make sure you have the steering wheel straight while moving. Mine is easily taken in and out on level ground while moving straight, forward or reverse.

 

[vicos]

My dealer warned me when I bought it not to have it in 4WD when on hard pavement because the front wheels needs to spin faster than the rear ones. You can hear the gears fighting one another on hard pavement.

Anyhoo, I played around today and it only seems to shift out of 4WD easily if I go in reverse, start to pull up on the lever and then quickly go forward. It slips smoothy out right as it transitions from reverse to forward.