john_bud said:In my experience, hydros have been the most reliable, least expensive to own, have about 2/3 the parts as a shuttle, the same maintenance intervals, but they do have about 3-5 fewer hp due to fluid power loss. You are correct, a dealer replaced clutch will cost about $2500 and are typically needed in 4000 hours of operation (6-8000 for a wet clutch.).
It is pretty rare for a gear tranny to have any problems.
How many folks have hydro tractors with 4-8000 hours of operation for which to compare maintenance costs?