Hydrostat Transmission Question

[norcal]

A dealer said that if the hydro trans breaksdown for some reason that the tractor will be stuck. In other words, the tractor can not be moved without dropping the drive lines or bleeding the hydrolic system. Unlike other transmissions, manual and GST, you simply can not put it into neutral to move it?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hydrostatic transmissions have a neutral. Not sure if your dealer wasn't trying to describe another fault condition or trying to scare you away from a hydrostatic trans.
DaveL

 

[markie61]

Not true.....

Mine rolls by itself with the engine off and the drive selector in neutral. This is why I put it in gear and set the parking brake (plus lower implement and/or loader if attached) when I park it.

Something doesn't sound right with this dealer..... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Mark

 

[norcal]

He said something about disks inside the hydrolics/transmission and with no hydrolics the disk plates would lock up hence, locking up the drive train. The possible condition, he explained, was that your basically driving along and if the hydrolic system fails.... your stuck, no pushing the tractor like a manual transmission.

 

[normde2001]

Sounds as if you told this dealer you wanted a tractor with a hydrostat transmission and he doesn't have them.

 

[BillyP]

I can put my range selector in neutral and roll it anywhere I want. With the range selector in gear, there's no moving it.

 

[uhmgawa]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( He said something about disks inside the hydrolics/transmission and with no hydrolics the disk plates would lock up hence, locking up the drive train. The possible condition, he explained, was that your basically driving along and if the hydrolic system fails.... your stuck, no pushing the tractor like a manual transmission. )</font>

Kubota hydrostatic transmissions are basically an integrated
variable displacement hydraulic pump and motor. The motor
drives a conventional multi-gear transmission which also
allows the gears to disengage in the neutral position.
Thus even in the case where the hydraulic motor somehow
managed to lock-up, the motor shaft would be disconnected
from the rear differential in neutral.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I just put mine in neutral and pushed it by hand cause I didn't want to start it for a few seconds to move it so I can't imagine that happening. I agree with the other posters, sounds like he's just trying to steer you away. Maybe he's got a gear tractor he really wants to get rid of.

By the way, my brother-in-law has a MF 35 and every once in a while the gears slip out of the yoke and it'll lock up the rear end sliding the tires till you break out the BIG screwdriver and pry the gears back in alignment so that's possible even with a geared tractor.

 

[heith]

Everything will break down eventually and when this happens you fix it.If breakdown and falure is your concern,then you don't want a tractor.Or a car,or a computer,or a push mower and you've got the point.

 

[norcal]

Wow! Just trying to understand GST and HST. Apologies if I upset anyone. Have a nice day... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

Norcal, I don't think you upset anyone; certainly nothing at all wrong with your question. It's just a shame when someone who should know better gives you erroneous information, and it sure appears that someone did.

 

[jimg]

Hi norcal,
Was at the Kubota dealer this past Sat and noticed even in gear the unti was rolling backward down a slight incline. This was w/ the engine running and midrange selected foot off the pedal. I always thought the transmission would hold but I guess not. So I asked the dealer and he was able to push the tractor around by hand even in gear engine running! That was surprising. So I think unless something goes very wrong you should be able to move it.
jimg

 

[Anonymous Poster]

It wasn't you that upset everyone. It was a dealer, or more likely a salesman who is used to making up things on the fly, who fed you a crock [censored] story that upset everyone. Don't take it personally -- it wasn't your fault -- TBN'ers don't like unknowledgeable dealers.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

You certainly didn't upset me or from what I can tell anyone else here. I hope that I didn't upset you. Like OkeeDon said Us TBN'ers don't like it when anyone tries to 'pull the wool' over a fellow TBN'er.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Norcal,

It's hard to say where this dealer is coming from. Let's just say he very misinformed about hydro tractors. The operators manual for my hydro gives these steps for moving the tractor with the engine not running:
1. Shift to neutral
2. Disengage MFWD
3. Release parking brake

I checked the on-line manual for the JD 4310 with ehydro and the instructions are basically the same.

I think this dealer is dead set against selling hydro tractors. If you are so inclined, ask him to see the manual for the tractor you are interested in and see what instructions it gives.
If it tells you that you must bleed the hydraulic fluid or drop drive lines, you prbably should be looking at a different brand.

Jeff

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Davidj,
I ran an old International 560(?) years ago on my uncles farm that did the same thing. It would manage to pull 2 gears in at the same time (and lock up), or the shifter would pop out of the shift rods entirely, making you think it was in neutral while it was really in gear. Darn near ran over my cousin on the thing. You always dropped the clutch slowwwlllly and waited to see what happened. Had to pull the shifter out and re-center the shift rods before you could run it again.
DaveL

 

[deepsnow]

Personally I would consider a different dealer even if it means buying a different color tractor. A honest, knowledgeable dealer who charges a fair price for their products & service was high on my list regarding purchasing a tractor.

 

[Pacesetter300]

The only thing I can remotely think of is the salesman is a lawn tractor guy transplanted. MY Honda 4518 hydro will not go anywhere with the engine off. There's a small lever under the seat that needs to be moved, then it wheels freely. I used a Husqvarna once and I think that was the same.
Pacesetter

 

[MossRoad]

On the Power Trac PT425, if the engine dies, you ain't going nowhere! You have to open a bleed valve to bypass the pump. That is because there is no transmission. Just pumps. So you couldn't really consider it an HST like a conventional tractor.

Every true hydrostatic tractor that I've seen has a transmission with two or three ranges and a neutral. My IH2500B is hydrostatic and the owners manual says that you have to put the tractor in neutral to tow it. It also says that you need to run the engine at 1000RPMs to provide steering and transmission lubrication. If the engine cannot be started, you have to add 4 gallons of HYTRAN fluid to the transmission before towing to provide lubrcation. When the unit is repaired, you have to drain the tranny down to the full line on the tranny dipstick.

You also cannot start the engine, even if it is in neutral, unless you depress the hydrostatic bypass valve with your left heel before cranking. The fluid in the pump will prevent the engine from turning over fast enough to start.

What brand of tractor were you looking at? It would be interesting to see which make and model the dealer was talking about. Hope this helps. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The only thing I can remotely think of is the salesman is a lawn tractor guy transplanted. MY Honda 4518 hydro will not go anywhere with the engine off. There's a small lever under the seat that needs to be moved, then it wheels freely. I used a Husqvarna once and I think that was the same. )</font>

They all have a disconnect somewhere. AYPs (Craftsman, Poulan, Weedeater, et al) sometimes have them coming out of a keyhole shaped slot on the rear.

The guy was just a poorly informed salesman. It happens a lot these days--and not just in tractordom.

SnowRidge