new 3400 shifting trouble

[praha]

I have a trouble shifting my new 3400 gear tractor./SOMETIMES, MOST of TIme it's fine/.
BUT, sometimes, I can't shift without a typicall gear teeth, grinding sound. I feel like I just have no more gear teeth left...kind of , anyway.
RPM are down to 1000 when idling, clutch pedal is there, and the tractor is not moving.
I was wondering , if lowering RPM would solve the problem. I don't want to take it to the dealer , since the problem is not persistent.
OR what else it could be ??/ I have this problem since the machine was new a couple of weeks ago/.
Thanks,

Joe

 

[Dieselmh]

These tractors don't have synchros to mesh the gears, that's why you have to let it stop moving before you shift. Sometimes the teeth aren't lined up, and you get grinding. If it won't go into gear real easily, try double clutching it. Put it in neutral, let off the clutch, press the clutch in, put it into gear, and try it again. Sometimes it just takes two tries for the gears to mesh. Is it major grinding, or do you just hear a slight grind as it goes into gear? I'm no mechanic, but from what I can remember, every tractor we've ever owned has always made that sound every once in a while when you shifted.

 

[canoetrpr]

praha - I imagine that you are asking about the DT model?

If it is the HST you have then occasionally you have to hit the HST pedal a bit while still in neutral for it to allow you to shift out of neutral.

 

[wushaw]

The tranny is a non syncronized tranny which means you will have to shift it like most truck drivers do if you want to keep forward motion....float the gears.

 

[praha]

That's what I will have to do, double clutching sometimes. Thank's.

After several hours of a loader work, I had a pain in my knee from a constant clutching.Never experienced ANY problem with my knee , ever.

Well, I bought a gear tractor , 'cause a hydro seemed tooo boring. I wanted gears and a gas pedal. I guess I was wrong. If I ever buy another tractor, it would be hydro.

Thank you guys for your help,

Joe

 

[JerryG]

Joe,
Is the free play correct on your clutch pedal?
Just because it is new doesn't mean that it is correct. My FIL was wondering why his front tires was wearing so fast on his L3830, I think that is the right model number. Well, anyway the toe-in was 3". That is about 4-5 time more that it should have been. That is the way it came when he bought it new.

 

[Johnjan]

I already liked my HST. After reading this, I LOVE my HST...

 

[Dieselmh]

Well, I bought a gear tractor , 'cause a hydro seemed tooo boring. I wanted gears and a gas pedal. I guess I was wrong. If I ever buy another tractor, it would be hydro.

Thank you guys for your help,

Joe

Don't be so quick to jump ship, hydros have their own set of issues. I seem to remember a thread recently about the brake being too far from the hydro pedal for the normal sized foot to reach both at the same time. I'm also thinking that you'll get more used to it after time, and your shifting will improve. I do quite a bit of stopping and backing with my geared 3400, and am getting pretty good at not grinding gears.

 

[praha]

Jerry,
I don't know, I'll look at that, thanks.

Diesel,
I am not jumping ship, I will get used to it.
I should stop whining and be happy. But, the whole purpose of this post was to find out what is going on and /or if there's any adjustment I should check/correct.

Thank you guys for your time,

Joe

 

[Dieselmh]

Jerry,
I don't know, I'll look at that, thanks.

Diesel,
I am not jumping ship, I will get used to it.
I should stop whining and be happy. But, the whole purpose of this post was to find out what is going on and /or if there's any adjustment I should check/correct.

Thank you guys for your time,

Joe

Roger that. I don't think there's any adjustment you can make. It's how they are designed. If they put synchros in the transmission, the gears would mesh up without grinding, but the transmission would last as long without need work. It's the same reason they don't put synchros in big rigs, that's why they can get hundreds of thousands of miles without needing a rebuild.

 

[Johnjan]

I've got about 6 hours on my 3400HST. Honestly, I've never even put my foot on the brake pedal except to set the parking brake. As soon as I lift off the HST pedal, the thing stops as though I've hit a brick wall. Let off slowly, and the thing stops slowly.

 

[N80]

Well, I've got an L4400 geared tractor. Love it. A little grinding on occasion isn't going to hurt anything. I can drive it all day long, from loader work to mowing, without ever having to think about shifting gears. It will become second nature once you've spent time on it. I love the simplicity and economy of a gear tractor. My left knee aches from time to time, but never bad enough to spend the extra money on HST and lower hp. And the knee pain has less to do with any inherent weakness of a geared tractor than the fact that it is 44 years old and out of shape.

 

[johnk]

And then there is the GST. No PTO loss and No sore knee. Best of both worlds. A little extra cash of course..