Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Snow, driveways & tractors.

[BruceNorthEast]

Nice looking machine megotatractor.

Five hours to clear 150' driveway YIKES, /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif maybe my in-laws were right: maybe I do need a plow truck more than a tractor! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

... Naaaa. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
Bruce.

 

[beenthere]

On my Deere, engaging the 4wd on the fly is ok, but not ok to do that with the differential lock. Some movement in the wheels is ok when engaging the diff, but not a lot of spinning as the lock ties the right and left wheel together and its good they are not real different in rotational speed when locked.

I'd suspect the 'head turning' might have been just to see what you were going to do about it. I recall the mechanics discussing the ripped up parts in a tranny, and relating stories as to what could have caused it - suspected it was the diff. lock when the wheels were spinning differently.

Just a thought.

 

[jimmysisson]

daTeacha- I'm pretty sure your old Scout had no center diff. It would have had three floor levers: trans, 2wd/4wd, hi-lo range. They were a simple, rugged unit but without a differential. A driveshaft went out to rear and front from a transfer case mounted behind the transmission. The transfer case contained the 2/4 gears and the reduction for hi/lo.
I don't know if any tractors have center diff but I'd doubt it in our size range. Basically you want power to as many wheels as possible, and let tire slippage take care of the "windup".
Those old Scouts had a rugged drive train but here in rust country they used to lose pieces on the road a lot.
Jim

 

[daTeacha]

There was a lever in the glove box to lock the front and rear together -- what did it control?

I'm wondering if I'm wrong in thinking of the transfer case as a center differential? I could shift between 2 high, 4 high, and 4 low with a lever next to the gearshift, and if you got high centered or something equally stupid, it would just sit and spin that one wheel unless you locked it up. Then all four would turn together. -- well, not quite since the front diff was not a posi unit, but if you rode the brake lightly it would turn 'em all. If memory serves, it was a 1970 model. 2 doors, removable hard top, removable doors, hose out the interior with plugs in the floor to drain it, fold down the windshield if you wanted to, etc. Not your modern SUV by any stretch. It didn't even have a radio. It died one day when I popped over a hill one winter day just where the salt truck quit and found a guy sitting crosswise in the road in his Buick. I had to choose between T-boning him and running into the woods. Big trees are tougher than the old Scouts. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[trlong]

Woody,

This, also, from J.D. Support:

<font color="blue"> </font><font color="blue" class="small">( I have some additional information for you on tire chains and the reason we do not recommend chains on front tires. Chains on the front-tires would change the overspeed ratio between front and rear tires. This will damage the front axle.
)</font> </font>

That said, obviously you know about the issue and yes, at least on the tractor you can see (and probably feel) if you're binding up the front wheels or one is slipping to compensate for the radius of a turn. Hope it works for you as I know the feeling of sliding downhill on ice...more than once. Tends to give you a really helpless feeling. Good luck with it. With this storm tonight and tomorrow, you may need some decent traction.

Bruce,...didn't mean to hijack your thread. Just didnt' want folks damage their front axles unnecessarily.

Tom

 

[scott_vt]

Hi Tom,
I think your description about whats happening is about as it gets with non technical terms. I am under the same understanding as you about no slippage when the tractor is in FWD and turning. Maybe if you remember to take it out of FWD when making any serious turns you would be OK, but you would probablly have to have a better memory than mine /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I think they call them senior moments /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

scotty

 

[KubotaSteve]

Bruce,

I think you should look at the whole picture as to what you plan on doing with the tractor. In my case I mow my entire yard with mine as well as quite a bit of loader work and snow removal. I also have a lot of those osage orange (hedge apple) and locust trees which have lots of thorns. In the winter I do clear my relatively flat 200 foot drive and parking area. I ruled out R-1's because of mowing and then ruled out the turfs because of the thorns and doing lots of loader work. I went with R-4's and bought chains for the rear. This is my third winter with this machine and I haven't put the chains on yet although with all the ice we got on Thurs. I probably should have.
I would venture to say if you tried out the tractors in the spring when it is quite wet you would be leaning towards turf tires. Just make sure to evaluate all your needs before choosing.
Good luck

 

[jimmysisson]

Now you've got me wondering what I remember. I admit I was thinking about the 4 cylinder Scouts I used to work on. I also owned a 1972 V-8 woods truck but it had the 3 levers on the floor and I think the glove box had fallen out of the old beater! Yours must have been a spiffier model, mine was a ScoutII.
If you were high-centered but in 4wd high or low, only one wheel would spin? That would indicate (assuming it was a rear) you actually weren't in 4wd. I guess I never ran into one with that lever and can't figure out what it was. Maybe someone else whose memory still works knows. I don't think very many vehicles had center diffs in that era as I remember thinking what a good idea it was (though bulky and complicated) when they came out (Audi, maybe, early '80s).
Jim

 

[daTeacha]

Mine was a 1970(gen 1) with the V-8 from AMC. I think it had a rear posi, but I know it didn't have front posi. I was remembering a particular day when I still had yet to learn that 4wd just allowed you to get stuck farther from help. I was driving across an E-W road south of Fremont, Michigan, on my way to Holton to school. There was ice on the road and a strong wind from the north. During one gust, I felt the truck moving sideways, so stopped. As I sat with the wheels stationary, the truck was still blown sideways! When I got to the left shoulder and had 2 wheels off the ice, I could move again. About 1/4 mile later, another white-out of horizontal snow hit. I figured I would be moved left, so steered to the right to correct. Then I quit moving. I found that the drift I had encountered was big and dense enough to lift the entire truck off the ground. The right front would spin while the other wheels remained stationary. I locked the lever, and all four spun. I know because I got out and watched them while it wasn't going anywhere but was in gear and running. I had to shovel snow from under the thing until it got some weight on the rears again, then backed out. By then, school had been closed for the day. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[kyspartan]

it sounds like someone installed locker in the front differential