Tractor wasnt coming out of 4wd... fixed with gentle encouragement from ball peen.

[tn60a]

tn60a had been stuck in 4wd for some time. Decided to do something about it. Read some older threads here that suggested there was extra travel in the 4wd control lever I wasnt realizing. I gave the bottom of the linkage encouragement with a small hammer and it angrily popped out of 4wd. Working the linkage back and forth with previously mentioned encouragement and spray lubricant increased the chance with each movement the lever would do its intended job of engaging or disengaging the front axle.

Figured there had to be more to it than that, maybe some adjustment or a lubrication point along the linkage. Located and purchased service manual for tn60a tractor. $399.96.:thumbdown: out of 1192 pages there was 1 page on the "4wd idler" system. CNH service manual advice Break free any stuck linkage, clean and lubricate . Thank you for the wonderful insight into maintenance.

For anyone else with a TN60a, TN70A, TN80a, TN95a with issues with 4wd engagement or disengagement... break free any stuck linkage, clean and lubricate. The 4wd lever has an extra inch of movement in either direction than what seems physically possible when pulling on it.

 

[Texasmark]

I bought a new tractor and it's a little over 1k hours now. The 4wd has always been stiff to operate since new but I find that if I put pressure on the lever when letting out the clutch in reverse it shifts smoothly. In forward it doesn't want to disengage.

Funny on things. Gripe about old tractors being sloppy from wear (have 2 of them). Then buy a couple of new ones and gripe because things need to be limbered up...and 2 of them. Seems we always have something to gripe about. But speaking first person singular, that's what drives me to excel when doing something......well I seek excellence....getting there is another story. Grin.

 

[CincyFlyer]

Even on a new tractor, if the 4wd is "bound" the lever may be hard to move. Driving around will usually let me pop it out on my Mahindra. Ultimately, one could always get the front wheels off the ground with the loader and fix that binding! Otherwise, linkage was a problem with my tractor, sitting outside at the dealership for nearly a year before I got it. Everything was hard to move.

 

[mark in portugal]

Mine is spring loaded, so after moving the lever the 4wd dog will pop out when the drive train is unloaded.
Since getting new front tires, it will only pop out if I reverse in a straight line for 10 or 20 yards.
A finger on the lever lets me know when it goes.

I don't know what would happen if the 4wd was left engaged on asphalt; but I assume it would be BAD. The thing weighs 4 tons.

 

[bilrus61]

If you got a loader lift the front tires off the ground by tipping the bucket down and then lowering it to the ground. Once the front tires are in the air should be easier to push the lever and get it out of 4wd.

 

[Farmer495]

Try shift out when turning the wheels back and forth, or pushing throttle wide open and off wile driving, unloads front axle so it will shift out easy.

 

[52wej]

Every 4 WD tractor I have driven with manual engagement will bind if you have been turning or pulling hard. As others have noted the trick is to release the tension in the system before disengaging. Stopping, straightening the wheels, and the reversing the tractor for a few feet has always released the tension so that the 4WD can be disengaged. W Jones

 

[rScotty]

If you got a loader lift the front tires off the ground by tipping the bucket down and then lowering it to the ground. Once the front tires are in the air should be easier to push the lever and get it out of 4wd.

If lifting the front wheels off the ground make it noticibly easier to shift out of 4wd then most likely what is happening is that your front to rear tire size ratio does not properly match the internal front to rear gear ratio. Lifting the front allows the torsional stress in the drivetrain to "unwind" safely before it breaks something. Anything that allows the front tires (or rears) to slip easily will do the same thing. It probably won't happen when driving on slippery surfaces.

Normally the F/R tire rolling circumference ratio should match the internal gear ratio closely. It's never exact, typically 4wd tractors are geared internally so that the front tires turn slightly faster than the rears which allows for maintaining steering control without "plowing" the front wheels. This slight mismatch will also cause a 4wd tractor shifter to hang up a bit when driven on a really high traction surface - like asphalt. That's normal and unavoidable...but it also means there is torsional stress building up on the driveline. It's wise to be careful to limit that type of use. Hopefully this mismatch is small on an OEM tractor with original tires....hopefully small enough to avoid damage to the drivetrain.

The most common cause of serious enough mismatch to actually break things like ujoints, drive & transmission shafts or hub gearing happens when the tire tread type is changed without considering that the rolling circumference of the new tires needs to be the same ratio that tractor was originally designed for.
Tractors are tough, however... they can take some of that type of stress. But if your 4wd lever is hanging up when 4wd is engaged, consider only using 4wd when the surface is slippery enough to allow tires to slip.
Luck,
rScotty

 

[tn60a]

The linkage just needed some love it seems like in my situation. More frustrated at the lack of information in the $400 service manual than anything else. After cleaning and spraying with some dry film lubricant it moves sufficiently but just the location of it will make for an ongoing problem.

 

[rScotty]

The linkage just needed some love it seems like in my situation. More frustrated at the lack of information in the $400 service manual than anything else. After cleaning and spraying with some dry film lubricant it moves sufficiently but just the location of it will make for an ongoing problem.

Glad yours was simple & responded to lube. If it's equally difficult both directions then it's lube. Suspect a ratio mismatch when it is easy to get into 4wd but difficult to get out. And even then, the best cure is just to be reasonable about when to use 4wd. Tractors will generally handle a fair amount of abuse & ratio mismatch.
rScotty.