Unsure about Ford 850 gear shift positions

[AA7TU]

I am looking at a neighbor's Ford 850 to potentially purchase. I was driving it today, and it seems that the gear shift is not working like I would expect. I find that there are only gears selected at the extreme left and right positions in both the up and down rows. The middle positions do nothing, as if they are neutral. The transmission label indicates a 5 speed pattern, so that means I am only seeing 3 forward speeds and reverse. Those gears are working fine, no apparent noises or issues, and seem to be all I need. The owner does not know anything about the situation, so it may have been like that for a long time.

Can anyone tell me about the details of the transmission that would point at a specific problem or part failure? Would it be unwise to operate it as it is? I will need to drive it 10 miles to my home.

 

[MitchellB]

10 miles is a long way to drive on a 60 year old tractor at top speed that you are unsure of it's condition. I got a 861D with that 5 speed in it. It can be a pain to find the gears in. You should have 4 forward speeds and a reverse. I use 3rd and reverse (up, push forward to go forward & up, pull back to reverse) most of the time and occasionally 1st if I need to go real slow walking speed. Those middle gears (1st & 2nd) can be a PIA to find sometimes. I never had a reason to need the faster gears (4th & 5th) at the bottom, but they are much easier to find than the middle set of gears. I like having the granny gear available and once you get used to it, 3rd and reverse are easy to use.

 

[LD1]

Does it feel like its shifting into gear and just doing nothing? If so could be a broken clutch fork.

Or does it feel like there simple is no gear there to shift into? Most likely operator error. Those transmissions were a PITA to find the middle gears sometimes, as already mentioned. there might be nothing wrong, you just aint finding them.

 

[AA7TU]

Thanks guys. The tractor was driven the same 10 miles a year ago when it was last sold, and it has mainly sat since then. I don't think anything has changed since that time, so it would seem to be OK for the return trip.

I am new to this type of tractor, so I may not be doing it properly. But I do feel a distinct detent in those middle positions which do nothing, so I there is the possibility that something internally is wrong. I will do more testing when I go there next, and maybe pull off the inspection cover.

Is the problem of finding the gears more of a finesse kind if thing, or more of lots of pressure on the shifter? The gears that are being selected require little force to move through.

 

[Ford850]

Are you sure you are getting it into the middle selections? Mine is a little difficult to hit that sweet spot, holding the lever pushed halfway between up and down. Then pushing forward or back on the lever while holding at that middle height.

just saw you last post...
The middle gear selections should push into position the same distance as the upper and lower selections. Mine moves pretty easily, but I think it's possible for the lever to partially engage, holding the middle height, but not going into gear. Sometimes I pop it back out, allow it to spring back upwards, cycle it up and down a couple times and also cycle the clutch pedal, then find that middle height and push forward or back and into gear.

 

[AA7TU]

Ah, there's the rub. I did not know about the middle height. I thought there was just up and down, and three positions horizontally, based on the transmission plate picture. But now I see the middle horizontal position is indeed neutral, and the left and right horizontal positions are stacked 3 high.

I can believe those middle gears are going to be fiddly to find at first. Thanks, I am sure these tips will help.

 

[MitchellB]

10 miles is a long way to drive on a 60 year old tractor at top speed that you are unsure of it's condition. I got a 861D with that 5 speed in it. It can be a pain to find the gears in. You should have 4 forward speeds and a reverse. I use 3rd and reverse (up, push forward to go forward & up, pull back to reverse) most of the time and occasionally 1st if I need to go real slow walking speed. Those middle gears (1st & 2nd) can be a PIA to find sometimes. I never had a reason to need the faster gears (4th & 5th) at the bottom, but they are much easier to find than the middle set of gears. I like having the granny gear available and once you get used to it, 3rd and reverse are easy to use.

Whoops, meant to say, five forward speeds & reverse. Yes, neutral is in the middle with 3 straight up and down positions on a spring that holds the lever pushed up in the top position normally where it should easily shift into 3rd and reverse without pushing down against the spring, just back and forth. I usually push up and down on my shift lever to get a feel where the middle position is when trying to shift into 1st or 2nd. Mine just does not naturally fall into the middle shift pattern, I have to search for it. The bottom position (4th & 5th) is easy to find by just pushing the shifter all the way down compressing the spring (while in neutral) and either shift forward or to the rear for those gears.

 

[Ford850]

Ah, there's the rub. I did not know about the middle height. I thought there was just up and down, and three positions horizontally, based on the transmission plate picture. But now I see the middle horizontal position is indeed neutral, and the left and right horizontal positions are stacked 3 high.

I can believe those middle gears are going to be fiddly to find at first. Thanks, I am sure these tips will help.

Now you've got it. Once your on the tractor and shift a few times, that mid-height level is pretty easy to find. Once I got used to it, I found it was my favorite of the several shift patterns found on these old tractors. 3rd and reverse are the most used, and are the easiest to find since the lever rests in 'up' position and you just shift back and forth between 3 and R.

 

[AA7TU]

Yesterday I drove the tractor home. After reading the replies here, I fiddled with the gear selector, and simply was not able to access what I expect are 4th and 5th gears. All I could get were 3,2,1 and R. The lever was up or down, with no hint of anything in between those. That meant I came the whole ten miles in 3rd, which is a snail's pace. Quite a long and not very fun trip, due to no muffler (one for the fix-it list).

I'm stumped on this one. While I do not expect to need 4th or 5th again, as it will stay on the land here, I would like to have it work properly when it comes time to pass it along. Given the level of benign neglect on the tractor overall, I suspect that the previous owners just shrugged and carried on, as they never went on the road either.

Does anyone know of a youtube that shows these shift lever movements up close?

I suspect I will post another time with more questions as I get into the otherwise minor repairs.

 

[Kirk-NJ]

Look to see if PO has install a lock out on forth and fifth gear. I have a homemade job on my 950 for pulling. You don't want to hit forth or fifth by mistake for pulling. Look under shifter to see if it goes all the way down or if a piece was added to prevent this.

Kirk