So an update and a new question. I took the tractor out for the first time on my steepest hills and it handled them pretty well in 4wd. Didnt push me down the hills and had pretty good control. All that said, I noticed what I thought to be a mechanical issue, but salesman is telling me its user error. Looking for feedback. My tractor is hydrostatic. Seems like the most simple set up possible, however, I had trouble getting it to engage in each gear. It repetitively got hung in neutral and was particularly difficult to get into high gear. In addition, once I had it in high gear ( with the bush hog attached but not engaged) it would not pull a slight incline without bogging down and stalling out. Could this be something Im doing wrong?
Rookie question
- Thread starter dkennedy
- Start date
If you don't accidentally have the parking brake set, or part of the mower acting like a scrape blade gouging off some dirt, then the most likely thing is simply that you should not be trying to go up a hill in high range while also using a bunch of your hp to spin a huge mower, and pulling the weight of said mower as well.
In terms of not being able to 'find' the speed range gears, what i do is point the loader bucket down and just let it touch the ground (don't need much pressure, could use float) and curl the bucket up and down slightly while moving the range shifter. This uses the bucket to rock the tractor back and forth a couple of inches and helps you line up those gear teeth. Only if you need to. Sometimes it 'just works', but if not the bucket will help you find that gear.
In terms of not being able to 'find' the speed range gears, what i do is point the loader bucket down and just let it touch the ground (don't need much pressure, could use float) and curl the bucket up and down slightly while moving the range shifter. This uses the bucket to rock the tractor back and forth a couple of inches and helps you line up those gear teeth. Only if you need to. Sometimes it 'just works', but if not the bucket will help you find that gear.
Thank you for the feedback. Brake not on and bucket slightly raised. That said, Im new to hydrostatic transmissions, so I am a little disappointed if the tractor wont pull a very slight grade in high gear. The bush hog was attached, but not engaged, so not pulling any HP to the PTO. What you described about finding the gears though is exactly what the sales person described, so it sounds like Its just going to take me a little while to get used to. Dont love that fact that your have to hunt for the gears to get them lined up, but hoping once I get some time on the tractor, the process will become more second nature.
GreensvilleJay
Well-known member
Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
re: I am a little disappointed if the tractor wont pull a very slight grade in high gear. The bush hog was attached,
I have to take my truck out of OD when pulling my empty dump trailer up a grade ! It's the 'nature of the beast'........
re: Dont love that fact that your have to hunt for the gears to get them lined up,
If this is a 'gear tranny, you do NOT 'shift on the fly' ! You select the gear you want to be in, then slowly let out the clutch and you stay in that gear. Most gear tranny tractors have straight cut gears, NOT designed to be selected while in motion.
I have to take my truck out of OD when pulling my empty dump trailer up a grade ! It's the 'nature of the beast'........
re: Dont love that fact that your have to hunt for the gears to get them lined up,
If this is a 'gear tranny, you do NOT 'shift on the fly' ! You select the gear you want to be in, then slowly let out the clutch and you stay in that gear. Most gear tranny tractors have straight cut gears, NOT designed to be selected while in motion.
The mistake many make is thinking of the treadle pedal as an accelerator, like on a car. It is not linked to the engine throttle like on a car, it's linked to the transmission. So, if you're 'flooring' it, you're not giving it full throttle, you're putting it in high gear. It's not going to downshift automatically like a car with automatic transmission would.
It's natural that the engine loads up going up an incline, if it starts to lug, back off on the pedal.
mcmxi
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
I generally blow and mow in mid range (M) and rarely use high range (H) unless I'm trying to get somewhere "fast". Moving between ranges with square cut gears isn't the easiest thing to do but it'll get easier with practice, or at least, your expectations will change such that you'll not be as disappointed.
There's some phrase that Neal Messick uses for L, M and H that's "hoe, mow and go" or something like that.
It sounds like you should have your dealer or someone that knows tractors, spend a few minutes with you teaching you tractor operation.
Read the other posts on here. Its golden information. I'll make a couple points.
>IF you're moving the machine, (not parked) keep the revs up. Throttle. Throttle. Throttle. A diesel works best at high revs. It can take it. Of course, don't red line it! The throttle is your power. The treadle pedal is your speed. This doesn't mean full throttle all the time, what it means is if the engine bogs or lugs you're either in the wrong range or throttle is too low.
>Wear ear protection, you want that diesel really humming.
>Hills and High Range don't work together. As in, Never.
>There is a learned knack to shifting ranges. If it doesn't shift, go back to the original range and move the tractor a tiny bit. Then try again.
Find someone to come to your place and go over tractor operation.
Good luck
Read the other posts on here. Its golden information. I'll make a couple points.
>IF you're moving the machine, (not parked) keep the revs up. Throttle. Throttle. Throttle. A diesel works best at high revs. It can take it. Of course, don't red line it! The throttle is your power. The treadle pedal is your speed. This doesn't mean full throttle all the time, what it means is if the engine bogs or lugs you're either in the wrong range or throttle is too low.
>Wear ear protection, you want that diesel really humming.
>Hills and High Range don't work together. As in, Never.
>There is a learned knack to shifting ranges. If it doesn't shift, go back to the original range and move the tractor a tiny bit. Then try again.
Find someone to come to your place and go over tractor operation.
Good luck
nbryan
Well-known member
Equipment
B2650 BH77 LA534 54" ssqa Forks B2782B BB1560 Woods M5-4 MaxxHaul 50039
Are you hauling that heavy rear attachment up a grade in H range at full operating RPM? Looks like 2700 RPM for your MX6000. If not, try at 2700 rpm.Your 12' batwing on the back weighs more than my bare tractor weighs! Depending on the slope and the drag the mower wheels contribute, you may actually need M range.
I find H on my "little" B2650 takes feeling out how quickly to punch the HST pedal while getting up to speed. And I don't ride in H range at slower speeds while barely pushing the pedal, as is hard on the hydraulic motor running low rpm under heavy torque.
H range with a heavily loaded tractor is really only for straight flat runs, A-B.
Then stop and take M for the rest.
Its normal for the gears to ‘not line up’ when nothing in the trans is spinning. Have you ever tried to shift into every gear in a manual transmission car that had the engine off? Most of the time the shifter will not go into every single gear without a bunch of screwing around. So this particular symptom is in no way unique to your tractor, or tractors in general. It’s pretty universal to manually shifted gear transmissions.
Good day. I think some good advice mentioned above. Personally, I’d read the manual…if you have already, great, you are ahead of the game…but go back to the speed ranges…what’s the reason to be in high when mowing / operating with a batwing? Is there terrain so severe you need momentum to get up them? Or really trying to mow / operate at max mph? Or trying to operate in higher gear than necessary for the work. My question would be why not just us L or M? I rarely am out of low on either machine… I am not mowing a huge pasture and a few extra minutes to me to be able to control the machine with rpm and engine brake is more important than how fast I can mow…to me as slow as possible and as fast as necessary until you are comfortable…or in general for that matter. When a hydrostat starts to lose power going up a grade, as mentioned let off the foot peddle a little…in general I think it better to pick the transmission setting before you go up the grade…after a time or two you will know where to have it…pick the setting and keep rpm’s up IMO and don’t worry about the speed…focus on the control. What’s the plan if it starts bouncing? I don’t understand high range unless in smooth flat ground (ie paved road driving).
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