sorry guys, another TA question

after looking threw (please forgive my bad spelling) the archives i have found very good TA info,but not the answer to my question, so here it is. when on flat land, coming to a stop sign, is it ok to throttle down, then engage the TA to slow down? then shift back in to DD after crossing the road? i ask as in my to IH's. one has a weak TA and the toher one is good. the weak one was rebuilt around 30 years ago with used parts and was loud since. my other TA as far as i know is original to the tractor and has never been replaced. i would like to get a little more life out of the weak one ($$$) and hopefull not have to replace the other one at all. thanks guys

No don"t use the t/a to slow down. That"s what your brakes are for. Using the t/a as a brake is the worse thing you could do.

no!that is not their purpose.thats why most dont last, because they are abused.treat it as an emergency thing, when you need it its there.if the tractor is not in the field earning its keep you will never need to us it .that means plowing for example.you come to a heavy pull and the tractor is loosing rpm. so instead off stopping to shift to a lower gear you just pull the ta and when through the hard pull put it back in direct.saves on clutch slippage, dont have to raise plow,time also. it is not a brake,so keep your brakes properly adjusted and locked for road travel.

That's what it is on there for. Use it any way ya want. Doesn't hurt 'em one little bit.

Allan

If you are in road gear, no. It was not designed for that great a speed reduction. Throttle down and use the brakes. What you want to do is what the automotive jocks do, shift down before stopping -- it isn't necessary.

I don't know what tractor you have, but the older ones would just free-wheel and not slow down anyway.

Rustred is absolutely right!!!They are to get you out of a bind,not create one.Why would you want to slow down to low gear to cross intersection after leaving stopsign,red light,etc..

Kevin, the TA is exactly what you want to use to pull out of an intersection. You can start out in 5th TA from a dead stop unless you're pulling a really heavy load, accelerate quickly, and then go to direct to get to full road speed.

The alternatives:
1. Start out in 4th, creep halfway into the intersection, miss the shift, grind the gears, and roll to a halt in the middle of the intersection. Start over.
2. Start out in 5th direct, stall the tractor, slip the snot out of the clutch to get moving, or hop across the intersection.

This is interesting, I will add these thoughts:
The manual TA found on SMTA, and many early number series is not capable of slowing the tractor, it freewheels when pulled back. This free wheeling is continued until the brakes, or load slow the tractor to the speed of the gear when the TA is back. No harm will come to any component doing this.
Harm happens when the TA is pulled back, and thr tractor is allowed to go faster than the ground speed of that trans gear (if the TA were not back. This overspeeds the TA assembly dramatically, and can ruin it. Thus never pull the TA back going down a hill that would allow the speed to increase. Going down a hill pulling a implement in the ground is just fine to use the TA.
This type of manual TA is fine for continuous use as needed to maintain speed, pull for hours, or start in road gear from a stop.
It is always shifted as rapidly as possible without letting go of the handle. No exceptions.
The Hydraulic TAs on newer, and bigger tractors, are very different.
They must never be used to slow down (as a method of stopping in road gear). They are also able to be used as needed to operate as much as necessary. They can be run for days in TA.
They do not free wheel, and when used to slow down in road gear can both wear prematurely, and overspeed the engine.
These also need to be shifted as rapidly as possible, IN and OUT of TA.
They are very powerful and advantageous reliable components. Use them and keep them adjusted, and they can last 10,000 hrs. One bad operator can ruin them in an hour. JimN

i guess i should have said the weak TA tractor is a 350 utility, witch makes it a mecanical TA. soe of you guys say yes, some say no, i am still unsure. my dad was raised on IH's, everything from an A to a 1206, and probally everything in between. he said he has used the TA to slow down (after throttling down and letting the tractor "catch up" to its new slower speed) his whole life and never had a problem. i was more concrened about theying to prolong the life of a dying TA rather than trying to ger a brand new one threw its life to the retirement party.

This is a pretty interesting discussion! My personal thought is if you have already throttled down, then pulling back the T/A you shouldn't be freewheeling and it would be a good way to slow down. I would not hesitate at all to use the T/A to slow ground speed near an intersection and then release it to accelerate leaving the intersection. Now if you are rolling down a hill and pull back the T/A that is a whole different story and it won't slow you down anyway; it may actually increase your speed.

I have to agree. An IH mechanic, he"s been doing it for 30+ years, told me never to use my T/A on my 1066 as a "brake." Use it only when the tractor is bogged down or you want to run a little slower when doing things such as mowing, raking, etc. That said, he told me that even when I use it correctly it will wear out, just the nature of the beast.

I did a partial rebuild on my F504 TA 12-15 years ago, really I need to replace it. I also put in a new TA clutch. Mine works most of the time and can put a load on it. I think where I may have caused my wear was pulling a 4yd Reynonlds scraper with a 50hp tractor in 1st TA. I needed 100hp. My TA has absolutly no engine braking and will pick up speed downhill.

Dude, if I were you I would throttle down, when slowed to idle, clutch down, use the brakes, and stop while in DD. Then put it in 3rd or 4th when stopped (mine argues when shifted on the fly) then get going, once moving clutch down and shift into 5th, then pull back on the TA, then release the clutch. Build speed in 5th TA, then go into 5th DD. Its like driving a split axle truck.

It sounds like a lot, but it is really instinctive after you become comfortable with the do's and don't of a TA. If it seems to be freewheeling then put it in DD! NEVER USE AS A BRAKE! The gear reduction it provides to the wheels turns into gear overdrive to the transmission while freewheeling.

Charles