Is it OK to start off in 5th gear with an 'M'?

I can do it if I ease off the clutch kinda gradual like, and not kill the motor. Is there any harm in doing that?

I'll be driving my freshly painted 'M' downtown old Victoria in the morning for the local livestock show parade.. I'll be in traffic with some stop signs along the way. I don't want to be throttling down, double clutching, and shifting down in traffic. Too much of a handful for me to do in traffic. This rookie was just wondering as this will be a first for me.

TIA and best regards
Patrick
'49M

I"ve put many, many hours of road time on an"M" and never burnt a clutch out yet starting out in 5th, low throttle so you don"t have to ride the clutch much and level ground is no problem

No problem, isn't near the work for the clutch as
starting from a dead stop with 3- 14's in the
ground when moldboard plowing.

You could have it at a idle and take off in 4th, then shift to 5th. That way it is not at a dead stop. The weight is moving when you pull it into 5th.

When I drive my "H" downtown to get into position for Christmas parades, 5th is too high a speed. Plus, people want to see the tractor, so I found I should go along slower. I think I drive around in 3rd.

When I was a kid driving the old H we always started out in 4th and shifted up to 5th. No fancy "double clutching" necessay. And (being a kid) while going down the road in 5th and coming to a stop I liked to momentarily kill the ignition, then pull it back out and listen to the muffler "POP" (sometimes it would do it anyhow).

Down hill or pavement it has been done as indicated below (or above is in modern view). I would never do it. When really farming on acres not at our house, going in 4th was just wrong. Starting in 5th 4 times a day was also poor on the clutch and would have dad relocating my Kazoo.
Start in fourth and get to wide open. Push in the clutch and Idle it down at the same time (very quickly) move it from 4th to neutral, as the engine speed gets to about 1/2 toward idle let out the clutch in neutral (this slows the trans input shaft and near matches the fifth ratio) now put it in 5th and let out the clutch as you pull it more open to the speed you desire.
As a kid there were only two speeds used on a letter series, work speed in the appropriate gear, and 18 mph. if it was a 5 SPEED UNIT, OR 13 or so if smaller.
If the tractor had a TA, starting in 5th TA back was normal, no double clutching.
The above was if we wanted to mess with the gears playing double clutch (which is what it is called) Normal operation was to just pause in neutral for one second (clutch down) and pull it gently into 5th, grinding was minimal, and all our tractors still have 5th splines working.
Cramming it into 5th from 4th was avoided.
Jim with tens of thousands of hours operating H and M Farmalls. We still have 7 of them among others.

Good running M without fluid in the tires should take off in 5 just above idle on a hard level surface or hard road.

(quoted from post at 10:41:48 02/22/14) D Starting in 5th 4 times a day was also poor on the clutch and would have dad relocating my Kazoo.

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Hey Jim - I too was admonished early on NEVER to start out in 5th gear - and for the same reason relating to my Kazoo!

Further, we were instructed not to start out in 4th then "grind it up" into road gear. Rather we were to double clutch the 4 - 5 shift; also the 5 - 4 shift when slowing back down.

Punch below a brief video demo I made of the correct 4 - 5 upshift technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG2fDESmlvE

How can a guy with a jd shirt on ever know how a Farmall Super M should shift, and also it appears he is ridding the clutch to start out, always should have your foot off of the clutch.

You guys are all too funny!

Difference between an H & M is you CAN start out with nothing hooked to an M in 5th, like said, on level hard surfaces, at just off idle and the M will pick-up the load and go. Can't, or at least shouldn't with an H, they don't have the low end torque an M has, too much clutch slippage IMO. Super H's & Super M's are easier to start out in 4th and shift up to 5th because of the faster 4th. That jump from 5 MPH to 16 in the straight H's & M's is tough!

I never double-clutched shifting up to 5th, but always double-clutched shifting down from 5th to 4th. The up shift took the same amount of time and saved the wear & tear of engaging/disengaging the clutch that extra time.

SM-TA's & the 4-cyl number series were easy, pull the TA back and ease the clutch out in low side of 5th and away we go!

Used to do thousands of miles of road work with a Stg II Super H every summer, hauling feed, hay, corn, oats, etc. Everything from a 6000# auger wagon to 10,000# wagons loaded w/shell & ear corn. Without a T/A, being able to shift down on hills was as important as being able to shift up. Goal was to "Drive Elegant", shift all the way through from 1st to 5th and back through to 1st with the straight-cut spur gear transmission without clicking a tooth in the process. I've done that many times, but normally just shifting between 4th & 5th. Let's see someone try that with a JD A or B?

And like was said, your left foot should ONLY be on the clutch pedal when it's holding it down, use the clutch like an on/off switch, push it down smartly, then ease it into engagement when you engage the next gear.

Far as an M starting out with a 3-btm plow in the ground, I have to ask WHY? if you know you're going to stop why don't you raise the plow and pull out of the furrow? If you're plowing with a #8 IH plow in old corn ground, your doing that all the time anyhow. So much easier on the clutch to get rolling, then drop the plow into the ground when moving. You do that at every head land & grass waterway right?

Trick with H or M is to speed engine up a little when starting to engage clutch and then just back off speed as clutch starts to take ahold. This will give you a nice smooth start and less slippage of clutch than at low idle. Takes a little practice. H is more difficult of course.

Well, I made it OK, to the parade and back home. 5th gear all the way. Parade was very slow, so I used 4th for that.





I was the only tractor there. Very little interest down here for this kind of stuff. Feel like a stranger in a strange land.

Thanks for the feed back guys. I enjoyed the discussion.

Best regards
Patrick
'49M

That is on sharp looking M you got there, right front tires, right plug wires, definitely a show stopper !! Couldn't help but notice that TEXAS flag up front....made my day !! How far south are ya ?? I am between Denton & Lewisville.

(quoted from post at 17:31:24 02/24/14) That is on sharp looking M you got there, right front tires, right plug wires, definitely a show stopper !! Couldn't help but notice that TEXAS flag up front....made my day !! How far south are ya ?? I am between Denton & Lewisville.

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Well thank you rhtx55. Yea, the tires, plug wires, mag, and a few other things give it that old school look which was what I wanted. I'm down here in Victoria. My kinfolks have been here since 1824 and never left. That would make me a 6th generation Texican. :wink: Just me and a couple of cousins is all that's left here. The rest of the kin have moved on. I've moved out several times in the past, but I always seem to come back to my roots. This time I'm staying put.

I was up in Denton once back in the 60's to watch my sister graduate from TWU. I'll never forget all those pretty girls. Yummy!! I'm sure they're all grannies like me by now. lol

Best regards
Patrick
'49M