Short lesson on JD Quad range jumping out of gear!!!

Have a customer that really got robbed today. He bought a JD 4430 this last week. He did not talk to me before hand about the tractor or any of its issues. It is jumping out of "D" range bad. It is not the linkage it is the shift collar and maybe the gears.

The seller told him it was jumping out of "D" range. Told him that he had the "new" parts just did not have the time to put it in. Seller handed him a new shift collar(#7) Cost $141.92. Told him it would not cost much to put in. (LIE,LIE!!!!)

Here is where the lesson starts. Do not speed shift the ranges (ABCD) on a JD quad range transmission and grind them. You will wear out the gears and shift collars.

The parts are not that terribly high. Usually under $1000 unless you messed up the B or A range gears. They are $925(#13) and $718(#5) each. C & D range are around $500 each. Usually it is "D" range that is bad. So usually the shift collar (#7), "D" range gear(#10) and gaskets, and some oil an your good to go as far as parts.

Now the fun part. You are looking at $5000 plus on the labor to replace these parts. Here is why. If you look at the parts diagram above you can see the range gears are on the pinion shaft. So to replace anything on the bottom shaft you have to take the differential out.

1)You have to split the tractor at the rear of the clutch housing. While you are doing this you need to support the cab or remove the cab. Roll the differential away from the clutch/engine.

2) Remove the rock shaft housing that is the top of the rear end.

3) Remove BOTH final drives/tires/wheels/weights

4) Remove the differential carrier

5) Disassemble the entire transmission as the pinion shaft is the bottom shaft.

I have left out many little steps but you can see that the labor involved is not small. I am not going to do the job myself. I am just not going to get that far into other people's stuff anymore. My middle son is thinking about doing the job. He has helped me for years in the shop so he knows what to do. I can/would help him but I am not going to do it myself anymore.

So guys if you are looking at a tractor with a JD Quad Range transmission make sure it stays in ALL the ranges before you buy it. It is easy to do just drive it and pull the tractor an then coast it down a grade. It will pop out if the collars are bad. If it is the shift linkage have them adjust it BEFORE you sign anything.

A Hi-LO clutch repair is cheaper ($2500 at a JD dealer) where the Range shift collars/gears can easily be $5000-7500 at a dealership.

The Quad Range transmission is a GREAT transmission they just are getting some age on them.

My guy is going to get a $4-5 grand education about this. HE signed a bill of sale that told him the range shifter was bad and he was buying it AS-IS. He could try to go after the guy for lying to him about the labor cost but it would be hard to prove.

So to the guy on here earlier this week on a Quad Range jumping out of gear. Check the linkage ASAP. Hope and pray that fixes the problem. If not then save up some money to have it fixed correctly or if you have a shop and some time do it yourself. The parts are not too bad. It is just a lot of work.

Like the old saying: "College is not the only place you PAY for an education"

Another thing that I would like to mention is to always have the clutch pressure checked before buying if possible. A good way to smoke a clutch/brake assembly or a two speed is to have low clutch pressure. If a clutch or brake element go bad, the same thing happens. Cab comes off and tractor is split...

Jared in wi

Cab does NOT have to come off to fix the Hi-Lo or main clutch. You are doing an engine/clutch housing split. The cab stays right where it always is.

I do agree that checking the pressures is good idea.

you are correct about the cab not having to come off on the QRT.

I was thinking more about the powershift transmission when I said the cab has to come off, depending on what element is bad.

Jared in Wi

4430 w/synchroquad at work needed cab mounts, started jumping out of B and C (think the dealer mechanic putting the shifter guides in and not lining them up proper last summer didn"t help). They had them replaced while it was down just to be sure.

About 40 hr to dump out the rear end and replace parts. With a tractor of that vintage you may find a few more things to renew on the way. As I don't work in a dealership any longer I would like to know where I could get the "dummy" shaft for installing the differential driveshaft and related parts.

My 4040 didn't even get any "age" on it. It was 9 years old when B range started popping out. And when the Quad Range Hi-Lo went out in 99,it cost me another $3500.

What is the proper way to shift in the ranges? We do not have any tractors with quadrange. Do you come to a stop and then shift?

Either come to a complete stop or match the speeds/ranges close enough that you don't grind the gears.

rrlund: I see that in the lower horse power tractors. I think you have to shift more because of the lower horse power. You have 4 speeds that are made to be shifted but it is hard to get a load moving at road speeds without doing a range shift.

Ya and the bad part of those was that the 1 and 2 gears in one range were between the 2 and 3 gears in the lower range. Going from B2 to B3 would get you to a higher speed than going from B2 to C1. Not the greatest idea ever.

Kind of like the IH 06, 56, and 66 series tractors when people drop the park lock with the tractor moving and break teeth off the reverse gear. Whole tractor has to come apart as the reverse gear is the last one out.