Driving?

Hello, hope I am posting this in the proper place.
I can't seem to find anything after a lot of surfing. I have a farmall a 1940. I wan't to know how to drive it from a proper operating standpoint.

1)If I am in 1st gear or any gear for that matter. Do you always drive at full throttle? Or do you use what is needed to move along? Example, drive full throttle in 1st gear or half throttle in say 3rd or 4th. This is without pulling or pushing anything other than the you and the tractor?

2)Also, going down hills. Do you user 1st gear and apply the brake but not the clutch to go slow? (I have big hills by me)

3)Finally, going up a 10th of mile hill on the road from a stop. 2nd gear at full throttle?

Thanks, Sorry for the dumb questions.

I usually like to run along about 1/2 throttle, and find a gear that is applicable.

1. Drive it in what ever gear gets you the power you need a the speed you want/can go. You can throttle down as long as you don't lug the engine. If you are wide open you can probably be in a higher gear with less throttle. If your engine is lugging, then you need more throttle or a lower gear. Your highest gear is the "road" gear and wide open is the top speed. Also, the slower the engine the better economy you will get, so going in 4th gear at 1/4 throttle will use less gas than 1st gear wide open.

2. Your gear is down hill is related to the load and the safe operating speed. First gear with no throttle will give you the most engine breaking. If you need more then the brakes need to be well adjusted

3. See part 1. If you are lugging the engine at full throttle, you are in too high of a gear going up hill. The actual gear on the hill will again depend on your load and the steepness of the hill.

A few other points:
A good engine will have more power and be able to use a higher gear
Some trial and error with your particular machine will be needed to figure out the ideal settings
A copy of the original owner/operator manual will also give you some data on safe operating ranges.

If the tractor is not pulling anything, the reasonable gear selection is the gear that will provide the speed you wish to go/feel safe with part throttle. Wide open is reserved for pulling tillage implements with maximum power, and going on smooth ground or a smooth road in 4th gear. In 4th gear it is certainly reasonable to throttle down to comfortable speeds.
The tractor has enough engine braking (ability to stay at a set RPM going down hills, or slowing from full throttle to do so with no braking needed. In 4th gear on a road, it might begin to go faster than governed, in which case braking to control ground speed is desired. In almost all conditions except mud or slick wet grass, going down hill in 3,2,or 1, should not be a cause for alarm. Do not go down hills you would not go sideways on, The tractor is pretty stable, but a 20 degree slope is steep. I would stay off of those in all conditions. As you experience the feel of the tractor comfort will come.
Do not push in the clutch going done or up hills, unless you brake hard to maintain the location on the hill. Even then it is risky to allow free movement on a hill.
If the road is smooth gravel or paved and un cluttered, I would go up it in 4th gear fast. I am a seasoned driver and would have no reason to go slow. Going wide open is not usually needed. If I were pulling a wagon full of bales on a 10% slope, I would use 2nd gear and enough throttle to provide the power to proceed.
On that tractor you can start from a stop in any gear. Give it 3/4 throttle and moderately let out the clutch. Idle down as the clutch engages fully to control speed.
The clutch should be considered a speed control only when doing hitching or building entry. Using it to modify speed normally will kill it in 20 minutes of abuse. It can be considered a 1/2 second switch from released to engaged. If more than 2 seconds are used slipping the clutch, you will be changing it soon.
Remember the rear wheels are controlled by both the engine and the brakes. Their traction is ruling both brakes and engine. If they slip on a down hill with engine controlling them, they will slip when the brakes are applied. Danger in that situation.

You should also know that when pulling something heavy with a chain, the chain must be connected to the tractor somewhere below the plane of the rear axle. If you attach your chain too high, tractor can/will come back over on top of you. You probably shouldn't even attempt to pull a load straight up one of your hills until you are more familiar with it.

how do you drive your car do you put in first gear and mash the pedal to the floor or do you put it in a gear and apply enough throttle to move at the desired speed same with brakes if it is slowing it self down with throttle off not much need to use brakes unless your going to hit something 😭

Where are you located? One of our regulars might be near you. You need an expert to spend a little time with you regarding this tractor. Is it an H? M? C? B? What model? If you have steep hills, it's pretty easy to get in a lot of trouble very fast! I would not suggest you pull any loads until you become familiar with the tractors operation. If you have the serial number, I would suggest you find an owners manual and read it!

Practice insave areas.

Generally a low throttle and whatever gear it will pull itself in is nice for driving along with no load.

Typically hardly ever use 1st gear, way too slow, and typically don't want to use the farstest gear as it's too fast except for the smoothest roads.

Somewhere in between, second fastest gear probably.

Hills can be exciting, especially with wet grass, or finding a bump or ridge on the hill. Be careful. Use a slower gear, the tractor should hold itself back if you are in a slower gear.

Paul

Spelling - practice in safe areas, open and no big hills.

Paul

I don't plan on pulling anything. Just got it for parades and fun. I have the users manual but wanted more clarification. I certainly got that here. Thanks!

Not all tractors have the ability to lock the brake pedals together...practice braking with your foot on both pedals, on those steep hills you will want both brakes applied evenly or un-desirable things will happen. Also on road travel, apply both evenly. If turning a sharp tun with one brake applied (in the safe area slowly) do so s l o w ly. Have (careful) fun with your "new" tractor.

The most important safety part is not to push in the clutch going up or down the hills. An old tractor isn't synchronized do you will have great difficulty getting it back into gear and you could find yourself in a free wheel situation, with brakes that might not be up for stopping the tractor. This goes with the comment on the brakes being locked together. If your tractor has the ability to lock the pedals together you should do that any time you're at speed. They were separate in order to make tighter turns in the field, but at speed, especially on a hill, this can lead to a roll over.

What model tractor do you have?

Some of the newest diesels recommend keeping the engine speed up at all times. But I would not take that to mean wide open, they just don't want extended idle or lugging the engine.

Just be careful, keep the speed down until you get the feel of it.

Remember a tractor has no suspension! What a pickup would easily cross can result in a bone jarring bounce on a tractor! A severe enough bounce can result in a broken spindle, rear axle, even a turn over or getting thrown from the seat!

(quoted from post at 19:33:23 08/06/18) What model tractor do you have?

Click to expand...

"I have a farmall a 1940."

One thing, never, never try to downshift while going down a hill, do it while stopped before the hill.

Not sure just what Grizz was trying to say, but you don't drive it like a car (that is, you don't start in first and go up through the gears). Transmission is not synchronized, so it won't let you do it. Just put it in the gear you want, and let out the clutch. Experiment with the different gears, you'll figure out which to use in which situations. Most of the time, half throttle or less will be the most comfortable (for both you and the tractor) in the lower gears. High is "road gear", for travel on improved roads. In road gear, start at about half throttle, then gradually increase to a comfortable level. If the steering is pretty tight, you may be fine running it at full throttle in road gear.

I have a property with very steep hills that I brushhog. It also has some flat areas. I never get on the tractor and go mow steep areas. I always mow something flat giving the machine time to show any problems and then move to the steep stuff. This practice has saved me a couple of times when there has been a fuel obstruction issue or an electrical problem that has shut me down. Steep terrain also changes the flow of all your fluids, I have on occasion gotten a foot soaked with gasoline with a full tank going up hill.

Great info. I plan on trying baby steps for now. I can get to flatter areas around where I live but need to drive up and down some hills to get there.

Many many years ago in high school ag class we shown farm machinery safety films. One I remember was a Farmall H running full speed in road gear (5th gear) and ran over a 2x4 in roadway with one rear wheel. Tractor turned over. BE SAFE until you understand your machines danger points.

that's what I was saying read the post

I agree with your thinking Frantz, but the old Farmalls that I was around years ago had the ability to lock the brake pedals together, and I never saw one that had the brakes adjusted together. If the brakes are not adjusted to match, it could be more dangerous to lock the pedals together. What a surprise for an inexperienced driver!