Posted by LenNH on October 29, 2007 at 14:01:32 from (75.69.99.42):
In Reply to: Driving class posted by Mike CA on October 24, 2007 at 10:07:12:
When my wife does something better than I do, I say, "You're a better man than I am." Well, I'd say the same thing for shifting these old tractors on-the-go. They were designed to be shifted when stopped. You chose the gear you were going to work in (say, second for plowing) and went with that. With a car or truck, you have time to hesitate going up, or double-clutch going down, but with a tractor, it will almost stop before you can do all that. I tried this once or twice, but thought it sounded real expensive, as in "the sound of busted teeth."
IH didn't do their homework on that too-high-speed fifth gear, in my opinion. It is almost useless on a rough road with a heavy wagon behind. The engine is at idle at around 5 mph, and there is not enough torque to pull a load at this speed, which is about where the washboard begins to make your load start to shimmy up and down. This tractor desperately needed another gear in between (like JD's and some Olivers in the late 30s and through the 40s). I think the engineers saw a quick and maybe cheap solution (1939 was still in the Depression). Fifth is straight-through via a dog-clutch, just like a 3-speed car tranny in third gear. No expensive gears needed. But the gap between 4th and 5th is enormous if you try to synchronize the gear speeds enough to shift on-the-go.
The steering gear on these tractors will develop wear after 60 or 70 years, and then they will shimmy when they get up near the top in road gear. Don't know if it's dangerous, but I don't like it and I slow down until the shimmy stops. Brakes on an H are weak (external contracting, like on the cars of the 20s!!!!). I wouldn't trust them at high speeds with a wagon load of people. High center of gravity on tractors like this. Decals on new tractors warned against high-speed turns--danger of tipping over--you usually don't walk out from under a tractor that falls on you. Make sure your brakes are adjusted so they pull evenly when locked together, and ALWAYS lock them together when traveling in 5th gear.
A better speed for hayrides, I think, would be maybe 7-8 mph, and that is difficult to get with this tractor and a load behind it. If you are lucky enough to have one of the few H's with the factory-optional 7 mph fourth gear, you're in better shape.
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