One wheel turning faster than the other...

[devondom]

Hi

As I was driving up a fairly icy hill in low 2nd gear I noticed that one back wheel was turning
faster than the other! When I got to firm ground it seemed to right itself. This happened
after I had to turn fairly sharply in a field to get out, front wheels at sharp angle to get a bit
of traction. Should I worry about this?

btw, I find it amazing that a 1953 FMD with no glow plugs can start in this weather after a
couple of seconds. Brilliant engineering!

Happy Christmas to all, hope you are not as snowed in as I am.

[Brian]

What you were seeing is perfectly normal, you were just getting more wheel slip on one side than the other and the dif. was transfering power to the slipping wheel. A little pressure on the brake to that side wheel would have helped. This is the reason that dif. lock was fitted to later tractors.

[super6954]

Hi

btw, I find it amazing that a 1953 FMD with no glow plugs can start in this weather after a
couple of seconds. Brilliant engineering!

Happy Christmas to all, hope you are not as snowed in as I am.

Hi
Just a little story on majors starting in the cold for you normally warmish weather guys around the world .

I am in Canada and we have very cold weather here -50oc with wind chill some days in the winter . When I worked in a dealers yard we had a 55 ish major with a blade on. All our tractors have block heaters to warm the oil / water and special fuel for winter starting.
One day this guy came in and said he wanted a tractor that would start in the woods in cold weather at around - 15 without being plugged in and it had to be cheap He was a JD customer and those older ones wont start when the sun goes behind the clouds and they where not cheap to buy then either. Any colder and he said he was'nt going to the woods so it wasn't a problem if it didn't start .
The boss told me to show him the major as I was the expert being the english guy.
The customer said "if that starts here in the cold today with out being plugged in it's sold". I told him go get the cheque book. he looked at me and said "it isn't going yet"
I set the throttle and pushed fuel button and the start lever 3rd turn and she was running, He went for the check book. yes it wasn't ideal starting it like that but the boss was happy it sold the unit. I was happy i got one up on a JD customer as well , some times greens not always the best .

Happy christmas to you all as well. We have about 16'' or more snow here for a while with more coming before thaw in april /may time. good luck with your few inces in the U.K
Regards Robert

[Nick]

in fairness robert, here in the west country in england have had our fair share of snow this past week. i measured 12" on monday, and it is supposed to snow more in the next few days too. my major has been around in her new boots, tomorrow she will be running a corn roller mill for a few hours as im still trying to break her new engine in!
Happy christmas too everyone

[super6954]

in fairness robert, here in the west country in england have had our fair share of snow this past week. i measured 12" on monday, and it is supposed to snow more in the next few days too. my major has been around in her new boots, tomorrow she will be running a corn roller mill for a few hours as im still trying to break her new engine in!
Happy christmas too everyone

Hi Nick
Yeah it is pretty bad over there in some places we've seen it on BBC Canada news. you guys only get it once in a while we get it every year. we just don't know how much and how cold it will be - 40oc actual temp is not fun . Winnipeg air port doesn't close as often as Heathrow we laughed at the guy on tv saying about shoveling 30 ton of snow away from planes . If I could figure out the picture posting Id show you our yard and stuff. its pretty bad at the moment .
Good luck with the major in the snow.
Regards Robert

[Gman]

Hello to all. I had to tell you about our weather. Yesterday it was 60+F, first of last week we were 14F, this weekend back to 30F for the high and snow possible. No snow here on Christmas since the early 1960's. So our weather can change in one day, it was decent last Friday and I started up my Power Major and used her a little.
Hope all of you have a great day.

[DaveP]

G'day guys,

My Fordson has one old rear tyre with almost no tread and then the other is new, so quite a difference in height between the 2 tyres. Is it okay for the rear diff as the wheel speed will constantly be different, or should I start saving for another new tyre

Ta muchly, Dave.

[AdrianNPMajor]

This YouTube video explains step-by-step how a differential works:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4JhruinbWc

Re different rolling radii on your rear wheels, the Major diff has four pinions, not two as shown in the film, and everything is built to fit inside a Sherman tank . So my own opinion is that you won't wear anything out, even though the four pinions will be rotating constantly (to allow the differential in speed of rotation of the two rear wheels) when they would normally only rotate when the tractor is turning a corner or wheel slippage occurs on low-grip terrain.

Best

Adrian

[DaveP]

G'day Adrian,

Thanks for the info re this. That old video is a treat to watch. What I reckon I'll do is run the new tyre at a lower air pressure, not much, but just to help a bit.

Very best regards, Dave.

[AdrianNPMajor]

Hi Dave

It's a great video, isn't it? Must date from the 30's, I'm thinking. I never knew that cars like the Model T Ford were one-wheel drive!

You'll never wear your Major back axle out. Some people strap gigantic engines to Major back-ends and give 'em hell, but still don't manage to break them. They reckon that when the bomb drops, the only thing left will be a cockroach. I'd add a Fordson Major to that list!

Best wishes from a snowy England

Adrian

[Dandy Dave]

Hi Dave

I never knew that cars like the Model T Ford were one-wheel drive!

Best wishes from a snowy England

Adrian

Not exactly, The wheel that is slipping just does not have as much, or any traction. Stepping on the brake and putting some of the power to the other wheel will often get you out of a hole. In normal straight ahead driving with equal ground friction, both wheels push the load forward. Dandy Dave!