The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hello,

I have recently bought a Howard reduction box to fit in my 1955 major with a 6D conversion. It is still in regular use, mostly on roadwork moving a 3 ton digger or tipping trailer but we occasionally use it with a rotavator or on other PTO work, which is why we wanted the extra gears.

I am just slightly worried about fitting in case using it for road work will put too much stress on the gears and cause damage - I have seen a few threads on here about them stripping the gears. Obviously we would not be using it as an extra splitter, for use on the move, but any advice about its suitability would be much appreciated. They are so rare I don't want to ruin it!

Thanks,

Joe

Welcome to the board.

My main concern would be not the road work but the field work side. With the 6D you are putting up to 100 hp through a box designed at best for 50 hp. The tractor parts will stand it, main gearbox and rear axle, if in good condition but add in the reduction gearbox and you are really increasing the torque through the system in the low ratios.

The Howard box was designed for drainage machines and rotovators where a low forward speed was needed to dig trenches or prepare a tilhe. Like the later Ford reduction boxes it was always stressed that you did not use them to increase pulling power.

Thanks for the reply Brian.

Can I just check if it is the reduction box that you would be concerned about, or the rest of the system? My aim is not to increase pulling power, but just have a greater range of speeds, in particular for rotavating.

My Grandad and Dad used to have two majors with backfiller blades that had once been trenchers, so had the creeper boxes fitted. They kept them after they upgraded to Mastenbroek and Vandenende trenchers as they were pretty bomb-proof. I always wished I had been old enough to save them when they were disposed of in the 90s!

Yes it is just the reduction box that I would worry about. I have seen a Rolls Royce Merlin at 1200 hp put through a Major gearbox and back end on the pulling circuit.

Hey tell me more about vandenende?

What’s the maximum power when the reduction box is in normal gear?
I have a Howard box behind a 140hp 6D, I only use the reduction gears when low speeds are required, never for extra pulling power, but how much power can it handle in normal drive?