1000 series Gearbox
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The Swanndri Guy
- True Blue
- Posts: 413
- Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:04 am
- Location: Near Hampton Downs Motorsport Park,NewZealand
1000 series Gearbox
With the 1000 series tractors, did Ford or anyone else make a conversion for the gearbox that made 3rd and 7th gear more evenly spaced between 2nd and 4th,6th and 8th gear? Also if possible, why were the ratios between 3rd and 4th,7th and 8th gear so close?( Or was it a marketing strategy by Ford for the "Select-O-Speed" ,as it has 10 gears more evenly spaced?)Cheers TSG.
Prior to 1968 all the tractors had two gears the same, 4th and 5th. The blurb went "Its to give you a high gear in the low range and a low gear in the high range". It was not until they changed the box in 1968 that they admitted the designer of the gearbox made a mistake.
This was the problem with the US design team. They were always right and the Brits knew nothing. Same thing happened when they brought the IH Axial Flow combine over here in 1977 but that is another story that I was involved in.
It was not until they started listening to what they were being told from Basildon that things improved and got changed. Its the old story, what works in the US does not always work in Europe.
!968 saw changes in the ratios and the reason the gears stayed close throughout the box was because, at that time, most operations on the farm used speeds of between 1 and 5 mph. So most manufacturers concentrated their gear ratios in that area. Fords had better spaced gears than some of the opposition at that time. Select-o-Speed was great but too many people did not know how to use it. Drive it right and it was a marvelous box.
The next step forward was Dual Power which also improved the range of gears available.
There are no updates to improve the ratios as far as I know.
This was the problem with the US design team. They were always right and the Brits knew nothing. Same thing happened when they brought the IH Axial Flow combine over here in 1977 but that is another story that I was involved in.
It was not until they started listening to what they were being told from Basildon that things improved and got changed. Its the old story, what works in the US does not always work in Europe.
!968 saw changes in the ratios and the reason the gears stayed close throughout the box was because, at that time, most operations on the farm used speeds of between 1 and 5 mph. So most manufacturers concentrated their gear ratios in that area. Fords had better spaced gears than some of the opposition at that time. Select-o-Speed was great but too many people did not know how to use it. Drive it right and it was a marvelous box.
The next step forward was Dual Power which also improved the range of gears available.
There are no updates to improve the ratios as far as I know.
Fordson Tractor Pages, now officially linked to: Fordson Tractor Club of Australia, Ford and Fordson Association and Blue Force.
Brian
Brian
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The Swanndri Guy
- True Blue
- Posts: 413
- Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:04 am
- Location: Near Hampton Downs Motorsport Park,NewZealand
If the pre 68 gearbox was "a mistake" with it 8 gears/7 speeds, then what was the hand brake?When ever I see a 4000 ,the first thing I look at is the hand brake,never seen one with a working hand brake yet. I suspect the handbrake on my 4000 has not worked since 1971.How many times Ive heard stories of 4000's being parked on hills, only for the owner to turn around to see their tractor "bouncing " down the hill! or to come back to where the tractor was parked and say "Where did the tractor go?" If your lucky they are repaired, if your unlucky its expensive scrap metal. 