801 Hi-low transmission

My project tractor has what appears to be a hi-low transmission just behind the throwout bearing on the shaft. There is what appears to be a drain plug at bottom of transmission housing and my question is does the hi-low receive its fluid through or around the transmission shaft from the transmission reservoir or is it's fluid self contained because I cannot find a fill plug?
Thanks
 
Thanks! So that answers my question. I can drain any old fluid from plug and it will refill through transmission shaft bearing with new fluid when running.
 
Oil for the sherman is filled by the slinger in the main trans. Since you said the trans is behind the throw out bearing and has a drain under it I assume the trans is split or out. Once the sherman is drained replace plug than with the trans top cover removed fill the trans with 6 qt (4 speed) or 8 (5 speed) than tip the bellhousing toward the ground so that the fluid comes up around the slinger where the input shaft gear enters the main trans. i usually let it sit over night with a pan under it to make sure the input shaft seal and all gaskets don't leak. Nothing in the pan in the morning, add to level the fluid and button it up. This IMO is a good practice when servicing the trans because if you had water in the trans you will also have water in the sherman.

Kirk
 
Hi/Low is not really a correct term. Plus on an 801 your very likely to have the Combo Sherman which is a 3 speed which has over drive underdrive and the standard gearing. But if it is only a 2 speed it will still have either over or under and the standard gears
 
You can't get the step up or step down in the 801 cause most input shafts are wrong on the 801 plus the shape of the bellhousing/starter bump interferes with the shift lever.
 
So what are you saying you can only have the Combo???????????????????????? And that is what your saying why not just come out and say that???????????????????????
 
(quoted from post at 14:06:56 05/28/15) So what are you saying you can only have the Combo???????????????????????? And that is what your saying why not just come out and say that???????????????????????

I think you could get either the combo or the reverser, as that is what a lot of 1841 tractors had and the bell housing and starter bump was the same as the 801 series.
 
I'll take a picture tonight. There is a shift lever and the gearbox is on the main shaft directly under the steering box between the throw out bearing and the transmission housing. It makes sense though, to fill transmission housing with oil, drop the front end to allow oil to fill gearbox, then lift tractor level. Thanks for all the tips and knowledge.
Bob
 
Well if it is as others have said if you move the Sherman handle to neutral and then pull out to the side it should come out about a 1/2 inch then pull up and that will put it in the standard range of gear which would be just like it did not have the Sherman in there and that is where it should be for brush hogging and any and all PTO stuff since the Sherman also speeds up and slows down the PTO. I have a 841S the S stand for Sherman and I owned it for a couple years before I found the standard range of gears
 
Thanks! I had no idea that was how it worked. You may have saved me years operating the tractor wrong. Anyway i'm waiting on my sleeve kit from YT to put er together and take her round the block. I bought this tractor because it has power steering and my MF35 does not. Looking forward to turning the wheel without swearing!
 
If you look under the steering wheel on the dash if it is a 841S it should have a plate sort of bolted there that will explain the Sherman and the gear ratios also. My 841S has that but I did not read it till after I have owned it a couple years. If I had I might not have blown up a couple brush hog gear boxes due to running them in over driver. Plus may have been why running a hay baler made it feel like I was on a rocking horse
 
I wasn't saying that cause you could have a reverser or maybe even possibly a creeper if you have an early 801 with the right input shaft.
 
Yes that is correct. The handle/lever for them would come out in the starter bump. I not saying that someone couldn't geehaw one in and weld pieces to make it fix but that would be a custom/farmerized fix and not standard. Think about it have you ever seen a step-up/step down handle on anything later than an 8n?

Kirk
 
Kirk, what would this one be? Seems these turn up more than not, I've seen several over the years, even a parts 640 with a 4 spd and auxiliary trans, I'd have read up to learn all the variants. This ad says 3 ranges, so I assume this is a 3 spd and a hi and lo range, is the third range just the regular transmission speeds, auxiliary not in use?
I don't ever recall seeing any in our shop when these came in for repair, which was not all that often in the early 70'sm that and elenco conversions, sure was a lot of things tractor wise built by ford and company as well as others for same.
2N
 
Billy,
This is either a step up or a step down. Hard to tell which one cause they both use the same style handle. I have found that in our area about 8 out of ten are step ups. There is not 3 ranges unless he counts neutral as a range.

Kirk
 
Just to set the record straight. I have a 58 841 Powermaster. It does have the factory Hi Lo transmission, gives me 8 speeds. It is not a Sherman trans.
 
Just to set the record straight. I do have a 58 841 Powermaster. It has the factory 8 speed Hi Lo
transmission. It is not a Sherman trans. Pic of shift lever.
a192437.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 12:52:19 05/29/15) Just to set the record straight. I do have a 58 841 Powermaster. It has the factory 8 speed Hi Lo
transmission. It is not a Sherman trans. Pic of shift lever.

Bill,

The "factory" auxiliary trans was a Sherman. At a certain point Ford starting offering them and at first when you ordered the tractor with the aux trans, they were shipped to the dealer with the tractor, but not installed and the dealer did the installation. After a while, not sure exactly when, they started installing them into the tractors at the factory. You can read about it on John Smith's page about the Sherman's here:

http://www.oldfordtractors.com/sherman.htm


edit: Also, that should be a combo transmission. So if you move the handle to the neutral position, halfway between the high and low positions, and then pull the handle straight sideways to the left of the tractor it should move out a little, and then pull it back and it should be in the standard factory range, and the low and high ranges when the handle is in toward the right are the step-up and step-down ranges.
 
edit: Also, that should be a combo transmission. So if you move the handle to the neutral position,
halfway between the high and low positions, and then pull the handle straight sideways to the left
of the tractor it should move out a little, and then pull it back and it should be in the standard
factory range, and the low and high ranges when the handle is in toward the right are the step-up
and step-down ranges.
This post was edited by Sean in PA at 13:20:32 05/29/15.

I've never tried to shift/pull out the lever like you say, Then if I can it would be a 12 speed,
wouldn't it?
Right now my clutch won't release, froze to the pressure plate. Will have to try that if I can ever
get the clutch to release. LOL
 
The only factory auxiliary trans install at the factory was the sherman and only the ones stamped with an S at the end of the model number were factory installed ALL others were dealer install.
If you have an 8 speed then you have either a low and regular range or a regular and high range.
So which trans do you have? Maybe a Hupp or F&T? If you are unsure please post a photo.

Kirk
 
(quoted from post at 09:52:19 05/29/15) Just to set the record straight. I do have a 58 841 Powermaster. It has the factory 8 speed Hi Lo
transmission. It is not a Sherman trans. Pic of shift lever.
a192437.jpg
Lever you show is a sherman combo 12 speeds Or it could be a sherman crepper which is high unlikely And as I stated unless it's marked with an S next to the model # than it was dealer install not factory
 
You can try the handle/lever without the tractor running, even with a stuck clutch. Then post back.
 
Also by putting your main trans in neutral and shifting the sherman into the different ranges it will give you different speeds for pto or flat belt work if you need that sort of thing.
Stuck clutches can sometimes be fixed without splitting the tractor depending how bad the clutch is stuck to the flywheel. I have had some that were stuck so bad that even when split the disc broke apart with half staying on the flywheel. Best to start a new post for that or do a search for some tips.

Kirk
 

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