hydrostatic drive experts wanted!

Not very often that I visit this area of YT...but I am hoping some of you folks that fool with lawn tractors might be able to point me in the right direction.

First, I am like Sgt. Schultz when it comes to hydrostatic drive components.......I Know Nothing (about them)!!

I have been thinking of trying to convert my Farmall Super A to hydrostatic drive. Cramming all the components inside the torque tube is the challenge. It may not even be feasible. But, if the clutch is removed and the pump attached to the engine, there should be enough room for a hydraulic motor ahead of the transmission...or maybe the transmission can be done away with entirely.

Inquiring minds will want to know why I would consider doing this......it's because the Super A is geared too high, and from what I can see there isn't enough room in the transmission case to fit a lower (larger diameter) first gear. This old offset is great for cultivating the garden....but it needs to be able to crawl when the plants are very small, so you don't cover them up as you cultivate. When the crop gets to be 8" or 10" high, then you can use the speed to throw dirt in around the plants...but it works against you when they are small. So...what kind of hydrostatic/hydraulic motor and pump would I have to get.....assuming this is a feasible project? I don't know how they are rated for horsepower or torque or GPM, etc., etc. Obviously, I'd need something capable of standing up to the task.....but I don't know what that is. Thanks for whatever you can throw my way...as long as it isn't rocks...hehe!

Dunno bout yer A,I grew up w/Fords.Ford cultivators had detachable sheet metal shields to protect the seedlings....when plants got bigger,you took off the shields.

The very little i know is from working on lawn tractor hydrostatics, they seemed a little bulky to me, at least the one our ol yamaha rider. Also a big pricey too, it was over 500 bucks to have it professionally rebuilt. Do you know where you would get the pumps for the conversion?

Are you familiar with the creeper gears IH made for certain models, where they attached a hydraulic motor to the otherwise-unused PTO shaft, then left the tranny in neutral and the PTO engaged and "backfed" power into the PTO shaft to get extremely low speeds?

It wouldn't be real hard to make up a system like that.

OK.......the Hydra Creeper was a "factory" attempt to achieve the same goal. For your efforts you had to hold the clutch pedal down all the time due to the PTO backfeeding the transmission. I think it is a novel idea and better than nothing.

Yes, I have cultivator shields.

I don"t guess I should assume that folks would think I have tried or considered all the obvious. I apologize for not saying so. I just thought there"d be folks here who dealt with hydrostats on a regular basis and would have some answers....more presumptions on my part.

Mark,

I would say I have LOTS of experience with hydrostats, from garden tractors to BIG combines.

However, what you are trying to do, tuck the unit inside the belly of the tractor, will be daunting, at the least, not to mention $$$$. I have considered the same thing for YEARS with an 8N Ford, so I know where you are coming from.

I would guess a large garden tractor hydro from a 20 HP tractor would be NEARLY strong enough to do the job, problem is, they run twice as fast, so torque would be double through the hydro... ain't gonna work.

Some windrowers/swathers used in-line hydros large enough to do the job without needed any high pressure external lines. Anything like that being scrapped out in your area?

Are you familiar with SurplusCenter.com... they have some hydro stuff from time to time.

Could you get the same results with smaller wheels / tires ?

Bob,

I hit ebay and searched hydraulic motors. Some listings gave torque specs. The torque is rated in INCH pounds, divide that by 12 and it renders FOOT pounds. OK......a smallish Eaton motor produced something like 61 foot pounds of torque....that"s probably as much as the gasoline 18-20 horse engine does....perhaps even more. It required 6 GPM flow @2500 psi. I don"t know what the specs of the hydraulic pump on the SA is...but I"d bet 6 GPM is pushing it.

I dunno...the whole thing might just be a Rube Goldberg project not worth considering.