A good mowing tractor?

Adam Rohr · May 27, 2011

I currently have a Ford 4000 (4 cyl, gas) with a 5 speed transmission. This sort of transmission is not the best for mowing as you need to stop completely to slow down or speed up (due to grass/weed thickness).

I know there is a Select-O-Speed option on Fords to increase/decrease speed, but I don't see too many of them. I was wondering what other tractors besides Ford have a similar type of transmission that would work well for mowing a yard?

DeltaRed · May 27, 2011

IH 544 HYDRO-utility vertion.

Bob · May 27, 2011

Simply mow the &@^% grass BEFORE it gets so tall you need to slow up so the mower can cut it.

And, YES, I intend to take my own advice (NEXT year)!

Mike (WA) · May 27, 2011

Thankfully, no one else has anything like a Select-O-Speed in an older tractor. Some Internationals have hydrostatic, which would be handy- many modern tractors have hydrostatic as well. With high/ thick grass, you can usually find a low enough gear to muddle through it. Slow going, but gets the job done.

old · May 27, 2011

Simple mow it more often or take half cut path when your in the thick stuff. The Ford SOS where ok at best and a money pit if you did not do the up keep which also could cost you $$

Dean · May 28, 2011

Aside from a hydrostatic, Select-O-Speed or modern synchronized transmission, a constant mesh transmission like your Ford five speed is about as good as you will find in an older tractor. Be thankful that you do not have a sliding gear transmission like found in many older tractors.

Among others, I have a 4 cylinder 4000 with Select-O-Speed and an 860 (five speed) both of which I use for mowing with 6' rotary cutters. Though the S-O-S is nearly ideal for mowing cover of varying thickness, I routinely shift my 860 without stopping. It is not so easy to do so with a sliding gear transmission such as is in my 2007 MF 533.

Hydrostats are ideal for such work if you can tolerate the gross inefficiencies due to the conversion of considerable power into heat.

Dean

Looney · May 28, 2011

Take the Ford tractor to the junk yard and get a John Deere.

showcrop · May 28, 2011

There are many Ford models just a little larger than your 4000 that have Ford's Dual Power shift under load, two speed planetary power shift. It came out in the 8000 in 1968, and is available from the 5000 to probably 5610 as well as in the same range of 7000. It is generally perceived as being very reliable. There are many, many tractors out there with this popular option. I suggest that you look on Tractor House.

hd6gtom · May 28, 2011

Adam stay away from the selectospeed. They were a problem from day 1. Wifes uncle owned a tractor scrap yard, they would pull the selectospeeds out of the tractors and convert them to 5 speeds.

Leroy · May 28, 2011

Do you have the clutch pined in the correct position for pto use? That tractor should have the 2 stage clutch in and that would be the best transmission for mowing. Push pedel halfway down to stop tractor and shift gears and all the way down to stop pto. If you do not have the pin set properly then the PTO will not work right but for non pto work the clutch is easier to operate in the non pto position.

SouthernFarmall · May 28, 2011

Internationals came out with Torque Amplifiers in the 50's. That would allow you to gain more power but stay in the same gear. I believe TAs were designed for heavy drawbar work, however. In spite of this, I think you may be able to use the TA to slow the tractor down in high grass.

There is apparently a lot of trouble with TAs, though. I have heard that as long as you don't shift them on a hill, and you yank the lever back hard (instead of nice and easy), they work fine. I don't know if this is the right setup for you, but it might be worth looking into.

SF

gene bender · May 28, 2011

Mowing what that you slow down to stop when mowing. Iv only been mowing for60pluss yrs and dont stop or slow down to mow this must be something new.

MSD · May 28, 2011

I have this one for sale in photo ads.

https://photos.yesterdaystractors.com/photoads/upload/433092_opt.jpg

Adam Rohr · May 28, 2011

Thanks for the good tips, I'll keep my eye out for some of those. My 4000 does have the two stage clutch, so I can just ride the clutch through the thick stuff to get it mowed down, and down shift if there is a lot of thicker grass, but I'm worried that riding the clutch will cause a lot of wear on the clutch, and down shifting requires you to slow to a complete stop before you can shift gears or else you end up grinding the transmission.

Thanks

jbp · May 28, 2011

Your handle says it all.

Adam Rohr · May 28, 2011

Don't think I want to buy a John Deere, I wouldn't like myself anymore

gregk · May 28, 2011

I agree with some others take a smaller width cut with the tractor you have. Your Ford sounds like a good match for the job. As far as the Select O Speed trans, it all depends how they were taken care of and used. A lot of guys claim they are junk and a lot claim they are good. Dad has a 6000 commander with 13000 hours and it works just fine. Motor was rebuilt after 10000 hours, has a turbo on it for efficiency. Consequently the ring gear needed replaced and the "wishbone" in the transmission went out once. Grandpa also had one with less hours that the only problem was the input shaft on the trans with about 100 hours on it. That one has never been rebuilt though, and has been shedded for the last 20 years.

jordan watson · May 28, 2011

I would go with an allis chalmers with a hand clutch. I love my D15 forbush hogging. The hand clutch makes it so easy to slow down in thick stuff and speed up in the thin stuff.

Leroy · May 29, 2011

Just use the clutch as it was designed, completely stop and let machine clean out and get up to speed and when happens again stop completly, don't ride clutch. Same for any and all other makes and models with a clutch. Only thing different is a hydrostat so if you can't use a clutch as designed you may need to go to a hydrostat and where your tractor is rated at about 40 hp you will need 60 rated

A good mowing tractor?

Adam Rohr

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Bob

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old

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Looney

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