Ford 8N-PTO-Creeper gear ?

martin bird · Aug 1, 2014

I inherited a nice 8N. I have a pro 5' wide mower attached that I mow the pasture with. I wasn't thinking clearly i guess when I bought a new DR 3 pt. hitch PTO Trimmer to do all my fence lines, including the white vinyl fence. It would be sweet other than now I realize I need to maintain 540 pro but my 8N in first gear is WAY to fast! If I throttle down, down goes the PTO speed. Anyway, I know you can add a Sherman transmission, etc. for a creeper gear but the PTO slows down as well. QUESTION: Any realistic way to slow my 8N down to carefully go around my fences and control this trimmer all the while maintaining 540 pro? I have this new trimmer with about 30 minutes use that now appears useless to me. Help

W_B · Aug 1, 2014

My first reaction is basicaly no, but I seem to remember that there was an aftermarket piece that slowed the tractor down to allow the use of a tiller at the correct speed. I understand they are quite rare and somewhat fragile. An 8N is probably not what you want for this kind of use. Not enough gear choices, for starters, not to mention non-live hydraulics and PTO. Something newer is in order I'm afraid. I have an 8N and a 9N so have some experience with those models.

BTW, how well does this thing work? Saw them advertised and would be perfect for me and my pasture fences (behind a Mahindra eMax 22, with independent PTO, live lift and hydrostatic transmission).

Jason S. · Aug 1, 2014

You may not be able to find one but Howard made a gear reduction unit that slowed the tractor down but did not change the pto speed.Sherman also made a live pto kit for Fords and Fergusons. It would stop the tractor but allow the pto to continue to run. A hand lever stuck out from the pto lever cover to control it. That's about your only options that I know of.

RMinVa · Aug 1, 2014

Hub city makes an inline increaser for PTO shafts. 540 input will give you 1000 output. Model 390 in the center specs is the increaser. Here's a link. You can decide if it's what you need.
increaser

Steve@Advance · Aug 1, 2014

Never actually seen one, just looked at their website...

It appears to be belt driven under the cover. Any way to change the pulley ratio? Just a thought.

notjustair · Aug 1, 2014

There were also 8N trenchers. I believe some of them worked by putting the tractor in neutral and engaging the pto. Part of the pto was connected to one rear wheel with a chain giving you a creeper speed when the tractor was still in neutral. I'd be tempted to make a stiff hitch (like the ones they use to tow cars behind motorhomes) and pull the running tractor with a quad or something. You wouldn't have the chance to stop the pto quick if you got into some hidden fence wire or something, but it wouldn't be the first Rube Goldberg piece of machinery on this farm. That would still be way safer than the way we trimmed evergreen hedges when I was a kid. Think front loader, riding mower, and a strong piece of chain.

old · Aug 1, 2014

The Sherman type changes PTO speed as well as as ground speed so that would not help. There was a Howard type but they are fragile and hard to find

martin bird · Aug 1, 2014

Other than the ground speed it worked very nice. isn't hurt the vinyl
fence, etc. But I can't sell the 8N as it was my Dads and has
sentimental value. Thanks.

Ultradog MN · Aug 1, 2014

Over the years I have seen a lot of schemes for trying to use an 8N for tilling, etc.
Pulling it with another tractor, little wheels on the back, Sherman underdrive then add a step up apparatus on the pto, plus other schemes.
8Ns are fun and all but there are some tasks they are ill suited for.
Anything requiring a slow ground speed tops the list.
Suggest you park the 8N and look for a more modern tractor that will do the job for you.

DeltaRed · Aug 1, 2014

Martin,how about one of those 'brushhog' type mowers with its own engine?The kind that are designed to be pulled with a 4-wheeler.They come 4 or 5 ft wide.If you need 3 point manuverability,it would not be a big deal to build a 3 point on the mower.I was skepticle till I saw one work.Very satisfactory.

Royse · Aug 1, 2014

There were a number of different auxiliary transmissions as
mentioned, but probably your only realistically affordable method
of slowing the ground speed is to put smaller rear tires on it.
You're limited in how far you can go by ground clearance, etc.
But I can tell you there is a big difference between 11.2 x 28s
and 13.6 x 28s! 24's will fit too if you can find rims.
One of the tire companies on eBay had them with the rims not
long ago. Tucker tire maybe? I didn't buy any so no opinion on
that exact product.

ss55 · Aug 2, 2014

Is your problem power or is it maneuvering in tight spaces. If it's power, can you cut half swaths or raise the mower for a first cut and cut it twice?

Ultradog MN · Aug 2, 2014

The problem is way too fast of ground speed at pto speed - typical on an N.
You want to see something crazy run an 8N in reverse at pto speed.
I'm always amazed at how rediculously fast a reverse they had.

NNP · Aug 2, 2014

If you are going to keep the 8N..
(nothing wrong with owning 2 tractors though)
I've messed with a few N's, NAA's with
18.4 x 16.1 tires on the back.
VERY tight fit around the brake drums, sometimes fender braces must be trimmed, or moved, but doable.
Slowed em down a lot, would work well with a mower.
IMO, still not slow enough for a tiller.

buickanddeere · Aug 3, 2014

Such an application is outside the design specs of the Ford N series.

Indiana Ken · Aug 3, 2014

From the catalog it looks like that mower is driven by a belt from the gearbox to the spindle. Assuming you are happy with the mower, perhaps the pulley ratio could be changed to allow you to run the tractor at a lower RPM. Of course one would need to be careful not to over speed it by running the tractor at PTO speed.

oldtanker · Aug 3, 2014

Just buy a 2nd tractor! One for each implement I say! That leaves me needing only 12 or some more tractors.......and a more understanding rich wife.

If you need to keep the N because it was your dad's I'd look at a 2nd tractor.

Rick

Ford 8N-PTO-Creeper gear ?

martin bird

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