I dont know about the smaller JXs, but the JX75 and JX95 are, with minor exceptions, the same as the just-released New Holland TDD series:
Press Releases
As far as "low tech" I'd say that means clutching for mechanical shifts for every gear change, range change, and direction change.
I owned a JX75 that I bought new and it kept popping out of 4th gear when "motor braking". This is very bad when roading or working on hills, yeah yeah who works in 4th gear... I know. Well I should not have hoped it would "wear in" because I ended up with a tractor with just over 50 hours that was going to have to be split to fix the problem, under warranty, of course. Having had a tractor that had to be split to fix a "recall" issue once before (2000 model TC40D), I wasn't pleased, knowing I'd get it back with the "new" knocked off in a big way, and I was afraid it would start leaking, just like my TC40D did. So I negotiated an attractive trade-in for a new JX95.
Guess what? The JX95 leaks from where the front drive-spline exits the transfer case and also from some of the fittings just above the oil-filter. Not a lot, and it only produces new seepage when the engine's running, but I wouldn't want to park it on any of
my pavement. Oh well. Also: the Case "factory" AM/FM radio works fine but in both my JX's the CD players simply wouldn't work. If you want CD or XM, go aftermarket.
The floor-mounted shuttle on the JX75 and 95 is stiff and must be clutched, so I think a JX75 or 95 would be an awful tractor to have a loader on, but since I don't, it's no real bother. I mostly bush-hog with this tractor, and for that, it's fine: one great feature is a cam-device on one of the lift-arms that can be set to limit the lift-height so a mower can be lifted only minimally if you hit something, removing the need to stop the blades first (to keep stress off the PTO-shaft U-joints). The JX raise/lower controls being independent from the height adjustments also work well for mowing. Most importantly, the AC works great and the cup-holder is in the right place and fits a full-sized can-hugger. I have loaders on a Ford/New Holland 3930 and an Case IH 5140: The column-mounted mechanical (and clutched) shuttle on the 3930 is a bare necessity. The electronic shuttle and electronic 4-speed on the 5140 is a joy. BTW, Both of these are great tractors and if used is OK for you, I recommend them highly. Also, 5140s often have cabs, but it's a BIG tractor.
FWIW,
mk
