New Holland Power shuttle transmission

[Builder]

In a New Holland backhoe. Guy tells me they steal a lot of horsepower. They're essentially an automatic transmission for the backhoe and pretty worthless.

anyone have thoughts?

 

[ScottAR]

Pretty much all full sized TLBs have a torque converter trans to my knowledge.
I'm sure ya lose some hp, but not any more than any of the other driveline options, hydrostat, diesel electric, etc. Generally, these torque convertors have a planetary set in them to gear down the trans when slippage occurs, whereas a direct clutch setup would spin the tires.

 

[kmdigital]

Loader work would be a real pita w/o one. Just look for an early 70's TLB with the manual clutch and run it for a few hours, and you won't really care about any power loss after your leg and arm are wore out from clutching and jamming the lever forward and rearward. Not to mention grinding the gears into hamburger. Besides, TLBs are not designed for use as a farm tractor, i.e. pulling heavy implements for days on end, so ease of directional change is essential.

 

[Builder]

Loader work would be a real pita w/o one. Just look for an early 70's TLB with the manual clutch and run it for a few hours, and you won't really care about any power loss after your leg and arm are wore out from clutching and jamming the lever forward and rearward. Not to mention grinding the gears into hamburger. Besides, TLBs are not designed for use as a farm tractor, i.e. pulling heavy implements for days on end, so ease of directional change is essential.

I think we have a misunderstanding. What I mean is that this machine has a shuttle lever on the lefty of the steering column, just like all B/H's have. however, this one goes a step further- it eliminates the 4 speed floor shifter and puts it into the shuttle shifter on the left of the steering column. Furthermore, it upshifts & downshifts, just like a 4 speed automatic in a pickup truck.

From what i'm told, it's very complex, has several sensors under the tractor prone to being unreliable, and soaks up more power than the floor shifted units we more comonly see in modern backhoes.

 

[ScottAR]

All the makers are going to this style trans... Kind of a power shift with a torque convertor. Supposed to make the operator more productive on load and carry type jobs. Case and Cat have had this style trans for 5-6 years now.

 

[kmdigital]

I think we have a misunderstanding. What I mean is that this machine has a shuttle lever on the lefty of the steering column, just like all B/H's have. however, this one goes a step further- it eliminates the 4 speed floor shifter and puts it into the shuttle shifter on the left of the steering column. Furthermore, it upshifts & downshifts, just like a 4 speed automatic in a pickup truck.

From what i'm told, it's very complex, has several sensors under the tractor prone to being unreliable, and soaks up more power than the floor shifted units we more comonly see in modern backhoes.

Ok, I haven't seen this style. Sounds like something I would want to avoid with a 20' pole, because any repairs would be $$$$$$$$$$$. One of the best hoes for the money and ease of repairability is still any Case starting with the 580K Series I models and earlier. 580K Series III and later have a completely different rear transaxle and shuttle shift setups that costs serious bucks to fix. They're probably ok for the contractor, but for DIY'lfr you want something that can be fixed relatively easily and inexpensively.

 

[Builder]

Yep, exactly what I was told. Actually he said "weld a loop to the roof and use it as a boat anchor" lol

It looks just like an auto transmission with a feature to lock it in any gear or let the tractor decide when to up/downshift for you. Sounds like it might be unreliable, expensive to fix and not as good for doing loader work.

 

[Dirthog]

Have run a couple of them and they are not bad as some people are saying sold several through our dealership and have not had any more problems with them than anything else from that era.

 

[Builder]

Have run a couple of them and they are not bad as some people are saying sold several through our dealership and have not had any more problems with them than anything else from that era.

Did they lack power driving into piles of dirt? The thing's 92HP, which seems like plenty, but I hear the auto drains too much power out of them. Still 92HP is a lot more than comparable sized Deere & CAT. Plus this particular NH has a nicer cab, and a lot more features than most other hoes.

 

[Dirthog]

haven't heard anyone say they lacked power only thing is if you are in cold area you should let it warm up a little bit longer than a standard transmission what most people around here do is raise up the back on the outriggers and just let it run in gear for a little bit with just about all of there backhoes