John Deere syncro-shift

[Charlie175]

I admit I have little experience on JD stuff, but I like to learn about all makes. As a kid I used to help out a guy that had a 3020 syncro-shift (I think that is the term) that just confounded me. Looking at my JD book I still am not clear on how that tranny works as the gearing does not seem to be spaced right. I am used to "H" type tranny's with H/L range.
Could you shift between 2 gears, say 3rd to 4th on the fly using the clutch? I guess sliding the tranny lever down one way then over and up or down with R in the middle just throws me off. I remember 8th was all the down and very fast. I sat in the middle of the field many times trying to figure the thing out and never did.

They also had a 2020 with a loader that had 4 gears with I to IV range, at least I could figure that one out.

 

[Niji]

This may have nothing to do with what you're asking...so I apologize in advance, but your post brought back a memory.

I remember a JD we had for awhile, it may have been a 3020--it would have been about that size--and it had a shifter that had (if I remember right, which could be a stretch of the gray matter for me) the oddest thing. It had 4 gears and shifted with a slight bump between 1 and 2, and then also between 3 and 4, but not between 2 and 3, which required the clutch. It seems to me it was made this way by design, and the shifter was a small lever on the dash, so not right on top of the tranny like I think you are asking about. Then there was at least one high and low range, and maybe more. Anyway, I loved this thing as I was accustomed to the IH 1086 we had that was the most hateful shifting thing I ever saw in my life. We soon traded the JD up for a JD 4440 which had a power shifter that just bumped sweet as you please with the effort of just your thumb from 1 all the way through to 8 and back with no issues ever, which was the cat's pajama's as far as I was concerned. Plus, it was the first comfort cab I ever saw and even had a/c and a stereo with an 8 track player! I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I always figured that earlier tractor might have been JD's precursor to the power shift, but I don't know the history.

Alright...back to the 21st century....

 

[Charlie175]

This is what I am talking about

 

[chh]

On the 4020 synchro shift I had the gears were set up with neutral and the slide between sets of gears on the left. Park at the very top. The first gate was as I remember First on the upper, pull down for Third and Reverse 1 on down in a notch to the right. You had to go back thru the gate and down to the next gate for Second and Fifth and Reverse 2. It continued on down with the same pattern(except not reverse on the bottom for Eighth). All shifts required clutching. Mine had about 10,000 hrs on it when I sold it. The gates had enough wear in them that you had to be carefull when you pulled it down that you didn't pull it to the side in between gear sets.

 

[Charlie175]

1st to 3rd, 3rd to R?
2nd to 5th to R?

7th to 6th to 8th?

Tow I assume is neutral

So if I have it in 2nd I could shift to 3rd with no clutch? Same with 4 to 5 and 6 to 7?

Which Reverse was higher?

 

[chh]

Yeah like the one in the pic you posted. Good timing there. It is a pretty easy trans when you get used to it. My wife hated it though and would only run it when she absolutely had too.

You had to clutch with each shift on mine. Even the ones in the same gate set. The higher the set of gears the faster the reverse gear. This was an all gear tranny. No power shift or clutchless shifting at all.

 

[Charlie175]

what was the reason for the two 3rd's and two 5ths? Same gear just slide to the right so that you could go to R?

I just felt that going thru the gears was hard to do outside of the 2 in the same gate.

I was used to AC tractors with simple 4 gears in H pattern with a High Low lever so this drove me nuts! But I am sure I would have gotten used to it with more time.

 

[chh]

I can't tell you the reason for double numbering it. It was only one position and one gear. Yes, a slight slide to the right and down was reverse. It really was not bad once you got used to it. I baled many a round bale with that old tractor.
My wife was more used to a Ford 4600 with the H pattern and high/low. This tractor's shift( and a few of its little age related quirks) drove her nuts.

 

[civesnedfield]

what was the reason for the two 3rd's and two 5ths? Same gear just slide to the right so that you could go to R?

I just felt that going thru the gears was hard to do outside of the 2 in the same gate.

I was used to AC tractors with simple 4 gears in H pattern with a High Low lever so this drove me nuts! But I am sure I would have gotten used to it with more time.

The double numbering is for the reverse gears---3R and 5R.
The one I run you have to use the clutch for all gear changes.

 

[Wombat125]

Ok, dumb story here.

When I was a little kid riding in my Grandpa's 4020, I didn't realize the lines on the shift sticker represented the paths to the gears. I thought they represented walls in the pattern that you had to maneuver the shift lever around. I thought you had to move the lever in a big loop to get to the 5th gear under 2nd. That made me think it was the most messed up shifter I had ever seen.

Now it seems pretty straight forward.