2009 MF 2615 4WD Reversed

[Red Branch]

Banged up my 4wd lever brush mowing and it seemed to stop working and lost traction. Had some maintenance work done at the shop and they check it all out and tested 4wd and said it was fine but was just reversed from the decal (and the manual after I went back and checked). By reversed what I mean is, decal and manual say that lever is pushed down to engage 4wd and pulled up to disengage. This is what I have done for the 7 years I have owned this tractor. I know it worked.

Now, the lever is engaging 4wd when it is pulled up and disengaged when pushed down.I have confirmed this by lifting the front tires with FEL and seeing when they spin.
Any explanations or causes for concern?
How much damage did I do by driving it on the road for 1/4 mile in 2high gear with the 4wd engaged because it was reversed? It definitely whined a bit at me.

 

[Roadworthy]

My main cause for concern would be whether there was some internal damage or has the tractor been operating this way all along and you just realized it. If you've been driving it on the pavement in 4WD you'll probably see some wear on the front tires as the front and rear tires turn at slightly different speeds when in 4WD. It does seem odd the manual and the sticker are just the opposite of the reality. From what I've read the 4WD is meant to be an assist and not intended for full time use.

 

[rScotty]

Sounds like the lever has a pivot point that went "over center".

 

[Red Branch]

My main cause for concern would be whether there was some internal damage or has the tractor been operating this way all along and you just realized it. If you've been driving it on the pavement in 4WD you'll probably see some wear on the front tires as the front and rear tires turn at slightly different speeds when in 4WD. It does seem odd the manual and the sticker are just the opposite of the reality. From what I've read the 4WD is meant to be an assist and not intended for full time use.

I’m not mechanically inclined, but I’m not an idiot (not saying you implied I was). I don’t always know how to fix or diagnose a problem, but I know when there is one. Since I’ve owned the tractor, down was engaged and up was disengaged. I’ve gotten stuck in muck in 2wd and put it in 4wd and got right out. That said, I’m pretty confident on the fact that something changed at the point of banging/bending the lever in scrub when mowing or when it was check out and a “cover replaced” at the shop.
Manual and decal were reality…until now. This was one of the main reasons that I took it in to get some work done. 4wd does work now, just backwards engagement.
I don’t see any significant signs of tire wear, and I don’t drive in the road frequently. I was concerned about this single incident of driving high gear apparently with 4wd engaged. Thanks

 

[Red Branch]

Sounds like the lever has a pivot point that went "over center".

I’ll look it up, but would mind explaining that a little further to me?

 

[Dmacleo]

isn't there a light showing engaged on the 2615 series? if so does this light now NOT match what is actually happening?

 

[lpakiz]

Yeah, I suspect that there is a lever somewhere down below that (let’s just say) should point to 9 AM (and rotates from 8 to 10 to engage and disengage) and it got flipped to 3PM, so it reversed the input shaft that it rotates. (assuming the push-pull rod is vertical)
See if you can follow that rod down under the floor boards, where it goes into the transmission. Check if it looks like the lever got flipped, or maybe even removed and reinstalled 180* off.
The same could have happened at some intermediate “bell crank” pivot point.
And Dave ^^^ has a valid question—how about the indicator light?

 

[Dmacleo]

Yeah, I suspect that there is a lever somewhere down below that (let’s just say) should point to 9 AM (and rotates from 8 to 10 to engage and disengage) and it got flipped to 3PM, so it reversed the input shaft that it rotates.
See if you can follow that rod down under the floor boards, where it goes into the transmission. Check if it looks like the lever got flipped, or maybe even removed and reinstalled 180* off.

this is what I was wondering about too. I only have 10 minutes on a 2615 (2013 iirc) but do remember down was engaged and light was on.

 

[Red Branch]

isn't there a light showing engaged on the 2615 series? if so does this light now NOT match what is actually happening?

Never had a corresponding light on the dash, at least not since I have owned it.

 

[Red Branch]

Yeah, I suspect that there is a lever somewhere down below that (let’s just say) should point to 9 AM (and rotates from 8 to 10 to engage and disengage) and it got flipped to 3PM, so it reversed the input shaft that it rotates. (assuming the push-pull rod is vertical)
See if you can follow that rod down under the floor boards, where it goes into the transmission. Check if it looks like the lever got flipped, or maybe even removed and reinstalled 180* off.
The same could have happened at some intermediate “bell crank” pivot point.
And Dave ^^^ has a valid question—how about the indicator light?

I’ll check it out. If it is flipped, do think would be doing damage and needing to correct? I mean, I want it back to normal. I suspect I will pull it and see if I can flip it 180. Thanks .