Advice on Hydrostatic Transmission vs Gears

[stevem5215]

K46 can be serviced. You must remove it and turn it upside down. I've done my Craftsman one twice now. Both times the fluid was beat up and bad looking. Refresh it and it'll work like new again. I use 5w-50 in it or whatever is close to available. The K58 is heavier duty and better overall and not known to fail like the K46 design due to a lightweight design.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

My first tractor experience, except my home made version, was an L3800 size Kubota that came with my girlfriend when she moved in.

I was ecstatic to have a loader but it didn't take me long to start really disliking its manual transmission, especially when using the loader to pick up dirt.

These days I'm using the L3800 she bought after moving to here the most often, by far. And that's largely because it's an HST.

 

[Ortimber]

Resale likely would be better with an HST. For a compact size tractor, I wouldn't own anything other than an HST machine.

 

[mmaliga]

I have 2 gear tractors (Case 255, Mitsubishi MTE2000) and 1 HST (New Holland 25S). It truly depends on what you are doing with what attachment. The Hydro tractor is an incredible lawnmower. Loader work is pretty good with it. The Mitsubishi tractors do well with grading and snow clearing. Transmission selection is just one part. Tires are the biggest deal. Weight is a big deal as well. Lifting capacity can be important. Size can be important.