Anyone ever regretted buying a HST?

[pmsmechanic]

Exactly. Way tougher and MUCH MUCH easier to work on than a manual transmission and a Clutch, BECAUSE they don't need no stinking working on!

My dad was dead set against automatic transmission till the day he died. He never owned one, and wouldn't. BUT auto transmissions (slush o matics) in "his day" were no where near anything like a 700R4. But his auto appreciation was ruined by messing with the ones his brother bought in the late 40's and early 50's. They were all junk in his mind, By the time I was an adult and had cars with auto's that worked fine and were long lasting, there was no convincing him.

I'm one of the ones that would be with your dad. I've never had a standard transmission leave me stranded on the road. I've always been able to get home one way or another. I can't say that for an automatic though I haven't owned one for years.

Edited to add that I just remembered that I do own a 2001 Jetta with an automatic. It's due to get a manual transplant as soon as I make the time for it.

Presently the only "automatic" that would interest me is VW's DSG transmission. And it's not really an automatic.

 

[Katahdin]

Only a little sad because a few years later, Yanmar came out with iHMT.

I do enough loader work, and crawl slowly over uneven terrain when bush mowing, that I think I think the HST for me was the right choice at the time.

I grew up driving automatics. I paid $1700 eight years ago for a surplus 1966 U.S. Army deuce-and-a-half, and taught myself to drive standard on its Spicer 3053A transmission. I now own 3 deuces with that transmission, but my comfort zone is automatics and my daily driver is a 2004 Jeep TJ with the 42RLE.

 

[RSKY]

If I were doing row cropping or something like that I would want the manual. But for what I use mine the HST made more sense. Plus the fact that my wife or daughters, or my eight year old granddaughter, can hop on and drive it around with very little instruction. Turn the wheel which way you want to go and step on this pedal to go, let off the pedal to stop. That enabled the grand to drive around while I picked up limbs and put them in the bucket.

RSKY

 

[KB7210]

A friend of mine had a mint 2007 Massey with under 200 hours on it but it was a gear shift. I forget the model number but it was around 30HP. He had a very difficult time selling it, practically gave it away. No one want a gear shift, only Shuttle or HST.

 

[Piston]

The only reason I regret buying my tractor with HST, is because I didn’t get one with HST+

Of course, I never regretted it until I drove my neighbors tractor with HST+ for a day and found out what I was missing.

When I had a geared tractor, I did t regret not having HST at all, I didn’t even know what I was missing, and my geared tractor did everything I wanted/needed.

 

[Texasmark]

I can only answer the last part of your question. I've had the HST+ transmission in a 60 hp Kubota M59 for ten years now. This is a heavy TLB type tractor used mostly for moving rock and dirt. Construction and landscaping type work. Lots of loader work. The HST is just fantastic. It has noticibly more usable power than a glideshift/powershift or straigt geared tractor because HST has the ability to self-adjust it's internal ratio to match the load.
HST is perhaps slightly less fuel efficient, but the trade-off is getting so much more work done with less effort and less wear & tear on the machine.

For comparison, I also have both straight geared, and powershift/glideshift tractors. Yesterday we used all off them for loader work. There's just no comparison.

However, from the standpoint of engineering and manufacture, a HST is a complex transmission with very close tolerances required special alloys. That adds to the price of the tractor. I don't mind that, but would be very leary of buying a HST in an economy tractor. The HST is a place a manufacturer can save a lot of money, but it's exactly the place where you want them to be spending it.
A HST also makes heat, and the transmission cooler is another place a manufacturer can save money. And again, it's an area where you want them spending money; not saving it. Coolers need to be thick alloy and well protected. Because of peculiarities of heat transfer, they generally need to be oversized as well. My advice is if buying a HST, go with known top quality.
And once you get your HST, change oil at 50 hrs. and then regularly. Using the best trans/hydraulic oil in a HST is also an higher expense. You can feed an old straight gear tractor just about any transmission oil as long as it has some oil in there - and a glideshift is simply a straight gear tranny with internal clutch packs. The tolerate a wider range of oils. But the HST should have the best oil.

I see that Yanmar has a different type transmission, but I haven't studied it. However, Yanmar is known to be both innovative and top quality. And they have a history of bringing out new things. So I agree it is worth a look.
rScotty

"I see that Yanmar has a different type transmission, but I haven't studied it. However, Yanmar is known to be both innovative and top quality. And they have a history of bringing out new things. So I agree it is worth a look."

Way back in the late 70's on my way to work was a Yanmar small (compact, subcompact whatever they called them then) tractor dealer, first import dealer I saw and Yanmar is still with us. My neighbor bought a 4052 Deer hydro a couple of years ago and it is advertised to have the Yanmar built engine. They bought the JD service package so I guess all the fluids are JD. Seems the service interval for that service is once per year....I guess for non commercial customers. They haven't had any problems with it and it's their first and they are new to farming.

 

[Drewmon]

I own a 40hp HST, mostly used for snow removal, road maintenance, and loader work. For my needs, the HST is ideal because of a lot of back and forth movements. There are times I wish I had a gear based transmission. I say that because there are many gearing options for the job at hand. With the HST, I really cant use High gear, It struggles to even get going, never mind if your towing anything or need to go up any type of hill without stopping and changing to a lower gear and starting from a stand still. So for any real use, low and mid range are my only usable gearing options. One other nice option when using the geared version is that you can regulate the throttle with your foot rather than a throttle lever.

 

[CADplans]

The heck with regretting HST,, I regret getting the tractor with four wheel drive!!
Ahhh,, the memories, using a loader with 2WD,, now there was a challenge!! :thumbsup:

Do not try to back up a grade. of any sort,,
Do not try to back up with anything in the loader bucket,,,

2WD was a way to keep my mind active, and ward off old age dementia,,,

now I gotta play on-line chess to keep my mind active,,,
such a waste,,

maybe I will sell the 4WD tractors!!


:laughing:

 

[k0ua]

The heck with regretting HST,, I regret getting the tractor with four wheel drive!!
Ahhh,, the memories, using a loader with 2WD,, now there was a challenge!! :thumbsup:

Do not try to back up a grade. of any sort,,
Do not try to back up with anything in the loader bucket,,,

2WD was a way to keep my mind active, and ward off old age dementia,,,

now I gotta play on-line chess to keep my mind active,,,
such a waste,,

maybe I will sell the 4WD tractors!!


:laughing:

A big utility tractor with loader and loaded rear tires and 2wd can be useful. I used one for many years. Is it as good as a 4wd of the same size... uh not even close. A small 2wd tractor with a loader is just about useless. Not totally, but just about.

 

[goeduck]

Got caught with only a 2WD FEL tractor on one of my properties last weekend and needing to install a gate on an old logging access road which meant going up a fairly steep hill with the gate, posts etc. Loaded it all in a trailer and gave it a shot. No go. Went back and put the brush hog on and stacked the material and tools as far back as I could on the hog. Raised the hog so the tail wheel was off the ground and it went up the first try. Amazing what weight on the drive wheels does. Unfortunately with actual loader work you cannot offset enough.