coasting down slopes in neutral or clutch in, bad?

[Jim Shooz]

The entry on the manual is a PYA statement. (well Protect Their A_se) but you have to ask, why would you ??? You're not achieving anything but you're giving up half of your control. In your car you wouldn't throw it out of gear and coast down a mountain. There's a reason that's called driving in Angle gear. You'll meet them a lot sooner. :thumbsup:

 

[gordo350]

If you are not familiar with how to drive a Massey Ferguson with Multi-Power you may be in for a surprise going down a slope in Multi-Power low.

In multi power low the transmission can free wheel just like the clutch is in. Don't know exactly how it works but i assume the drive is hydraulic. I do know that if mine is low on oil in the transmission it will free wheel even with the lever on high!! Can be very interesting with a 2 ton baler in tow

 

[coralhead]

Can you elaborate on what this entails?
Thanks,
CM

From an article....

With the multi-power system there is one hydraulic clutch pack and also a ratchet type assembly. When in low multi the hydraulic clutch is dissengaged and the drive goes through a pair of gears into a ratchet clutch which takes the drive to the gearbox. There is no engine breaking in low multi because of the ratchet clutch. When you move the transmission to high multi it locks up the hydraulic clutch and the hydraulic clutch gear drives another gear. Because the drive is now turning faster than through the low-multi ratchet clutch, this now becomes a free-wheeling device. It is for this reason that there is engine braking in high multi power, but no engine braking in low multi power.
This is also why if you are in high multi going up a hill and you depress the clutch pedal that whilst in gear no roll-back can occur because of the ratchet clutch. ie. both systems are locked together. The hydraulic multi-power clutch is not torque converter, but is merely a multi-plate hydraulically operated clutch pack. The good thing about this is that there is no loss of power through to the gearbox.
The clutch is a conventional clutch and so is the 3 speed gearbox.

 

[ugabulldog]

OK, thanks everyone. So it sounds like it is a safety issue, which I know about, vs can damage trans or clutch except one reply said is bad for throwout bearing if clutch is depressed.

 

[Reg]

From an article....

With the multi-power system there is one hydraulic clutch pack and also a ratchet type assembly. When in low multi the hydraulic clutch is dissengaged and the drive goes through a pair of gears into a ratchet clutch which takes the drive to the gearbox. There is no engine breaking in low multi because of the ratchet clutch. When you move the transmission to high multi it locks up the hydraulic clutch and the hydraulic clutch gear drives another gear. Because the drive is now turning faster than through the low-multi ratchet clutch, this now becomes a free-wheeling device. It is for this reason that there is engine braking in high multi power, but no engine braking in low multi power.
This is also why if you are in high multi going up a hill and you depress the clutch pedal that whilst in gear no roll-back can occur because of the ratchet clutch. ie. both systems are locked together. The hydraulic multi-power clutch is not torque converter, but is merely a multi-plate hydraulically operated clutch pack. The good thing about this is that there is no loss of power through to the gearbox.
The clutch is a conventional clutch and so is the 3 speed gearbox.

Thanks so much for that.
While I don't have a Massey - and I might as well admit that I rarely RTFM - there is something counter intuitive about this.
For just about EVERY transmission it is true that the lowest (numerically highest ratio) gear (and/or lowest range) provides the highest engine braking effect.

So as a newbie on one of these if I were faced with having to descend a steep grade with a heavy load and poor surface I would naturally select the multi-low in combination with the lowest of the 3 gears in the box.
WOWeeee !!! Free wheeling all the way to the bottom, but would I even DARE to touch the brakes ? Probably not.

To the base post - why WOULD ANYONE want to "coast" ?
It doesn't save any measurable amount of fuel, or allow the engine to "rest" or cool (measurably)
It is DANGEROUS and that overrules any consideration of mechanical wear/tear on the equipment.

 

[Coyote machine]

OK, thanks everyone. So it sounds like it is a safety issue, which I know about, vs can damage trans or clutch except one reply said is bad for throwout bearing if clutch is depressed.

Throughout bearing is intended for use when engaging/disengaging the clutch plate with the flywheel. Riding the bearing while descending a hill isn't going to kill it, but isn't going to prolong its life either.

 

[Soldier415]

This may be a silly question, but why would anyone want to go down a hill in neutral or with the clutch in in the first place?

 

[DaveNJ]

This may be a silly question, but why would anyone want to go down a hill in neutral or with the clutch in in the first place?

My reason, at age 13, was that nothing was more exciting than dropping one of grandpa's row crop tractors out of gear to speed down a hill until he caught me at it once. That gentle humored man who never raised his voice became a raging beast screaming in my face. I was afraid to even look at him for days.

 

[check]

My reason, at age 13, was that nothing was more exciting than dropping one of grandpa's row crop tractors out of gear to speed down a hill until he caught me at it once. That gentle humored man who never raised his voice became a raging beast screaming in my face. I was afraid to even look at him for days.

So, a good lesson learned: "Wharever you do, don"f f___ with a man's tractor."

 

[DaveNJ]

His concern was more with me breaking my fool f------- neck more than the tractor. Whenever I broke equipment, he would calmly explain how to fix it and we would usually fix it together.