Is this normal?

[Yota_85]

I don't believe anyone has touched on the fact that most if not all hydrostats have a relief valve to protect the drive train. Going up a hill in high range, or any overload in any gear for that matter, will bypass fluid thru the relief valve. Another example of where the relief bypass comes into play is shifting the hst to neutral or even reversing before the tractor has come to a stop. This again avoids damage to the drivetrain by "cushioning" any abrupt change in speed or direction.
Newer tractors may also have electronic or hydraulic safeguards that I'm not aware of to achieve some of the above.

Yes, in the spring I hope to get my valve setting checked, just in case. Though the loader seems to have plenty of power, so I doubt it. But it never hurts to check. Gotta get to TSC and see if I can make a relief valve pressure tester.

 

[kidkioti]

Nice tractor! Where did you get your plow/blade?
As to H I look at it as H is for home- as in going home on level ground with some or no load other then the tractor and any implements on at the time. M is for moving in most cases and is a safe gear to be in for most operations. L is for low and is good for things that M is too high for. Going up hill as I often do with my DK -35se/hst is somewhat of a pain. It would be nice to be able to shift on the fly when trying to gain momentum uphill but don't try it- the hst's are not made to syncromesh on hills or anywhere else. Pick a gear range and stick with it or come to a stop and shift to a different gear.
Through reading of the manual is worthwhile for some items and not so much for others.

I thought about the possibility of, as you say, shifting on the fly. Glad you brought that up because the curiosity sooner or later would have got the best of me Finding out that the M has been sufficient for the few things I have done so far. It'll be interesting to see if L will get me up to the power line when the trail drys out. Probably keep it in 4 WD as I did the CK 25 Manual/Gear. Will be adding chains to front shortly.

The plow/blade front or back? Back blade/plow was a TSC special I got 30 years ago. It still works some and serves as ballast. I enclosed a back photo of front blade (manual). Maybe somebody is familiar with Pinch Point D149 - NMC. Also yellow tag has 6 Ft snowplow Horning?? The dealer sells them. If this helps, he said it is the manual blade is the same prototype as hydraulic version but with the hydraulic piston/cylinders removed. Looks to be pretty sturdy. Hope this helps and thank you very much! KKioti