L4600 HST Popping out of gear, free rolling.

avery155 · Dec 19, 2015

Hey everyone, I have major probelm with my l4600 hst. It has popped itself out of low range about 3 times now, causig tractor to free roll in neutral. The lever engages but doesnt line up with L. It does line up with M, and H.

When placing it in L you can still pull back on the lever but it wont stay, it moves forward a little bit.

Used tractor today, and it was fine. This to me is a very serious problem.

Tractor has 396 hours on it, and is under extended warranty. What should I expect if I take it in for service, espically if they cant replicate the problem.

I dont want to get into details, but this last happend on a incline resulting in a backwards free roll, operater ok, tractor is ok like i said i used it today on the flat.

There are no external adjustments for the linkage that I can see.

Thanks, please help.

DT86 · Dec 19, 2015

Sounds dangerous. Send it back to the dealer.

wcampbell47 · Dec 20, 2015

Sometimes shifting into L from M on my L3901 requires me to slightly touch the pedal to get the lever all the way back into what feels like a solid shift. I have never experienced it coming out of gear.

RedNeckRacin · Dec 20, 2015

You aren't engaging the transmission fully. Sometimes you need to rock the machine with light pressure on the lever to get it to lock in. I don't know why but low is so much harder to shift into. I actually bent the shifting rod shifting my Kubota hst into gear.

Grandad4 · Dec 20, 2015

I'll certainly agree this is a safety issue. I can only imagine the consequences of my rig popping into neutral at the wrong moment. You don't say whether this shifting behavior has been like this since it was brand new or if it has showed up more recently. If it's been like that since new, it's on the dealer to fix it on his own dime, I think.

However with my tractor I've always tried to be careful to make sure the gears were aligned to allow a smooth, complete engagement - particularly in L range - because forcing the shifter could easily bend the linkage. If the gears do not align so they'll fully engage, it's possible to get partial engagement; a bent linkage may only be allowing such partial engagement. Obviously that's not only a safety concern, but the odds of damaging the gearbox are pretty great if the shift linkages aren't letting the gears fully engage.

Time for it to go back to the dealer and have the linkage made right, IMHO.