Tilling speed on my FORD 3600 seems too fast in 1st gear low.

[Forder]

Hey guys, you've helped me before and now I am stuck again.

Bought my used tractor about four months ago and I have been taking it very slow mostly because of bad weather. Doing a lot of maintenance, changing fluids, etc. Mostly have been using the bush mower. I finally put on the 5 ft. tiller that I bought with the tractor the previous owner used. He swears its rated CAT 1/Cat2 40hp and that the tractor would have no problems running it.

Actually it seems the tractor runs the tiller fine but when I till in LOW - 1st gear, I feel like its traveling WAY too fast.

I have no rpm meter ugh, so I don't really know if i'm hitting the engine 1200 rpm mark but she seems like she does great aside from the traveling speed. My Dads Kubota creeps along at maybe 1/3 the speed of the Ford and my soil is coming up very clumpy.

Hawaii, Oahu, east coast this time of year is wet, wet, wet and sometimes I have only one day to prep before the rain hits again so I'd like to spend more time tilling and less time turning around.

Am I missing a LOW, LOW, 1st gear for tilling somewhere or is 5 mph the slowest speed? All your answers, opinions, and advice is welcomed.

Thank you in advance, Forder

 

[Forder]

UPDATE: I just checked the 8 speed shift pattern decal online, (my tractor is missing its own) and it seems I am not even hitting the low range speed I am supposed to be in. I am sure I am shifting the the right lever forward, or LOW, and I am not creeping at al. When I switch to HIGH its like I am riding a racehorse.

The only thing I can add is that the rear axle fluids are about 30% over full (only fluid I did not change) on the dipstick. Will probably pull the level plug soon thinking this is the root problem but I am not convinced.

Any thoughts?
thx a million

 

[Gary Fowler]

My thoughts are that it isn't in low range at all. It should be really slow in low 1st gear for tilling and even at 540 PTO engine speed, Low 1st should be about 2-3 MPH which is plenty slow. Actually it may be about right in Low 2nd or 3rd gear. I can get pretty good results with mine at about 4 MPH and it fluffs up nice. You do have to make more passes to get it to go as deep as it will go. My skids hit at about 3-4" but after the first pass, they go into the soft dirt and allow for deeper tine penetration.

 

[sd455dan]

UPDATE: I just checked the 8 speed shift pattern decal online, (my tractor is missing its own) and it seems I am not even hitting the low range speed I am supposed to be in. I am sure I am shifting the the right lever forward, or LOW, and I am not creeping at al. When I switch to HIGH its like I am riding a racehorse.

The only thing I can add is that the rear axle fluids are about 30% over full (only fluid I did not change) on the dipstick. Will probably pull the level plug soon thinking this is the root problem but I am not convinced.

Any thoughts?
thx a million

i checked the data on the 3000 and the 8 speed has a 1st gear of 1.7 mph @rated speed- fast for a tiller at least after checking how mine feels at a slower speed

my S-O-S has a 1st gear .8 mph @1800 rpm would be great for a tiller

my rhino has a 1st of 1.3 mph @2000 rpm which seems just a little fast to me when tilling but it does work
but the tiller is 85 inch which may be why it seems fast although i am tilling fields that haven't been worked in 25+ years

Sounds like you may be borderline for tilling- hope it will work...

if that's the 8 speed manual trans the fluid level will not affect the tractors speed although it should be set to fords spec

 

[Forder]

THANKS GUYS! I never really noticed how fast I was going until I started tilling and now I am very concerned. I am going to clock my speed today and have a feeling I am traveling way faster than specs suggest.

Any thoughts on why LOW gear is so fast? I will probably clock 1st gear and 5th gear to see the difference between LOW and HIGH, but don't think this will help my situation. Unfortunately the previous owner has moved away and I know no one who has a ford.

Thank you all again for your advice.

 

[Forder]

Just a thought... could the previous owner have augmented the tractor to go FASTER?? I know he used it a lot to mow about four to five acres..... and didn't till very much.
It IS a '79, diesel, 8/2 manual trans, with all electrical pulled except ignition and starter.

Good weather coming soon and I want to make sure she's a BEAST before I go in deep. Otherwise no row crop till dry, dry conditions. My neighbors are all tilled up and I am looking shabby.

OK off to the fields. Will be back in several hours with some time trials.

 

[Forder]

OK well I clocked my tractor at .3mph in 1st, and 5.1 mph in 5th. Guess I wasnt going as fast as I though I was. Ah ****, TY everyone for your help....again.