John Smith8N
Member
Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. If you're a fan of the SOS tractors you might want to stop reading now to avoid getting your blood pressure up over my rant. You've been warned. Eight years ago, after mowing for 15 years or so with an 8N, I decided I wanted a Select-O-Speed mowing tractor. I had parted out a few SOS tractors, but never really owned or used one and didn't know a lot about them except they had their core group of supporters. I figured the independent pto and ability to shift up and down would be great. So, I built up a 671/2000 tractor using the '63 2000 DDC transmission to avoid the coasting gears in the earlier model. Build thread here - http://www.oldfordtractors.com/soslm.htm - details the whole thing. It was my first rebuild of an SOS transmission which is a learning experience in itself. Apparently it went ok, because the transmission seemed to work perfectly (or as good as they ever did).
By the end of the first full mowing season I began seeing the downside. I learned quickly the inching pedal was a joke. The thing is off or on, very little in between. I did find that I could get the engine to idle well at 350 rpm, and at 350 rpm the inching pedal did perform much closer to how I thought it should. I could actually back into the shop halfway smoothly. I could live with that, as long as I remembered to idle way down before doing anything. Shifting up or down a gear on the fly ain't all it's cracked up to be, either. Dropping from 5th to 4th would result in almost eating the steering wheel unless you were braced for it. And hang on tight if you jump up to 8th or 9th because it's going to snap your neck backwards and try to jump right out from under your butt. The reason for the SOS nickname "jerk-o-matic" becomes obvious right away. Yes, I know some people use the inching pedal like a clutch when shifting, but the clutch packs weren't designed to be slipped like that and it shortens their life considerably. I couldn't bring myself to do that.
Routine maintenance was a treat. Remove the shifter assembly and cable, remove the pto slider and cable and pull the top cover just to change the overly expensive filter. Then get everything all put back and readjusted. Move the traction disconnect to adjust the bands. No wonder so many owners never do any maintenance.
The "Park" lockup was another annoyance. The tractor isn't moving anywhere unless it's running or the traction disconnect is moved. I'm always moving something around in the shop and just grab the rear tire and roll the tractor a foot one way or the other when I needed room. That ain't happening with the SOS. You gotta start it up to move it a foot.
When it's sunny and 95 degrees and you're mowing for a couple of hours, you learn just how much heat the SOS gives off. Over the next few years it gave me no problems, but constant wondering when the original splines would finally strip off the input shaft or torque limiter disk. Because I know it's not IF, but WHEN that's going to happen. I'm always mowing uphill or downhill, reversing the force on them. And the cables. I get a steady stream of emails all summer from people needing a shifter cable or pto cable for theirs. So, I have to keep a spare shifter assembly and pto cable assembly on the shelf for myself just in case. All along I figured this thing was going to grow on me and I'd learn to love it and soon I'd be waving the SOS flag with the other die hards. But it never happened.
Last year was the 8th (or 9th?) mowing season with the SOS and I decided to throw in the towel. I'm getting too old to be splitting the tractor and fixing the transmission when it finally does break. Although I have to admit it has never given me a minutes trouble so far. Still works fine, but I might as well bail out now while I still can. I collected parts until I had everything I needed and rebuilt it all this winter. A good old, reliable, cheap and easy to fix, maintenance free 4 speed like I alway had with the 8N predecessor.
Last weekend I pulled it all apart and swapped out the SOS. Three days later it's back together and ready for this mowing season with the 4 speed transmission. Just need to get the SOS decals off.
Ahh, it's like being back in the saddle again. Comfortable. Smooth. Simple. No more whiplash. Sure, I'll miss the live pto a little bit. But that's the only thing. And, I can live with that, no problem.
The Selecto stuff goes back to the parts inventory. No need to hoard spare cables anymore. I'm sure there are numerous applications where the SOS tractor is far better suited than a 4 or 5 speed. If I wanted to run a tiller, that first gear would be great. SOS fans can probably name dozens of situations where it's better. But I don't do any of those other things with this tractor. All this one does is finish mow. And I don't expect I'll ever find a time when I'd want another SOS. If you like yours, I'm happy for you. May it live forever. It just wasn't the thing for me.
.
By the end of the first full mowing season I began seeing the downside. I learned quickly the inching pedal was a joke. The thing is off or on, very little in between. I did find that I could get the engine to idle well at 350 rpm, and at 350 rpm the inching pedal did perform much closer to how I thought it should. I could actually back into the shop halfway smoothly. I could live with that, as long as I remembered to idle way down before doing anything. Shifting up or down a gear on the fly ain't all it's cracked up to be, either. Dropping from 5th to 4th would result in almost eating the steering wheel unless you were braced for it. And hang on tight if you jump up to 8th or 9th because it's going to snap your neck backwards and try to jump right out from under your butt. The reason for the SOS nickname "jerk-o-matic" becomes obvious right away. Yes, I know some people use the inching pedal like a clutch when shifting, but the clutch packs weren't designed to be slipped like that and it shortens their life considerably. I couldn't bring myself to do that.
Routine maintenance was a treat. Remove the shifter assembly and cable, remove the pto slider and cable and pull the top cover just to change the overly expensive filter. Then get everything all put back and readjusted. Move the traction disconnect to adjust the bands. No wonder so many owners never do any maintenance.
The "Park" lockup was another annoyance. The tractor isn't moving anywhere unless it's running or the traction disconnect is moved. I'm always moving something around in the shop and just grab the rear tire and roll the tractor a foot one way or the other when I needed room. That ain't happening with the SOS. You gotta start it up to move it a foot.
When it's sunny and 95 degrees and you're mowing for a couple of hours, you learn just how much heat the SOS gives off. Over the next few years it gave me no problems, but constant wondering when the original splines would finally strip off the input shaft or torque limiter disk. Because I know it's not IF, but WHEN that's going to happen. I'm always mowing uphill or downhill, reversing the force on them. And the cables. I get a steady stream of emails all summer from people needing a shifter cable or pto cable for theirs. So, I have to keep a spare shifter assembly and pto cable assembly on the shelf for myself just in case. All along I figured this thing was going to grow on me and I'd learn to love it and soon I'd be waving the SOS flag with the other die hards. But it never happened.
Last year was the 8th (or 9th?) mowing season with the SOS and I decided to throw in the towel. I'm getting too old to be splitting the tractor and fixing the transmission when it finally does break. Although I have to admit it has never given me a minutes trouble so far. Still works fine, but I might as well bail out now while I still can. I collected parts until I had everything I needed and rebuilt it all this winter. A good old, reliable, cheap and easy to fix, maintenance free 4 speed like I alway had with the 8N predecessor.
Last weekend I pulled it all apart and swapped out the SOS. Three days later it's back together and ready for this mowing season with the 4 speed transmission. Just need to get the SOS decals off.
Ahh, it's like being back in the saddle again. Comfortable. Smooth. Simple. No more whiplash. Sure, I'll miss the live pto a little bit. But that's the only thing. And, I can live with that, no problem.
The Selecto stuff goes back to the parts inventory. No need to hoard spare cables anymore. I'm sure there are numerous applications where the SOS tractor is far better suited than a 4 or 5 speed. If I wanted to run a tiller, that first gear would be great. SOS fans can probably name dozens of situations where it's better. But I don't do any of those other things with this tractor. All this one does is finish mow. And I don't expect I'll ever find a time when I'd want another SOS. If you like yours, I'm happy for you. May it live forever. It just wasn't the thing for me.
.