Educate me

[Craig2]

I am looking at an 8N with either a step up or down Sherman
transmission. What was the purpose of the step up or step
down? How do they work? Tractor runs good and looks
descent. He wants $650 for it.

 

[grayrider]

Snatch it up for that price, the Sherman gives you hi-low range

 

[HCooke]

Step up is more common than step down. The Sherman is an auxiliary transmission that replaces the input shaft. Gives you 8 forward speeds and 2 reverse speeds. There is also a combination step up / step down. 8Ns do not have synco transmissions, so you cannot shift on the go. Same with the Sherman. You must come to a full stop before selecting the gear you wish to use.

If the tractor runs well that is a great price. Check the tires. Also drive the tractor until it has warmed up and watch the oil pressure. Check steering for tightness. Check brakes and look for signs of oil leaking from rear axle seals.

 

[4play]

Depending on which Sherman it is, it will either speed up or slow down the ground speed of tractor or both on a combo box. Step up is higher (faster) gearing, step down is lower (slower) gearing. I really can't see why anyone would want higher gearing?. The down side is it will also speed up or slow down the PTO speed, not good for mowing or tilling etc. Lower gears will slow PTO down, Higher gears will speed it up. They would be best used without implements or with implements that did not use PTO.

 

[HFJ]

(quoted from post at 01:37:56 07/26/18)

I really can't see why anyone would want higher gearing?

road gears comes to mind.

 

[Ultradog MN]

I had a step up in both the 2N and 8N I had.
I used it for 3 things. With a front snow
plow I could plow in 1st high about 1/2
throttle. Gave me adequate forward speed
with snappy hydraulics.
I also used it with the 3 point buzz saw.
Higher blade speed at lower engine rpms.
Lastly, in those days I lived about 3 miles
from the American Legion. Thursday nights
they had cheap tacos and tap beers.
Overdrive got you there quickly when you
were hungry and thirsty - especially when
you pushed the throttle open with your toe
on the carb and ran the engine well past the
governed rpms.

 

[Kirk-NJ]

Here is one of my videos from U tube. If it has a good operating step down it's probably worth more than the tractor. To determine which sherman it is see my other videos. If tractor runs and drives with no noise from the sherman and good rubber would be a good deal even for parting out.
sherman link

 

[grandpa Love]

I wouldn't be looking ,I would have hauled it home at that price!

 

[mikewood869]

The Sherman is well worth it.

 

[hd6gtom]

I wish the ones I ran in the early 1960's had the step down units. Reverse was way too fast and the darn things needed 1 or 2 lower gears to get anything done. A 1 bottom plow was all you wanted behind 1 here. They were a big problem getting them to start even back then, almost as big of a problem getting them to stop. If you do buy this thing make sure you have a good overrunning PTO clutch. 4 friends of mine have been killed with these things, 1 overrunning clutch failed, one brakes completly failed. The other two we are not sure if the brakes or the over running clutch failed. I would suggest you look back on this site and see how many people have problems getting them to start and run. We had the same problems with them in the early 1960's. Its a good thing we only lived 1.75 miles from the ford dealer. I drug those darn 8-9-2 n's down there many times just trying to keep them running. The old mechanic there told me henry ford made the brakes on them to be just a little better than the brakes on a horse drawn high wheeled wagon. But not much better. Good luck with it.