Ford SOS

[George Best]

I just bought a Ford 4000 with the SOS transmission.

I've noticed that the second transmission band seems slow to engage. 1-4 respond as expected, but when going to 5th there is a longer pause than I would expect. Once in 5th, then 6, 7, 8 upshifts act as expected.

Is this a serious problem, or can some adjustment be made to reduce the time the 2nd band takes to engage?

I don't have a shop manual yet as I just got the tractor, plus am trying to identify the correct year before ordering a manual.

Thanks.

 

[35A]

George, I hope you did not pay too much for that thing! In this case SOS does not stand for "save our souls" If those trans. are well maintained & kept in proper adjustment, they may give no trouble. But most did not get that treatment & thus gave expensive trouble. With one gear gone you might have a chance to adjust it. Change the trans oil & filter & use Ford lube & parts. I'm sure someone on this site can help with the adjustments needed. I've used tractors with the SOS trans & when they work well they are great to use, but the most used gears always seem to go first. I avoid tractors with that trans. Good Luck to You

 

[PatsPOS]

I believe that, between what I've read on this forum and my own personal experience, that the lag between 4th and 5th gear is pretty much normal. If you look at the operator's manual, there is a big jump in gear ratio between 4th and 5th.

If I ever upshift from 4th to 5th, I have the RPMs fairly low...I've jerked the front wheels completely off the ground on that shift at higher Rs, and I figure that can't be very good on the equipment!

As far as narrowing down the year of your tractor, if you can post the model and serial number (located on the flat part of the bellhousing above the starter drive if you have a 4-cylinder), we'll be able to tell you what year you have.

HTH,
Pat

 

[Dean]

George:

The hesitation when changing from fourth to fifth is normal and nothing to worry about. Lots of things happen in the transmission when changing from fourth to fifth.

Dean

 

[awhtx]

You need to determine if you have a early 60's 4 cylinder 4000 or a later 3 cylinder 4000. When you get your manual you will find a chart that shows which clutches and bands are applied for each gear. If you are having a problem with a particular clutch or band it will usually show up in more than one gear. As the others have stated, the shift from 4th to 5th is rather agressive so it's possible you don't have a problem.

 

[Larry NCKS]

[color=blue:9ce94b43b3]35A, I have to disagree with you. You say you've operated SOS, but if you were really familiar with this tranny, you would know that it does not drop one gear at a time. The least amount of speed ratios (gears) that can give problems in this system at any given time is four.

These transmissions, after the ORC models, in my experience (and I've been around them for almost as long as they've been in existence) are no more prone to failure than any other of that age.

As I've said before on this forum, I have four of these tractors. Three of them run flawlessly and the other I bought with a non-running engine and it's waiting for me to find a fuel tank so I can see how it runs.

[b:9ce94b43b3]The long and the short of my opinion,[/b:9ce94b43b3] since you are so adamantly opposed to the SOS, [b:9ce94b43b3]is if it doesn't have the SOS in it in a vintage from '58 to '74, I DON"T HAVE ANY USE FOR IT!!!!![/b:9ce94b43b3][/color:9ce94b43b3]