hydra drive

[andydap]

hi all,
i have a oliver 1600 with the hydra drive, which i have never used. i replaced the seals in it, but i find that the thing is making a lot of noise when the clutch is engaged. is there a way to take this unit out and replace it with something with a direct drive to the transmission?

 

[B A Star]

1600 tractors were built with direct drive in-place of the HPD, however not many. Had a long shaft from the pilot bearing to the coupler sprocket (different than used W/HPD). Had a sheet metal cover over the shaft.

 

[MikeO-WI]

I have the shaft but it came out of a 1855 with the bigger engine. Not sure if this will work with a 1650. Maybe someone else can answer that question.

 

[alberta dave]

I bought a Hydra drive to put into my 1650 years ago from a tractor wrecker. He assured me that Oliver used the same over/under in all of the their tractors. The one I bought came out of an 1800. Sadly it still sits on the floor of the shop as the engine expired in the 1650 before we got the O/U changed out but they do in fact look the same. If that is the case that the O/U are interchangeable than logic says the shafts would be also. My late brother in law would sometimes weld the disks together in the hydrapower and turn it into a straight direct drive but he is passed and just what he welded up has been lost.

 

[scootergmc]

The 1600/1650/1655 all use the same shaft. The large 55 series use a different p/n shaft.

 

[tom upton]

I would check out coupling halves and alignment of same, along with chain before you condemn the Hydra Power.( they can make a heck of a racket) If it is the Hydra Power I would suggest replacing it with a good used one rather than eliminating it, or better still try to find a Hydraul shift. Makes tractor that much more versatile for a lot of jobs.

 

[andydap]

hi tom,
i'll check out the alignment and chain as you said. just what is a hydraul shift? frankly i never used the hydra shift and that's one reason why i asked about taking it out.
andy

 

[tom upton]

Hydraul shift gives you 18 speeds. So you have direct under and over, whereas the Hydra-power is just direct and under. Really nice to be able to vary speed when doing most kinds of field work. The Hydraul came out with the later 50 series, but it is no issue to install in a 00 series. I stuck one in a 1800 and it is much nicer to cut hay with. I usually run 3rd over and when you come to a corner drop it into under for the corner, then back up into over and away you go!