tractor brakes

[tom10]

It was just called to my attention that Steiger tractors do not have wheel brakes but only a small transmission brake which may overheat very quickly if used to retard the tractor going down hill with the transmission in neutral. For example when towing for a short distance. I would appreciate a reaction to this and would also like to know if Case-IH uses only a transmission brake on their STX/Steiger models.

 

[IceStationZebra]

First - I would never suggest going down hill in neutral, especially with a big load. Just like in a car/truck, if you loose your brakes your in big trouble.

Second - Straight from the CaseIH web site: "Hydraulically activated wet-disk brakes on both front and rear axles deliver dependable braking. The parking brake is spring-applied and hydraulically-released for added reliability. When the engine is turned off, the parking brake activates automatically."

Third - I see that the 480 and 530 are available with engine brakes if you need to do a lot of towing.

Many years ago we had to completely rebuild the trans in our Allis 8550 4WD. The dealer told us it was because we were using the engine as a retarder to stop a 5,000 gal liquid manuer tanker. Sounds like a bad excuse to me, but water under the bridge.

ISZ