OK... I'm going to ask since I'm new

[Greenwannabe]

Hey Guys,

I've been trying to cram 50 years of information into my head about these machines before I buy one.. I have to ask.. What is the reverser and what is it used for?... Did every machine come with one or ? Are they good to have and what are the advantages...

[Lavoy]

A reverser is an extra "gearbox" ahead of the transmission that allows you to travel backwards in the same gear you were traveling forward in. For example, a 420 is 2.25 MPH in reverse, but 2.75 MPH in 2nd. If you are dozing in 2nd gear, and shift to reverse, you will back up at the slower speed. If you use the reverser, you will back up at the same speed. All a reverser does is "reverse" the direction of rotation of the input shaft, which causes the crawler to travel in the opposite direction.
Reversers were an option on 420's and later, although it could be field installed on the 40's. The advantage is speed.
You will often hear that they are junk, and unreliable, and should be removed. I can not stress strongly enough how much I disagree with this. If you don't put oil or anti-freeze in your engine and it blows up, should you remove it? My point is, if a reverser is abused, it will break, and I have always felt that the lion's share of reversers have been abused or operated improperly. In all the reversers I have had or taken apart, I seldom find much wear, but I have had a lot of them with broken pieces, and it was obviously from abuse and neglect.
I personally will not own a crawler without a reverser, but if you find a nice crawler you like, that would surely not prevent me from buying it.
Lavoy

[Greenwannabe]

Thanks - It's all starting to make sense.. Mike

[shinnery]

As part of the abuse Lavoy was talking about, first you must use the clutch when shifting the reverser on all two cyl Deere crawlers. Second there is no neutral position on the reverser and third never go forward with the reverser in Reverse and the tranny in Reverse.
Bryce

[Tigerhaze]

Just to round out the discussion (feel free to correct inaccuracies)-

The 1010 and early 350 series crawlers have a constant mesh transmission similar to those discussed for the 2-cylinder crawlers, and reversers were an option. I believe that some 2010s also came with the constant mesh transmission. Engine clutching would be needed with the reversers on these transmissions since they are mechanically-actuated.

The 2010 and early 450 series crawlers also had an "H-L-R" transmission as an option that uses a hydraulic clutch pack for quick shifts between forward low, forward high, and reverse without shifting the gear lever on the dash. My understanding is that engine clutching is not required for an H-L-R.

Since I own a 2010 with an H-L-R, I didn't realize that distinction when I first started participating on this site. Lavoy or others, feel free to correct if I have misstated anything.

[Ray III]

As part of the abuse Lavoy was talking about, first you must use the clutch when shifting the reverser on all two cyl Deere crawlers. Second there is no neutral position on the reverser and third never go forward with the reverser in Reverse and the tranny in Reverse.
Bryce

The clutch pack reversers have no neutral position. The earlier gear reversers have a neutral position.

I never leave the reverser in neutral with the engine running, though. The gears spin pretty fast and take so long to stop spinning that you can't re-engage it without grinding gears.

[lizrad999]

I've got a 440IC without a reverser. How hard is it to find all of the pieces to add one and about how much does it cost?