Powershift or bangshift

This time of the year we are getting everything ready for the coming season.  There is not too much going on in the field yet. 

A tractor came in this week for a tune up and inspection.  The customer also complained that his powershift was shifting hard in some gears.  The tractor was a Case IH MX 210 Magnum with a 18 speed full powershift.  It has an electro-hydraulic control system that uses a controller to turn solenoid valves on and off to engage clutch packs.  The clutch packs are arranged in a speed transmission and a range transmission.  The combination of clutches engaged determines what gear the tractor is in. 

The clutch packs are called:  Odd, Even, C1, C3, C5, Reverse, Master, Low, Medium, and High.  First gear uses Odd, C1, Master, and Low.  When shifting to second Odd drops off and Even comes on.  Shifts that change with only one clutch swap are smooth and quiet.  When you get to the shift from sixth to seventh, even switches to odd, C5 switches to C1, and low switches to Medium.  This is called a three pack swap.  It also happens between twelfth and thirteenth.  Three pack swaps are the harshest of the shifts and the loudest.  If these shifts seem too hard or loud there is some adjustment that can be made.  It can be done from the driver's seat through the A Post instrument controller.

It is best to calibrate the shifts when the tractor is warmed up and doing the operation that it is most used in.  With the transmission oil warmed to operating temperature shut the engine off.  Hold the prog key on the instrument control unit (ICU) while starting the tractor.  Keep holding the prog key until the list of controllers shows on the display.  Using the arrow keys scroll down to the transmission controller.  Push the prog key to choose the transmission controller.  The menu you are looking for is transmission setup.  Use the arrow keys to get there and then push prog.  If the transmission oil is not warm enough you will get a low temp warning.  You can warm the oil with a restriction in the remote coupler or by steering to the stops.  Once the oil is 60 degrees C you can proceed.  The Eng RPM will show and you need to set the RPM around 1200 RPM.  An asterisk should appear when the proper engine RPM is reached.  Push program and the instructions will appear on the screen.  When all the packs have been calibrated you can exit the setup menu, and exit the transmission menu and return to normal operation..  Drive the tractor though all speeds a couple of times and your shifting should be smooth with only a small difference at six to seven and twelve to thirteen.

I made a video here