Assignment

For a long time now, the tractor technology has been moving away from the general vehicle technology. The demands on the powerhouses of the agricultural world are far too specific. Even the typical truck sub- assemblies appear only marginally in tractors. The task of this page, is to cast a little light on their standard technology.

Function

Forget about the amount of kilometers on the clock, the service life of a tractor engine is measured in operational hours. A long time ago there used to be operational hours counters for cars and the flexible diagnosis uses this more and more. In the agriculture, there are individual engines which clearly exceed 10-000 hours. The amount of cylinders is the same as the somewhat larger trucks, but not cubic capacity and thus the size of the six-cylinder. The performance output is also clearly lower, although the tractor, with its 28-32 speeds, brings even more torque onto the rear wheels.

Gearwheels in the gearbox are considered somewhat outdated, in modern tractors there are infinitely variable gearboxes using hydraulics. This is another keyword. While the normal truck gets by with just a loading platform or a tipper and no further special superstructures, the hydraulics in the tractor are present everywhere. In front, and at the rear, there are pipelines whose couplings are thus constructed that not a drop of oil is lost.

We are talking about the various implements which are all driven, and maybe also controlled by the tractor. Apart from the high oil-pressure, these also need to be driven by rotating shafts which can be quite simply connected. To avoid accidents, these shafts are encased. In the event of a defect, there are slipping clutches and connections with pre-determined shear-off points.

The chassis and the power-train are one assembly. Apart from the modern models, there is no spring suspension. Although this makes the driving uncomfortable, it simplifies the power-flow, e.g., to the front axle. Of course there is the all-wheel-drive which mostly has a 100% differential lock, which must be kept very much in mind when reaching solid ground. Even the braking is done with help from the powertrain technology. Although air-pressure equipment with single- and twin circuit connections exist, braking facilities are not provided for the wheels. Their function is taken over by a hydraulically operated multiple- disc brake, which, through a differential lock, also serves the front wheels.