What does a Sherman Transmission do ?

[i:0c5756db17]Am reprinting this post, courtesy Royse, so folks can find a little easier via search function. He kindly hit the high spots of a Sherman for us newbies.

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There are several types of Sherman auxiliary transmissions.
Plus a few other brands that were similar and some different.

The most common Sherman is probably the Step-Up transmission.
It is basically a Hi-Lo range added in front of the original trans.
On an 8N, that will give you 8 forward speeds and 2 reverse
speeds. The normal range and a range that is faster than that.
(like an 8N reverse isn't fast enough already?)
On a 9N/2N with the three speed trans, 6 forward, 2 reverse.

Sticking strictly to the Shermans, there was also a Step-down.
This is probably one of the more rare Shermans, step down only.
On an 8N, again, 8 forward speeds and two reverses, but the
other speeds are slower ground speeds than the original.

The Sherman combination in this tractor has both step-up and
step-down plus the original direct drive gearing giving it twelve
forward speeds and three reverse speeds.

As with any auxiliary transmission placed in front of the original,
it also changes the PTO speed. So having a Sherman combo or
step down doesn't really make it much more helpful for, say,
running a rototiller but you have way more options for ground speed.

And I didn't even touch on the Sherman reverser, the Everett
trencher or the Howards etc.
Here's a picture of a Hupp auxiliary I had. It was also a step-up.
Essentially the same as a Sherman step up, but with the handle
on the opposite side. This particular transmission had, at one
time or another, had both a Hupp and a Sherman installed based
on the holes cut into the sides. At different times, of course.

What I hate about the Sherman on a Ford 8n is that they pop out of gear when turning the steering wheel all the way to the left, also they can be hard to shift into gear (just the Sherman not the 4 + r). Last thing I hate about them is the shifter lever is loose. The Sherman still makes it nice about pulling things or getting from a to b.

I've had both 51 and 52 8Ns with Sherman combination transmissions for many years. I have also driven numerous other Sherman combination equipped Ford tractors. I have never had any of the Shermans pop out of any gear. Nor have I driven any with a loose shifter.

Dean

Dean,I also have never had a Sherman jump out of gear and not had loose handle problems on any of my Fords.That includes combo's and step-ups.

There was a Ford Service Bulletin that detailed how to convert a Sherman Step-Up to a Step-Down. It is available at the other site. Shermans were first introduced for the 9N as the Step-Up aux tarns as farmers wanted a faster highway speed so they could get to and from their fields as quickly as possible. Many times that involved driving on main roads.

Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)

Just have to keep tightening the bolt for the shifter every once awhile. At one point the shifter might have broken or something and someone put the lever back together.