Reasons a 656 sticks in reverse??

It has peeled a roll pin either at the shift lever or the right side shift rail fork.

If you take off the cowling, battery cover, battery and tray and then aggresively work that shifter in low/reverse and you'll be able to see which one is not moving right, unless it is that joker down inside the box, in which case, you've got to pull the floorboard and lift the cover.

I'm bettin' it is the top one right under the cowl.

Could be a bad fork also, but chances are more towards the roll pins.

Allan

The linkage does require lubrication from time to time, but that usually causes more problems with side to side movement of shift lever rather than in-out of a particular gear.

Most of these required replacment parts in the linkage at some point, usually around 5,000 hours, more often if tractor did a lot of loader work or other similar shuttle work. A lot depends on how many times one has shifted gears since tractor was new. There is huge difference between the tractor that pulls implements all day compared with one doing loader work all day. This wear in the parts usually doesn't create shifting problems in the early stages, just sloppy and loosness on the lever, later on falling apart inside the slide under dash. If the lever is tight, I wouldn't worry about that one.

My gut feeling, based on what you have told us is clutch and TA adjustment.

Tell me about loader work destroying shift linkage! Our 1256 had 6000 hours on it when we bought it, shifted like new because it was all field work, original clutch and TA in good condition. We put a loader on it and within 500 hours it was sloppy shifting, 1000 hours and the TA was out (mainly from improper shifting), and we have since had the cover off the high-low twice to put in a new fork, springs, and detent ball. Has around 7700 hours on it now and makes a nice size loader for our operation. Dad put a loader on the 2590 Case this fall and uses the 1256 more because it's just handier.

Trucking industry did the same trick, bureaucrats decided we could haul the same axle weight on steering front axles with those big wide tires, as we did on dual rear wheel axles. This cost the users more damn expence than most care to remember. To start with the dual on rear gave you some insurance as it's very unlikely both tires would blow at same time. Having that much weight on steering axles has given lots of operators nightmares they don't care to remember. My point is, just because some design engineer sitting behind a desk designed it, don't mean it was practical or safe.

My opinion, about the only engineering that ever went into a loader on a conventional farm tractor, be it 2 or 4 wheel drive was customer demand. And furthermore the customers drove that to the point they destroyed the very best field work farm tractor ever, the American built row crop.

But overworking the front end of a row-crop tractor beat the heck out of a pitchfork for my Grandpa, and my Dad...

Don't forget how they tear up the front ends.

I just hate that part, but whatta gonna do? At 61 years of age, I just have trouble lifting those 1400 pound bales anymore. :>)

Allan

The front end on our 1256 is probably the worst part of it, tie rod ends only last a couple of years, both spindles have been broken, have broken a hub, finally welded gussets and braces on it, then it broke the casting where the pivot pin goes through the big pipe! These old tractors just weren't designed for that kind of abuse, but they take it anyway for the most part.

But, you'd think that if the clutch adjustment were the main culprit that it would be hard shifting, binding and difficult to get into and out of all gears, not just reverse.

Dunno,

Allan

Could all be in the description of the difficulity too.

Perhaps it is happening in all gears and he is only noticing it in reverse 'cause that is where he is most of the time.

Hard to diagnose over the phone. :>)

Allan

If it were an older tractor, the solution would generally involve pulling the shift lever and building up that little ball that fits into the shift forks. But, with a 656... Dunno how you'd go about it.

There is also the possibility that there's simply enough slop in the linkages going from the shift lever to the transmission that it's allowing you to slip the lever into another gear without actually taking the tractor out of reverse.

Also, have you lubed the shift linkage lately? I know on our 544 it will get sticky when it's time for some more grease/oil/wd40...