Powershift Question

Good Morning Forum members!!

It's been quite some time since I posted anything, mostly just lurking on here these days. I must say that I really miss TC's posts and hope that he someday decides to return..

Anyway my 977L has been running great and has been a real blessing on our acreage, I find the machine endlessly useful! Need something lifted off a trailer? No problem grab the 977! plan on wrecking a large 4WD tractor to to take to the scrap yard!? Gonna need the 977! Shingling a 40X20 cold storage?! Throw all the materials in the bucket of the 977!! Kids are bored and driving the old lady nuts in the house!? Fire up the 977! and take em for a ride!!

Okay so back to my question.... The 977L is very smooth when operating, however when i'm about half throttle and maneuvering in tight quarters I find the transmission a bit harsh when I lift off of the pedals to engage forward motion. It seems as though when the clutches engage they do so pretty harsh. When changing gears or switching from forward to reverse its smooth as silk. Just wondering if there are any adjustments that can be made to reduce the harshness of the clutches engaging. Thanks in advance guys.

Easiest way to shift a powershift is drop the engine speed with decelerator and shift then ease back in off the decelerator. My Allis does not shift well except at low idle even when working it. Both feet and both hands steady busy.

This one probably doesn't have a decelerator.

Are you pushing the middle pedal and then engaging by letting off? Those linkages can get real sticky from wear ridges. They also have grease zerks on them. Take your floor plates up and watch the linkages as you engage and disengage to make sure it's not sticking somewhere.

Got to looking at a few of these, almost bought one and do see no decel systems. Would be a lot of machine mass shifting speeds without idling back then powering back up.

Nice looking cat, RH. It sounds like the setup on the 977L is similar to my 955K. Where I park it I have less than 6" clearance on either side and it can get interesting really quick! I've been meaning to ask on here what's the proper way to inch a powershift--is it better to shift quickly from N to 1st and back or better to push the steering pedals in and use the steering clutches. Sounds like you're doing the latter--but as you've found that can be herky-jerky! But in either case I throttle down to an idle or just above. It seems to me that trying to do close maneuvering at half-throttle is hard on the machine. Also, note that the steering clutches operated by the pedals aren't meant to be slipped. Quick on and quick off which, of course, leads to a harsh, jerky action. What I end up doing is to have the powershift in N, push in the pedal on the side I want to turn to, then quickly shift in and out of 1st. It's definitely not a finesse move, but it's smoother than having both pedals in, powershift in 1st, and letting up on the opposite pedal.

Isn't the middle pedal supposed to release both steering clutches and apply brake to both on that 977L?

I vaguely remember some sort of modulating valve that worked like an accumulator to take some of the shifting shock out of the track loaders, but I don't have any service manuals to reference. I do remember not touching the throttle after it was set.

Center pedal should just bring the machine to a slow down applying brakes, clutches only when use the outer steering pedals.

Probably the same as all Cat loaders with 3 pedals. Middle pedal brakes both tracks. If I'm in a tight area or positioning on a trailer, etc., I hold the middle pedal down and use it and throttle to gently move the machine. To check the brakes they mention to hold the middle pedal down and apply full throttle in 2nd gear. If it engaged steering clutches too you couldn't check the brakes this way. You could use the middle pedal and one of the brake pedals at the same time to avoid sudden jerky movements. Hold the brake you want and gently let up on the middle pedal

Late series 951c, 955L, 977L and D4d had a an optional decel pedal system ex-factory, that was also available as a retrofit package (that would now be long since out of production).
When shifting direction normally, the modulation valves make for smooth (er) shifts, but when using both pedals simultaneously to disengage and re-engage the drive you are losing that protection which results in the harsh engagement.

This is all great info, thanks for everyone's input. This forum never ceases to amaze me.

Good Morning Guys,

Got a call to do a small manure hauling job for a Farmer about 6 miles from my place, I plan on going out there tonight to check it out.

What should I be charging per hour for that 977 of mine? It will more than likely be only a one day job and a cash deal.

Any thoughts or comments are appreciated

I sold my 977 approx. 3 years ago. At that time I was charging $150/hr for it doing mainly farm type work. So I guess somewhere north of that. Personally, for a one day job, I would want to get @ $200/hr. Of course, rates differ a lot across the countryside. Just my $.02

Thanks for the info Bam, I went out there last night and met with the guy and we settled on 100/hr with him providing fuel. Guess I went in a little light...