My life with Deere & Company, Part 2: sometimes good ideas never made it into production, sometimes they did.

Editor's note: Part I of this two-part article, which appeared in the March/April issue of Implement & Tractor, reviewed a variety of projects that Wendell Van Syoc worked on during his early years as a John Deere engineer--two-cylinder tractors, implement-only compatibility, Model 70 row-crop diesel tractors and the "New Generation" tractors of the 1960s. In this concluding part of the article, Wendell recalls some of the products he worked on and his personal recollections of tractor testing.

Products that never got to production

There were many ideas that were tried and then replaced with better ideas--or just dropped from consideration. The following examples are some ideas and projects of the John Deere engineering department that never reached production.

Engines that rotated in the opposite direction from conventional usage--This was justified on the basis of saving one gear in the transmission. There would have been limited usage for an engine of this type in other applications, so specifications were changed.

Hi-Lo power shift combined with basic four-speed gear transmission--The speed change was excessive, and this product idea did not get beyond the field test stage.

Hydraulic gear shifted transmission with pre-select control--This unit was field tested. It worked, but it didn't have any feel for gears that were clashing. A decision was made to work on a planetary type power shift transmission.

Hydraulic hitch units--These were designed to hydraulically adjust lift-link and center link-length settings. This made implement hitching much easier and provided on-the-go implement adjustments, but hitch settings were unstable because of oil leakage. It was also difficult to control increment adjustments and would have been an expensive option. After field testing, the project was discontinued.

Tilt-back cab on mounted corn pickers--Mounted corn pickers were not compatible with conventional tractor cabs. A tilt-back cab was constructed, but it was not satisfactory. The problem disappeared with the advent of combines replacing corn pickers.

Infinitely Variable Transmission--The proposal for an infinitely variable transmission resulted in a major design, development and test project. This concent used two matching adjustable conical sheaves with a linked steel drive chain. The effective sheave diameters were obtained by sliding the sheaves with hydraulic power providing a 4:1 reduction ratio. Unique in this design was the addition of a two-speed power shift that shifted automatically when the manually-selected variable speed unit reached the maximum ratio position. This made it possible to extend the speed range of the tractor as the sheaves were cycled back to the starting position, providing a total 8:1 ratio change. Thus, the full speed range of the tractor was obtained with a straight line motion of the transmission control lever.

Drawbar Hitch Improvement--We spent years trying to improve drawbar hitching. Engineers were encouraged to present ideas. Many devices were built and evaluated. For awhile, it appeared that a ball hitch might be the answer, and it did work very well in many applications. The project was finally dropped because we could not resolve all of the problems: 1) mixing of old and new equipment, 2) mixing of small and large units, 3) adapting to current hitch systems, 4) PTO drive line interference, and 5) cost--particularly on old and low cost equipment. It would have worked very well in new applications and was adaptable to a power lift drawbar. Work was discontinued for lack of an acceptable universal system.

PTO Connections--Easier and safer PTO connections were investigated. Brainstorming took place throughout the company. A large collection of ideas was accumulated into a big book, which was then circulated for review. One of the proposals called for an automatic hook-up of the PTO. A unit was built and demonstrated with a pick-up drawbar. The PTO and drawbar connections could be made without the driver dismounting. There were problems similar to those described for the improved drawbar hitch ideas and work was discontinued.

AMT Multiple Purpose Trucks--In the early '70s, we built experimental multiple purpose trucks, called Agricultural Material Transport (AMT) trucks. These heavy duty trucks with high flotation tires were designed primarily for the farm market, but there were many other potential industrial uses. In addition to hauling farm commodities in marginal conditions, it could also be used for spreading fertilizer.

The narrow cab offset to the left provided an open space over the engine, making it possible to mount harvesting equipment on the front end of the truck. Harvested material could be conveyed over the engine and back to the truck bed.

Many John Deere components were used, including: Model 4630 tractor engine, industrial rear axle, power shift transmission and hydraulics. Testing and farmer evaluations were obtained on these trucks under many conditions and in several locations across the US, including one unit in lettuce harvest in California and one in muddy corn harvest in Michigan.

Farmers were well impressed with our AMT, but they were concerned about the estimated purchase price. Marketing studies did not justify the expenditure for going into production on the limited number of units that we could expect to sell. Therefore, the program was dropped.

What got into production?

FWD on Row Crop Tractors--During the '60s, there was a limited market for front wheel drive on row-crop tractors. We tested competitive tractors and built our own tractor with an Elwood axle. Most of these units were made from military truck components. There were problems with crop clearance, turning radius, limited tread adjustments and short life oil seals, so we developed a hydrostatic-driven front axle that did not have these shortcomings. It did provide a significant boost in drawbar pull. However, it did not appeal to the tractor driver because there was insufficient torque to spin the wheels in some tractive conditions. The hydrostatic front drive gave way to the improved mechanical front wheel drive.

Differential Lock--We recognized there was value in a differential lock, but we wanted to determine if it would be an option worth the expense of putting it into production. We did not consider that a mechanical lock would be satisfactory for John Deere tractors due to the difficulty in locking, unlocking and loss of steering control in some conditions. A hydraulic differential lock was designed and field tested. In our minds, the economic value of the device was questionable, based on performance results obtained with instrumentation. We even left a tractor with an instrument truck in the field overnight so tests could be run before the frost melted away in the morning. Without supporting test results, the differential was offered as an option. However, sales of this option were so high that the differential lock was soon standard equipment.

Power Adjusted Wheels--No jack was required and engine power was used to adjust the tread of power adjusted wheels. We thought these wheels were a good feature and we usually ordered them on our evaluation test tractors. Apparently, customers thought differently, as sales were very low.

4WD Tractors--For several years, there were discussions on the feasibility of getting back into the 4-wheel-drive tractor business, after discontinuing the Model 8020 tractor. Suddenly, a decision was made to design and manufacture such units, and this resulted in my most crucial assignment at Deere as program manager for the model 7020. We were given only 2-1/2 years from the idea stage to production of a new tractor. Six months into the design and build program Deere management advanced the production date by 15 months, which seemed to be an impossible task. The challenge was met. We produced tractors in August 1970--only 15 months alter the idea stage.

Power Weight-Transfer Hitch--Improved traction is a feature obtained with a 3-point hitch when weight is transferred from the implement to the tractor's rear wheels. Improved traction with drawbar hitched implements was made possible by the Power Weight-sensing and a remote cylinder. It did work quite well in many conditions. Because of the add-on equipment required and the increasing use of 3-point hitch equipment, sales of this device were low.

Tractor testing on location

The evolution in test equipment during my career was dramatic. I started in an age that could be characterized as using a yard stick, stop watch and pressure gauge. When I retired in 1984, we had advanced to the transmission of test signals by radio from the tractor to a test truck that may be out of sight. Test results are displayed in the test truck for immediate evaluation in order to be sure that valid results are being obtained. The results are also recorded on tape for a complete analysis at the office. This is in contrast to my experience of collecting data during the day and analyzing it at night to find out if some tests have to be repeated the next day.

Facilities at some of our short term test locations were not very good, which complicated the successful completion of some jobs. We modified tractors and worked on test equipment in some primitive conditions. On one location, for instance, the farmer furnished a barn for us to use as a workshop and storage of a security experimental tractor. But first, we had to dig out the horse manure to get enough clearance to drive the tractor inside.

In the Palouse areas of Oregon and Washington, we conducted a test program to evaluate the potential for competing with crawler type tractors. We tried many tractor and tire variations in those "white knuckle" hills, which had slopes up to 42 percent (23 degrees). The rubber-tired tractors did much better than the area's farmers had expected, especially on the steep sided hills, where even crawlers tended to slide downhill.

Rice field plowing in Arkansas was really messy, even for those of us used to wet fields. We were also warned to watch for water moccasins. On one occasion, while attaching a log chain to a tractor stuck in the mud, I stepped on a partially submerged plow wheel. The wheel spun and dumped me into a soupy mess, which was not funny at the time--but at least I didn't land on a snake.

Throughout the years, I worked on test programs in 15 states and in Canadian locations that were selected for specific test conditions. However, Texas was the favored location for most of our test programs. Before leaving a ranch in Vernon, Texas, the foreman asked if we could plow a strip of land he wanted to farm. We readily agreed since he had been very helpful in our test program. This "little" job turned out to be almost more than our 8020 4WD tractor could handle and so badly bent the frame on our heavy duty six-bottom plow that it had to be scrapped. We later learned that the ground was so hard because it had been used for feeding cattle for many years.

A few mishaps along the way

The PTO control lever on the experimental New Generation tractors was on the left side and was pulled back to disengage the clutch, an arrangement operators did not like. If the PTO was not being used, they would leave the lever in the forward (ON) position, which was discouraged because it caused additional wear on the clutch throwout bearing. Then during a showing of the tractors, one of the corporate executives ripped his coat when dismounting on the left side. The PTO lever was moved to the right side of the 20 Series tractors.

Shortly before the presentation of New Generation tractors to branch personnel, we redesigned the front weights. Castings were not available in time for the demonstration, so we had lightweight wooden weights made up to simulate the 85-pound cast iron weights. During the formal demonstration, a hefty member of our group ably acted out lifting and attaching these fake "heavy" weights to the tractor.

The illusion was seen through when a guest pointed to one of our small-framed clean-up men, who easily walked off with three of the fake weights in his hands.

A good deal of excitement is caused when company executives came to a test site. In Texas, I was perched on the fender of an Oliver Model 1950 tractor with a top Deere executive as the driver. He let the engine lug down under load to a very low speed, then just before stalling, he disengaged the clutch. That was perfect timing for the Detroit Diesel two-cycle engine to start running backwards. It was belching smoke and making weird noises. I pulled the emergency shut-off control, explained the situation to the amateur tractor driver and reset the blower drive.

On another occasion, I was riding on the fender of an experimental 5020 tractor which had a corporate vice president at the controls. We were plowing very hard ground and the engine was lugging down. The driver instinctively pushed the rockshaft lever to lift the plow and reduce the load, but the plow was hooked into the hardpan and would not raise. Instead, the front of the tractor was coming up at an alarming rate. With nothing in my forward view except the top of the hood and a front wheel, I slapped his hand off the rockshaft control lever. And to my great relief, the wheels crashed back down to earth.

At Laredo (Texas), we had trouble with a gasoline tractor sputtering when it operated on rough ground, as demonstrated by engineers driving across bedder beds. One of the bounces, the unsecured muffler flew off and landed with the inlet down in the tilled soil. An engineer wearing leather gloves picked up the hot muffler and slammed it back in position on the manifold. Then the engine locked up when we attempted a restart. Since it was the end of the test program, we shipped the tractor back to Waterloo without investigating the problem. Back at home, dirt was found in one of the tractor's cylinders. Apparently, dirt from the muffler inlet transferred to the manifold, and on the first turn of the crank, the cylinder had inhaled the dirt.

This is a review of some of the experiences that I am able to recall at this late date ... I believe that the stories are a reasonable description of the events, even though I cannot recall all of the details.

Wendell Van Syoc 26 July 1997

Wendell Van Syoc, 1918-2005