Mid-sized tractor series added to AGCO line

Diesel Progress North American Edition, June, 2004 by Dawn M. Geske

AGCO Corp. announced the addition of a new mid-sized tractor series to its AGCO branded line for agricultural and utility applications. The GT series tractors are an intermediate option to AGCO's compact ST series and larger utility LT series in both size and horsepower capability.

"We wanted to bring a tractor into the AGCO lineup that would bridge the gap between a compact tractor and a row crop tractor," said Jerry Oxborough, sales engineer for AGCO. "If you look at the PTO horsepower, you can see where we overlapped. We did that intentionally because we wanted to offer a tractor that had the convenient features of a big tractor for crop farming, municipalities and hobby farming."

The four models within the series--the GT 45, GT 55, GT 65 and GT 75--are all equipped with liquid cooled Same Deutz-Fahr (SDF) 1000 series diesel engines. The GT 45 and GT 55 tractors have 3.0 L, three-cylinder engines rated 45 and 53 PTO hp at 2350 rpm. The GT 65 and GT 75 feature 4.0 L, four-cylinder engines rated 62 and 72 PTO hp at 2350 rpm. The GT 45 and GT 65 engines are naturally aspirated while the GT 55 and GT 75 engines are turbocharged.

The 1000 series engines are direct injection diesels with individual fuel pumps and two valves-per-cylinder for greater fuel vaporization upon combustion, the company said. The structural design of the engine eliminates the need for a front frame as the engine block is directly mounted to the transmission housing serving as part of the chassis. Located in front of the Tesio radiator, dual-stage dry filters are used in the air intake system as both primary and secondary filters.

The SDF standard synchro-shuttle transmission has 16 forward and eight reverse speeds that are divided into three sections, each with a separate control lever. Two of the sections--a four-speed gear box coupled to a two-speed gear range--give the tractor eight of the forward and eight of the reverse speeds. The 2F/1R. gearbox completes the speed totals ranging from 2 mph to 24 mph.

Gearing is controlled through an Automotive Products Group dry clutch system equipped with single organic clutch discs in the GT 45 and GT 55 models and single cerametallic clutch discs in the GT 65 and GT 75. The wet multidisc PTO clutch system electrohydraulically engages and disengages the PTO output shaft through a two-position rocker switch.

A double reduction spiral cut differential gear provides the pulling power for the tractors by handling the full power load from the engine and transmitting power to the internal planetary gear sets, located on each side of the main differential. The gear sets are designed to minimize the amount of torque loaded through the transmission. A hub-style flange SDF axle delivers torque to the wheels.

All models are available with two and four-wheel drive, optional powered front axle with a 55[degrees] steering angle and ag tread tires. A nonpowered front axle with a 70[degrees] steering angle and Goodyear triple rib heavy-duty tires are also available.

Wellman rear wet disc brakes are used in both the two- and four-wheel drive models. The brakes are hydraulically actuated with a master cylinder at the brake pedal and a ring piston housed within the rear axle. Front wet disc brakes are standard available in the four-wheel drive models. Operating independent from the braking system, a lever operated Wellman parking brake is standard on all models.

The open center hydraulic system incorporates steering and implement attachment valves with 21.8 gpm of flow. The system is powered by two Bosch Rexroth gear pumps, which are mounted to the transmission and directly driven by the engine. One gear pump controls the steering with a single Ogibene S.p.A steering cylinder when equipped with two wheel drive and with an Ogibene twin-steering cylinder when equipped with four-wheel drive.

The other Bosch Rexroth gear pump supplies flow to the two remote valves and the three-point hitch. Using one gear pump in each system allows flow to be supplied to the steering without disrupting the flow to the implement in use, AGCO said. Hydraulic control levers allow the operator to manipulate the flow level to the implement using four lever positions, raise, neutral, lower and float. The three-point hitch has a lift capacity of 3520 lb. at 24 in. and features telescopic sway link stabilizers to control side-to-side movement.

The GT series is available in platform configuration with two-post foldable ROPS or fully enclosed POPS deluxe cab. The interior of the cab houses Maxima Technologies instruments and Carling Technologies switches and controls. The exterior lights are by COBO.

"The GT series tractors are manufactured with integral components, engine, transmission, powertrain and hydraulics, from one major supplier (SDP)," explained Oxborough. "They are properly sized and matched for each tractor model and specified by AGCO."