Farmall 400D

DANWV

Member
Hello all.
It has been some time since I have posted on this forum. Have a 53 Cub that my Grandfather bought new and I still use it. I also rescued a 50 C that was headed to the scrap yard and I use it as well. Mostly for mowing my neighbors fields since her husband had passed. Around 15 acres I have mowed it with the Cub using a Mott flail mower. Slow going but I really enjoy the seat time. Last year I got a good deal on an older JD pull behind mower. I believe it is a 127 gyramower. Pulled it with the C and it was much faster. I now have a chance to purchase a 1955 Farmall 400D. It has been restored and diesel pump and injectors have been rebuilt as well as new clutch and TA rebuild. Has papers for all work done. I don't know much about them. I understand the start on gas and switch to run and cool down on gas then put in diesel run position after shut down. I have downloaded the manual for it. I would like to mow and bale this field and this tractor would do the job I believe.
Could some one give me some of their knowledge of running/owning this model tractor?
Does this tractor have a 2 stage clutch?
Independant PTO?
How are the hydraulics used/actuated?
Any info/experiences appreciated.
 
The PTO is live and there is no 2 stage clutch. The hydraulics are demand driven with a pilot valve that releases flow pressure
when all valve handles are centered. when a valve is moved, the flow rate through the pilot changes and the system pressurizes.
Each valve has a single or double acting "switch knob" on the non lever end to change from S to D. About 1500psi with (IIRC) about
12GPM. the fast hitch is handy and adapters are available to use 3 pt. The hitch (if early style) has a "pitch" control cylinder
that changes the angle of the sockets. If later production the hitch has a "very mediocre" draft control "D" handle with notches.
I like the early hitch. It is a more powerful modern Farmall M. Jim
 
OK thanks. This tractor has Steel solid rear wheel centers not the cast spoke originals. Is this something to be concerned about?
 
Also the tractor has only an axle mounted drawbar. The 2pt fast hitch is not there. Makes me think this machine was used in pulling events. Concerns?
 
Not to me. I think the steel wheel centers also point to that use. They are tough, and I would not let that change my options. A
fast hitch, or 3 point aftermarket hitch for an M, SM, SMTA would be best. Jim
 
That would be nice tractor for baling or mowing with live pto and hydraulics. The one thing you mentioned was to let run on gas before shutdown, that's not the best thing to do since gas side runs much hotter, therefore its better to shutdown on diesel. Ive seen temp gauge actually come up when turning back to gas side.
 
(reply to post at 06:25:18 03/02/18)

Hey farmaller
I have several gas diesels
If you don’t shut down on gas it makes them hard to start
Shutting down on gas cleans unburnt fuel out
I have three and they are good but start easier if you shut
Down on gas
 
i have several gas start tractors. if worked hard they need to run at above idle on diesel for at least 10-15 minutes before shut down. just shut it down on diesel as it is a diesel tractor. idling on diesel cools it faster. switching to gas does nothing other than opening the small gas decompression valves on a hot engine. you dont want to do that.not even recomended. shut er down on diesel. also these engine use a long reach spark plug for starting . if u have the standard D16 in it for example it makes for very hard starting. properly tuned up they start good. most take quit a lot of choke , plus require 1/2 open once started for about a minute. after 2-3 minutes of running you will hear the engine speeding up and exhuast clearing up you can switch to diesel. cold weather requires more gas warm up time. gas shut down is a myth.
 
that is just the horse shoe as we call them. the actual draw bar slides on that horse shoe. there is a bracket that is bolted with 3 3/4" bolts to the bottom of trans. then the drawbar fits in there and is held in with a pin and 3/8 bolt holds the pin in. then u have whats called a sliding drawbar and can position it where you want for the job.
 
Thanks for the replies. The manual I downloaded is for an MD and it says to go to gas side before shut down to facilitate starting. Then moving lever to diesel after engine has run out gas in carb. You have to turn off gas valve first off course. No mention of a cool down period but that is just common sense. I let my C cool down a bit before shutting it down after working it hard. Usually pull her under a nice shade tree and let her high idle fer a minute of two. The property I am taking care of is not level and it has a couple steep parts. I hope the 400D would be able to handle the baler on these parts. I was planning on using a dump rake to pull the hay to the not so steep areas to keep the baler off the slopes.
 
i believe it was stated in a manual, but later was realized its not nessesary. when you stop and think about it switching to gas does nothing. i have heard people claim it cleans the plugs, well if it was running on gas to get the diesel fired up then the plugs would be clean. dont forget , no diesel combustion ever in the gas chamber. unless the small valves are leaking.you can have it running on diesel and even remove the spark plugs and should be no compression leaking.
i always close the sediment bowl valve once running on diesel. plus that carb has a drain on it also to drain it periodically.
i presume your talking about a square baler, as that is lots of tractor to run one. the live pto will be handy and its a pain baling without one.
 
The disagreements about shutting these engines down is like arguing about which oil is best. There is somewhat of a apparent advantage to running on gasoline cycle before shutting down that they start easier. On the other hand, running on gasoline cycle causes the starting valves to run considerably hotter and giving them much more of a tendency to warp or stick in the guide.


At any rate, no matter how you shut the engine off, be darn sure to put decompression lever back onto the diesel cycle after engine shuts down. Those little valves warp really easy when engine cools down with those valves open, off their seats. I personally always recommend to shut the engine down on diesel cycle.

No reason to shut gasoline off either because the float in carburetor is manually closed by a spring on float and cam on shut down lever when in diesel position. It would be very rare that needle leaks because it spends all it's life seated except when running on gasoline cycle so it doesn't wear out. You will wear out the shut off on the gasoline tank from turning gas off all the time much sooner than the needle in carb wears out.
 
its just my habit to shut off the fuel on all my tractors when they sit, so i close these once running. i know that the fuel supply is closed once in diesel operation. guess too much info dont help in some cases.
 
(quoted from post at 13:25:51 03/02/18) its just my habit to shut off the fuel on all my tractors when they sit, so i close these once running. i know that the fuel supply is closed once in diesel operation. guess too much info dont help in some cases.

I do the same. My needle leaks gas when on diesel. Yes, things are adjusted. They are not perfect, but as good as they can get.

What spark plugs are you using Rustred?
 
i use champions in all my tractors. just forget the # , think its #89. they are a long reach and expensive.
just bought a minnie U and it had AC plugs in it. tractor was missing and fart... around. check the plugs and 3 basically misfiring. went to my drawer and got 4 used D16 plugs and put them in and runs like a top now. everytime i hear people running down champions i just laugh. wish they would send me all there champion plugs!all these tractors came out with them. ihc, case, minnie, massey all had the same D16 plug.
 
(quoted from post at 19:16:19 03/02/18) i use champions in all my tractors. just forget the # , think its #89. they are a long reach and expensive.
...

If you get a chance take a look. Mine doesn't start as good as it should even after I rebuilt the head. I really don't want to take the manifold off. I probably should check the butterfly valves some day.
 
(quoted from post at 04:59:26 03/03/18)
(quoted from post at 19:16:19 03/02/18) i use champions in all my tractors. just forget the # , think its #89. they are a long reach and expensive.
...

If you get a chance take a look. Mine doesn't start as good as it should even after I rebuilt the head. I really don't want to take the manifold off. I probably should check the butterfly valves some day.


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