what is the difference between a to20 and a te20

when i bought my tractor i was told it was a to20 after reading some articles on here i think it might be a te20.what is the differane.does the parts inner change between the two.also what is the tea one.the plate that tells what it is has paint over it.

tea20 = standard motor
to20 and te20 = continental z120 motor which you have

easy answer, if your distributor cap has screw in plastic caps to hold the wire leads in place it is a te20.

there are a bunch of other small differences, and i do not know them all. the big ones are that the starter, distributor and coil on a te20 are lucas because it was made in england but delco on a to20 because it was made in detroit. i think the sheet metal is also slightly different .

what do you mean about the plastic caps to hold the wires.you mean the spark plug wires.why i think it is te20 i read some were about the cover on the transmission.the to20 just hade a plate to take off and the te20 plate ran on up under the stearring box more. but i dont no i could be wrong.

TE was made in England. TO was made "over seas", US and Canada. TEA was made in England with a Standard Engine.

Gerald J.

anyway to tell them apart.bye just looking at them.

where the sparkplug wires enter the distributor cap there is normally a rubber boot that holds the wires in. on a te20 instead of a rubber boot to hold it in place there are plastic caps with ridges on the side that screw into the distributor cap. they look like this

mine has the rubber boots on it

The major observable difference between the TO- and the TE- is that the TO uses Delco electrics( generator, starter and distributor) and the TE uses Lucas electrics.

Kevin. From the photo (transmission cover) you have a TE20, made in the UK with a US made Continental Z120 engine (from the engine number).

thats what i was looking at.i was told it was a to20 when i bought it.is the parts the same.like the hydraulic and stuff like that.

so the other parts are the same.

here is the easiest way to tell for sure. get a magnet and stick it to the side of the tranny case. if it stays to20. if it wont hold te20.

The other parts may or may not be the same, that's why its important to know which is which.

SN tag is the best information. It should have been stamped so if you wipe off the paint with thinner the numbers and prefix may pop out.

TO were generally not made with Lucas electrics but with Delco. TE were generally not made with Delco but with Lucas starter, generator, and distributor. All should have ID tags.

Gerald J.

Kevin. Some parts are common but don't make that assumption for all parts.

I believe some of the Ferguson parts books in the US have a cross reference listing, TE to TO and Ford part numbers.

John [MO] is correct - all TE series tractors (made in the UK) have an alumium alloy transmission housing; whilst all TO series tractors (made in the US) have a cast iron transmission housing.

Bob in Oz

Kevin.

From the pictures you posted you have a TE-20. You can tell by looking for the following.

Shifter is bolted on. Yours is.
The hood opens with two "T" handels.
There is a hood retainer attached to the front of the gas tank.
There electroncs are Lucus components.

many parts are interchangeable, some do not. You will find a parts book is indespensible as it will tell you what is interchangeible.

Jeff

I have both. Generally, the cosmetic differences are the hood, doglegs,and grill are different. The TE has a one-piece steering column/transmission cover where the TO has two separate parts (If I were to trying to identify a tractor as a TO vs. TE, this difference would be the one that would be immediately noticed and generally not switched out). As mentioned, the transmission case for the TE was aluminum. (In that regard, you will notice two struts from the transmission case to the front axle structure on the TE, but not on the TO. The individual wheel brake pedals are cosmetically different also.

The electrical parts are different, as mentioned, but my TE was "Americanized" into Delco parts before I got it. The brake shoes and related parts are different (and not interchangeable).

The gas tanks are slightly different as to where the sediment bowls attach. The original location of the tool boxes were different (the TO having a tool box attahed to the front of the gas tank, the TE having a tool box attached to the side of the battery box - thus the battery boxes were also different.

The timing marks were dramatically different in the earlier models of the TO vs. the TE. The clutch pressure plates were originally different manufacterers, but I suspect most have been changed over to the TO version in the USA.

There are a few other minor diffences, but the motors, transmissions, 3 pt. lift, and steering were pretty much the same, so the two tractors in regard to the important parts are very much identical.

NOTE: The parts manual sold by this site has been very helpful for buying used parts, and well worth the money.

HTH

The hydraulics are the same and would interchange, strictly speaking the pressures are different slightly but of no consequence...John

[color=#990000:900b873e17]hmmm,ok I'm a little confused now. Mine is a TEA as stated on the plate so why is it in Canada, if these tractors were made in the States you would think mine would be a "TO"? I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper to ship from the States to Canada.
My plate info.[/color:900b873e17]

Trucker.

Read the data plate: "Made in England".

Your TEA20 tractor was made in Coventry, UK, in 1951. They were shipped all over the (then) British Empire.

Bob in Oz
'53 TEA20

I had read the plate,just trying to make sense of it. Like I said,I thought it would be less expensive to make & ship from the States.

On your assumption of shiiping cost did you include tarrifs and import taxes? Product shipped from England was within the Empire. From Detroit outside.

Another consideration, is that Detroit's production was consummed supplying the US market.
Jeff