good and bad about select o speed..

I am looking for a raking tractor...something with a foot clutch...I have several john deere hand clutches....looking for something wife can drive..friend told me about a ford 4000..nice looking tractor...before I go look at it I would like to know the good and bad about a select o speed..I do not know even know what it is..is it like a power shift john deere or what...I'm dumb when it comes to fords...would like to find 420 or 430 deere,...but this ford is priced below them..any commits..thanks Dan..

I have a 1962 4000 row crop SOS. You do not not want a abuse a SOS. No parts available for them any more from Ford.
it's like a power shift. I think it has 12 forward and two reverse.The first five gears are really slow. I would want to make sure all gears were working before I bought it.

I've had no problems with mine. When pushing snow.It will run circles around my farmall 706.

The N-News magazine has had several good articles on the SOS.

The Ford Select-O-Speed is the first power shifting tractor transmission.

Early 1959 models were released to the market before proper testing and garnered a bad reputation.

The 4000 that you mention has a later model nearly bullet proof transmission but there are considerations.

1963 - 1964 4000 S-O-S tractors have an internal oil filter beneath the top cover. This filter is no longer available and was generally neglected even when it was available. As a result, it is not uncommon for 63-64 S-O-S transmissions to have wear issues resulting from inadequate oil and filter changes.

1965 and later models have a much larger, externally replaceable filter properly located in the inlet circut (unlike the after thought, filter in the earlier models that is in the discharge line). Generally, these transmissions have had more regular maintenance.

Is the tractor that you are contemplating a 3 or 4 cylinder model?

Dean

(quoted from post at 21:09:32 07/10/14) The
1963 - 1964 4000 S-O-S tractors have an internal oil filter beneath the top cover. This filter is no longer available
Dean

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I believe Tony Jacobs just posted within the last week that he has the first samples of this filter, aftermarket, and is doing further tests before marketing it, but it is going to be available again through Tony.

dansmith, this should be a great tractor, provided it's not been abused or totally neglected. As dean says, it was the first powershift farm tractor on the market. It is better to say the first Deere powershift is like the SOS because the designer of the SOS left Ford, or was fired by Ford (I'm not sure anyone knows for sure which) and moved to JD where he designed their first powershift. I'm sure some will disagree, but I believe the SOS was superior to the JD version for the simple reason that the JD didn't have enough different speeds to avoid huge jerks while shifting, especially under load in 7th and 8th.

I take exception to much that tractorguy2 has shared. The SOS has 10 forward and 2 reverse ratios. Ford (NH) still provides some parts support for these, though it will be pricey. Finally, the SOS is not "like a powershift". It is a full powershift transmission.

You know, I"ve always heard that the guy who designed the SOS went to work for JD and designed theirs. I find that hard to believe given the fact that they are so different.

(quoted from post at 23:57:59 07/10/14) You know, I"ve always heard that the guy who designed the SOS went to work for JD and designed theirs. I find that hard to believe given the fact that they are so different.

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Here's an interesting article about Harold BRock. It doesn't say much , if anything, directly about the SOS, but it's hinted at: http://www.iptv.org/mtom/story.cfm/feature/3145/mtom_20110520_3638_feature

we had a '64 4000 S-O-S for years, and it did all the work on the farm, from hay to snow removal. I had a Massey-Ferguson, mounted side delivery rake on it for raking hay, it worked great.

10 forward, 2 reverse and the 2nd reverse was quick, shift on the fly both ways, and it had a speed for everything you needed. I ran a rotary cutter on it for years, get into some thick birdox, downshift if you need to, push in the pedal, wait til it catches up, and on your way, was an easy tractor to learn to operate. From that end of it, S-0-S was very good.

Thanks to all that read and posted about the s.o.s. going to look at the old ford in the morning..

The Power Shift on the JD 4020 had 8 forward speeds and 4 reverse. Ford's power shift (S O S) had 10 forward and 2 reverse. JD were green, Ford was red..Operationally, they were almost the same. Mr. Brock was at Ford when the first farm tractor power shift (S O S) came and he was at JD when their Power Shift came. Improvements were made as time went on.

When it's 'good, it's good

The bad, kinda sneaks up on you......

I have a '69, with SOS, and about a month ago, it simply stopped. Period.

And alas, there is nowhere to take it (local and economically) for repair.

I've run all the normal tests, and have not determined what exactly
is the problem. Splitting the tractor is no small job, but add to that
the fact that I have a backhoe loader combo, splitting the tractor
becomes a HUGE issue, especially if a big shop is not available on premise.
So I'm determined to exhaust all possibilities before splitting is necessary,
and at that point, the monetary value will certainly exceed the value
of the tractor.

So, as I said, when it's GOOD, it's GREAT for pulling, shifting on fly, etc.,
and if all is well when you test it, that's about all you can do.
If you purchase, service the trans immediately, oil, filter, etc.,
and then, well, you never know.......

.

One of the requirements that Harold Brock faced in designing the SOS for Ford was that it had to fit inside a housing that was the exact same size as the gear transmission housing so that the transmissions would be interchangeable.
I don't know if he faced that same requirement at JD when he designed their powershift.

Hello Billy , Where are you located ? You have run all the normal tests ? you should have found the problem if you read the archives here it has been posted many times about the first two easy quick checks . These are the checks you should do and you will know where the problem is = Number one check the Transmission disconnect to make sure it did not disconnect by itself or broke. Number two check to see if the pto will work or not , if not Torque Limiting clutch disc or input shaft or both are bad , split tractor and replace it . If pto works then you have to check pressures , get a Ford Service Manual and a 300 lb pressure gauge follow the manual , repost back with findings . As far as splitting the tractor goes with backhoe 15-30 mins. to remove backhoe , the backhoe does all the work you remove two nuts on the top arms and disconnect two hydraulic lines . Ford made them that way to remove and replace on the job site . Loader does not need to be removed to split tractor . Average mechanic on a smooth concrete floor with some blocks of wood and a 2 ton floor jack can split tractor and have hoe off in a day . Thanks Tony

The good:-10 forward speeds and two backwards, shift on the go between any gear. Independent PTO. For haying, mowing or harvesting set your throttle to the PTO speed you want and shift up or down to vary the ground speed. It's a fair amount of tractor if you can keep it running, it's easy to use and is very likely to have power steering as well as three point, live hydraulics and live PTO. People are scared of the SOS so they tend to be cheaper.

The Bad: complex and difficult to work on, old, parts are becoming scarce and many of the folks that knew them well enough to fix anything have packed up their tool boxes and went home permanently.

Summary: a lot of tractor for little money, probably a better deal than some of the cheap imports (Nuffield/Leyland, Zetor, Belerus, Davis Bradley, IMF and some of the funny colored Fiats) If you buy it and you like it and it gets hard broke you may be able to marry it to another tractor with a dead motor and become a Frankenford owner. Should you decide to buy it GET THE RIGHT MANUAL and follow/do the required maintenance religiously. Change & adjust fluids filters and bands like your tractor's life depends on it (it really does).

Hello Larry , Yes I did get some sample Filters in Finally so I hope they will work out so we can some more made and get them out for sale soon . I have also figured out what I need for parts to rebuild the worn out over running clutches , it will require some machine work to install but considering they are off the shelf clutch units(plus more rollers for more surface area bite and stronger) cost will be much better then made from scratch and in small quantity's . Thanks Tony