Ford 3000

4play · Oct 7, 2014

I have an 8N and was looking for an upgrade tractor. I found a Ford 3000 Diesel, advertised as a 47HP and 8spd. Not much more on details or year etc. The paint, sheet metal, tires look excellent from pics too. What would you consider as average price for something like this, $3-4k maybe?

Anyway I figured I would ask for opinions and things to look for when buying or anything else you would like to add.

Thanks!

Hobo,NC · Oct 7, 2014

(quoted from post at 00:01:02 10/08/14) I have an 8N and was looking for an upgrade tractor. I found a Ford 3000 Diesel, advertised as a 47HP and 8spd. Not much more on details or year etc. The paint, sheet metal, tires look excellent from pics too. What would you consider as average price for something like this, $3-4k maybe?

Anyway I figured I would ask for opinions and things to look for when buying or anything else you would like to add.

Thanks!

If its in good condition it want sit long at 3/4K... If it has Power steering and it should that's a plus.... Before the economy took a dump folks would fight over a ruff 3000 if the price was under 5K...

Ultradog MN · Oct 7, 2014

3000 gas or diesel is a lot more tractor than an N.
All have live hydraulics. Not all have live pto.
Still simple, handy size, nimble. Good parts availability.
But maybe 47 HP at the flywheel. More like 37 hp at the pto.
$4K + around here for a decent one. Should get good tires, decent tin but maybe not paint.
If you have an N you know to check the usual, oil in the water, water in the oil, bad leaks, poor tires, knocks, clunks, rattles. Gears quiet? Clutch smooth?
Twin stick 8 speed is the best.
Does it have live PTO or power steering?
Both add value and functionality.
Does the diesel start nice or does it need starting fluid? If it needs starting fluid it is tired - or worse.
Tell the seller you want to hear it start cold.
All diesels smoke at start up but does it have a lot of blow by? Vent tube points down on the right front of the engine behind the radiator.
Check that.
Great tractors. Reliable, familiar if you've owned an N.
All your cat 1 implements will fit.
Tachs - especially the hour meter - are prone to early failure. So don't believe the hours.

4play · Oct 7, 2014

Thanks for the input and advice guys. I have not looked at it yet but called. The seller has not owned this for long, it sounds like he sells tractors as a side business. He told me it did not have P/S, was unsure about the PTO live/non. It is a twin stick 8spd. I will have to verify this but he said it cold starts easy, runs good and no strange noises etc.

I am a little bummed about no P/S though I dont think it will be any issue for what I am doing with it.

4play · Oct 8, 2014

Well I had a little time to look at this thing. By numbers its a '69 model, live PTO, no P/S. Sheet metal is good to fair, paint is recent and good, all fluids are good and clean. The cold engine started fast, maybe cranked 1-2 secs and idled smooth and no smoke or blow-by. I couldnt test the lift with weight but it moved smooth up/down. Overall this seems like a good tractor with a few minor issues.

The things I could see wrong were it sputtered/missed when accelerating but runs smooth otherwise, found diesel leaks around the tops of injectors (these two are probably related). The PTO seal is leaking fluid all over the drawbar.

souNdguy · Oct 9, 2014

pto seal is a non issue.

lack of ps isn't much of an issue if the steering is good and you are used to N manual steering anyway.

Injector leak can be fixed.

the hesitation / miss on acceleration is an issue i'd investigate.

4play · Oct 9, 2014

(quoted from post at 09:03:28 10/09/14)
Injector leak can be fixed.

the hesitation / miss on acceleration is an issue i'd investigate.

That's the problem, The seller was not aware of a fuel leak and stated the hesitation only started the day before. He put injector cleaner in the fuel thinking an injector might be gummed up??. I know its a big possibility the hesitation could be related to the fuel leak but who knows.

When the engine hesitates, its only when giving throttle and then clears up and the problem gradually got better after running a few minutes. It does act like there might have been some air in the fuel lines. Also there was no strange smoke or excessive smoke or noise when this happened.

edit: The hesitation was not constant or consistent either

sotxbill · Oct 9, 2014

Injector return lines are usually the culprit on the leaks...

A can of Commercial injector cleaner and not something from autozone is really needed to clean the injectors correctly.

Sounds like all you need to do is try to get a good price. Pto seals are cheap and not difficult to change. I have a little /hill/ramp where I park the front end down hill and the rear end up so I dont have to drain the fluid.

Ford 3000

4play

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Hobo,NC

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Ultradog MN

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4play

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4play

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souNdguy

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4play

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sotxbill

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