8600 Pros and Cons

2510Paul

Well-known Member
Those 8600 tractors are really nice looking. Can some of you with experience with them give pros and cons as you know them?

I did a search on this forum, the only theme that might be there might be a grinding noise, thought it said in the clutch/pto area. Is there a weekness here or is this just specific to a couple of well used tractors?

Thanks, Paul.
 

I have a 9000 that I use for competition only. I don't recall the grinding noise. The 401 motor is prone to cylinder wall perforation due to cavitation. Find out if it has red antifreeze or SCA treatment in it.
 
Essentially the same as the 9600 I had, only no turbo. Showcrop already mentioned cylinder wall cavitation; you also need to check the rear hubs and make sure they are tight on the axle. Make sure the steering works ok when it's fully warmed up. Some steering parts are NLS and upgrading the whole system is expensive. It also seems like I've seen quite a few of that series with brake seals out. Parts aren't too bad, but it's a bit labor intensive job.
 
Cons: weak hydraulics over time, weak PTO clutches and live-drive shafts, crash box trans, weak shift forks in trans, engines prone to cavitation erosion, cabs that are noisier inside than out.

Pros: good HP for the dollar, easy on fuel, dual power (where fitted) works good and is fairly reliable
 
Hi I have a 9600 and it has the same grinding noise coming from PTO area, nothing to worry about this is pretty common. The 401 is super reliable that Ford used the 401 all the way into the TW and 88 series. They pull so hard. One of the hardest pulling tractors of its size and time.
 
401s are gutless in stock form - the stroke is just too short to make good torque. Until you've operated its replacement (456 Genesis engine), you have no idea what pulling hard is like.
 
Bern you must not have read my entire post. I said "One of the hardest pulling tractors of its size and time." Ford was not using the Genesis during the mid 70's. You have to understand that tractors like the 9600, and 1566 were the heavy pulling 2wd's of their "time".
 

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