Looking at a Ford 4000 Diesel 1965

Jim 777

Member
This tractor does blow some blue smoke he does not add oil often. Said everything else works fine. What should I look for as problems and what price range is reasonable. Year 1965
 
A lil smoke on throttle up is semi normal, if that's the only issue, and she steers, shifts and ruins in all ranges, pro works correctly, ok brakes and starts was com or hot. In my area, 4000 go in the 4000-6500$ range, dependin looks tires mostly and operation
 
(quoted from post at 13:32:03 02/09/15) A lil smoke on throttle up is semi normal, if that's the only issue, and she steers, shifts and ruins in all ranges, pro works correctly, ok brakes and starts was com or hot. In my area, 4000 go in the 4000-6500$ range, dependin looks tires mostly and operation

Thanks greatly for the reply.
are you saying the brakes and starters were problems on that model?
how do you check the brakes And the starter?
there is a little bit of smoke all the time when it is running is that a problem?
is that price for a average condition tractor?
 
i'm saying to check to see if it starts. not the starter.

if you don't know how to check brakes or to see if it starts.. tractors might not be your thing. might want to save some money.
 
A 1965 4000 "should be" the later 3 cylinder model, but they did actually make some of the earlier 4 cylinder models in 1965 as well, so it's best to specify which it is.

As for the brakes, the older 4 cylinder models had dry drum brakes like older cars, and they will wear out and need to be replaced over time, but they were not problematic. The later 3 cylinder 4000 models had inboard wet disk brakes that are much better and last a lot longer, but even they will wear out eventually.

As for the starters, they were never a real issue with either the earlier or later 4000, but I think what souNdguy was saying was if it starts OK when it's cold then it's probably good. If the seller already has it warmed up when you get there and will only show you it starting when warm, then it is possible that it doesn't have high enough compression numbers to start easily when it's cold, and that will mean an engine rebuild sooner rather than later.

Blue smoke generally indicates that oil is getting into the combustion chamber. It depends on what "He does not add oil often" means. You need to get him to quantify that. 1/2 quart after 10 hours of operation vs. 1/2 quart after 2 hours of operation is a big difference, but if he's only running the tractor 2 hours a month then he's only adding 1/2 quart a month, which to him might not be much, but if you plan to run it a lot, then you're going to be working it harder than it has been which might be a good thing, as it might be that the rings are stuck a little and working it hard might free them up and stop the smoking, or it might be a bad thing in that it might be the valve stems leaking and more hard work will cause that to get worse, not better.

Price varies widely from region to region around the country. An early model 4 cylinder 4000 would probably bring $3500 to $4500 around here in southeast PA, and the later 3 cyklinder 4000's will bring around $4000 to $5500. souNdguy is located in Florida I believe and he has given you numbers for his region, but I don't know if that was for the 3 cylinder or 4 cylinder models.
 
(quoted from post at 14:38:39 02/09/15) A 1965 4000 "should be" the later 3 cylinder model, but they did actually make some of the earlier 4 cylinder models in 1965 as well, so it's best to specify which it is.

As for the brakes, the older 4 cylinder models had dry drum brakes like older cars, and they will wear out and need to be replaced over time, but they were not problematic. The later 3 cylinder 4000 models had inboard wet disk brakes that are much better and last a lot longer, but even they will wear out eventually.


As for the starters, they were never a real issue with either the earlier or later 4000, but I think what souNdguy was saying was if it starts OK when it's cold then it's probably good. If the seller already has it warmed up when you get there and will only show you it starting when warm, then it is possible that it doesn't have high enough compression numbers to start easily when it's cold, and that will mean an engine rebuild sooner rather than later.

Blue smoke generally indicates that oil is getting into the combustion chamber. It depends on what "He does not add oil often" means. You need to get him to quantify that. 1/2 quart after 10 hours of operation vs. 1/2 quart after 2 hours of operation is a big difference, but if he's only running the tractor 2 hours a month then he's only adding 1/2 quart a month, which to him might not be much, but if you plan to run it a lot, then you're going to be working it harder than it has been which might be a good thing, as it might be that the rings are stuck a little and working it hard might free them up and stop the smoking, or it might be a bad thing in that it might be the valve stems leaking and more hard work will cause that to get worse, not better.

Price varies widely from region to region around the country. An early model 4 cylinder 4000 would probably bring $3500 to $4500 around here in southeast PA, and the later 3 cyklinder 4000's will bring around $4000 to $5500. souNdguy is located in Florida I believe and he has given you numbers for his region, but I don't know if that was for the 3 cylinder or 4 cylinder models.

certainly appreciate the information thank you
 
I'd say that the smoke could be stuck rings from sitting.
Something like "Sea Foam" in the fuel and oil could fix that.
Hard to say. On smoke as a result of worn out rings I now use
"how well it starts" as a guide. Since compression heat is what
ignites the diesel mist and causes combustion, lack of adequate
compression will show up in hard starting. I learned that on my
first diesel tractor a Ford 3000. The salesman had to use ether
to start it in APRIL in TEXAS.

Smoke also could be worn valve guides.

Good luck.

Mark
 
Yup 3.

Boy I hate the autocorrect on these phones. Pto becomes pro if you don't change it 3 times.. Darn aggravating contraptions
 

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