Operating draft control on a 1951 8n

I understand what draft control is but how do you physically operate it? My 3pt. hitch is stuck in 1 position.

Welcome to the Ford board.
Elaborate a little.
Stuck in one position? Meaning stuck in the up position? Stuck half way? Wont raise?
Will it lift a heavy load?
New to you tractor or one you've had for years?
Which location is the little lever under the seat in?
You've come to the right place for help. We just gotta understand better what's going on.

The draft control on most vintage Ford tractors does not work due to years of wear and lack of lubrication.

Operation instructions can be found in the owners manusl.

More information will be needed for useful help with your problem(s).

Dean

What happened was I was putting on a 3pt finishing mower. I was having a hard time putting it on whereas the lifting arms as well as the stabilizers did not line up. When trying to line them up I would raise and lower the mower and the hydraulics worked fine. Finally the mower aligned but it was approx. raised up about a foot off the ground. after hooking up the mower, raising or lowering the hydraulic control did not have any effect as raising and lowering of mower. The draft control lever is located on the right side of the tractor under the seat. I have never used draft control and have not intentionally moved the lever. The tractor is new to me but I have spent thousands replacing parts. A mechanic told me that you do not buy a great used 8n, but you build one. He was painfully right. Ha-ha. This problem has me stumped but I really like working on my 8n. Thanks so much for your help.

The problem you are running in to is probably that you do not have your pto turned on, because you are hooking up a mower with blades and would like to keep your toes...

The problem is, that the 3pt lift on the 8N only works when the PTO is turned on.

Did you by chance forget the PTO has to be spinning for the 3 point to work which can be trouble if you have the mower PTO shaft hooked up and you are trying to hook up the arms

I had to attach the PTO shaft first whereas there was not enough clearance after hooking up the lift arms. I tried to change the position of the mower with the PTO running but the mower still did not move. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Low fluid level or the draft/position control handle etc is out of adjustment etc. Had a 8N come in one time and the 3 point did not work due to a bent control lever inside the thing

I do not think anything is bent. One minute it was fine and then it would not work. Thanks for the info.

Control valve on the inside could be stuck seen that more then once. Pull the inspection cover with the dip stick and see if you can move it by hand and if it then works you know what is going on

There's your problem. PTO shaft is to long. PTO shaft is putting the linkage in a bind and it can't raise. You need to shorten your shaft.

BEER-
First of all, you don't want draft control for a mower so leave the little lever under the seat in the POSITION CONTROL setting, or UP. Next, you mention 'stabilizer bars' -my money is on them. They may be setup incorrectly and thus limiting the lift from performing correctly. Let's be sure we're all on the same page here so if possible, post pictures, and distinguish between STAY BARS and STABILIZER BARS -two completely different animals. To set the stabilizer bars correctly, with fender brackets mounted but loosely, connect bars to lynch pins and hook up a 3-pt implement. BE SURE the lynch pins on the brackets point to the tractor pins on the lift arms. Do this: Take your index fingers and touch the tips together, then pull away slightly. This is how the pins line up correctly, no exceptions. With implement hooked up, fender brackets loose, you can get the bars set properly before tightening them down by raising and lowering the lift slowly and watching for any restraining or bending of the bars. STOP and position bars so they don't kink or bind as they will break something if left as such and you don't want to damage the pump and/or lift arms. Once lift raises and lowers with no binding issues, tighten down fender bolts to secure brackets in place. See what you can find out and report back, with pictures if possible...

[i:654c4848f0][b:654c4848f0]<font size="4">Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)</font>[/b:654c4848f0][/i:654c4848f0]<table width="100" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#000000"><tr><td height="25" colspan="2" bgcolor="#CC0000"></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td></td></tr></table

Thanks for your reply. I am using stabilizer bars, the flat metal bars bent to offset the angle between the attachment point located under the axle and the attachment on the mower. You may be right. I attached the mower and it had a lot of side to side movement. The tractor store said I needed stabilizer bars to prevent the movement. I am new to the 8n attachments so it made sense to me. If these are the problem how would I stabilize the mower? Would I use the little chains under the rear axle?

PlougNman, Thanks for your help. I sent you a reply earlier but did not see it posted. The mower swayed side to side. I am new with the 8n so I went to a tractor dealer and he said I needed stabilizer bars. They are flat stock and attach to linch pins under the rear axle to the linch pins on the mower. I believe you are correct and it is binding because the only difference is the addition of the stabilizer bars since I last used the mower. It never occurred to me that they could be the problem. How do I keep the mower from swinging? There are some small chains on either side of the pumpkin that are attached to the lifting arms. There is slack in each of them but they are adjustable. Maybe use them?

Thank you for all the good responses. Unfortunately my 8n is 3 hours away. I have come to the conclusion that the stabilizer arms I added are binding the works. The reason I installed the stabilizer arms is the mower moved left to right excessively. If I remove the stabilizer bars, how do I keep the mower from moving left to right? Do I use the chains attached to the bottom of (I think) the pumpkin and attach to the lifting arms? Thanks again for your help.

Thanks for all the info. and suggestions. I feel pretty stupid whereas I removed the stabilizer bars and the hydraulics worked fine. The PTO shaft was at quite an angle so I took the measurements and had it cut. This solved the problem of the alignment between the mower and tractor and also cut down on the left to right sway of the mower. Another subject. What is the cause of the tube that fits into the back of the carburetor to fill with gas, stall the motor and leak like a sieve through the carb? I've had the happen 2 other times. The motor will not start obviously whereas I am talking about a 3/4 cup of gas pours out when I disconnect the tube. The cure is to disconnect the tube as I mentioned. Remember to shut off the gas. Pull the spark plugs to see if they are wet. If they are, replace them. I replaced them even though they were not wet. I reconnected the tube and the motor started and ran fine. Thanks, I appreciate your help.