I'm very excited to be a new 1958 Ford 841 owner. However, I'm terrified of the issues that I may not have identified prior to the purchase that will cost me down the road but I'm sure that at the end of the road, I'll love her even more. ha ha ha. So a few items for thoughts on this tractor. First the good. The tires have air (the rears have water too) in them, the engine runs and sounds pretty good, the engine oil looks good (no milkyness), the lift works and the pto works. Now the "I'm not so sure" part.
1. The hydraulic fluid is milky. The PO told me it was likely water that had condensed in the hydraulic system. I was planning to drain the fluid then refill to see if that resolved the issue.
2. The lift will stay up while the tractor is running but falls down within 20 seconds of the tractor going off.
3. Right before I bought the tractor, I looked in the radiator and could see no water above the fins. I asked the PO and he said he hadn't checked it but it never ran hot while he plowed a field the other day. Fast forward to the delivery yesterday. I drove the tractor 1/4 mile into my property to park it and I opened the radiator to add water and antifreeze and saw foam down in the radiator. He said that he had not added any water since the other day when I saw that the radiator looked low. I plan to drain the radiator, refill with distilled water and run to see if it foams again. I've read that foam can mean a blown head gasket or cracked head or block EEEEEK!!!
4. The glass fuel bowl filter has been replaced with a cheap throwaway inline filter. Should I replace it with original or keep using that type of filter. He said that I should keep several in the tool box and when it started to lose power or run rough, just replace the filter.
5. The starter foot button has been bypassed and a key starter is used. Does this bypass the transmission safety? Should I rewire the starter button back in?
6. The hood (center opening hood) looks like it is about 1" too narrow. The prongs that fit into the holes on the fenders don't line up. Is it possible that someone put a hood from a 600 series on this tractor? The fenders don't look like they are further apart than they are supposed to be.
Anyway, I just toss all that out there because I know that I will get good sound advice from someone on these. At the end of the day, I'm a happy new tractor owner. I bought the tractor for doing work around some river property we bought a few months ago. Bushhogging, hauling wood around and other general man stuff that requires more horsepower than a lawnmower.
I'm in the process of trying to get a pto shaft for the 5' bushhog that I got with it. Not sure of the bushhog's brand yet but it looks like it was built like a tank and the shaft spun very nicely.
Thanks in advance of all your help!!
1. The hydraulic fluid is milky. The PO told me it was likely water that had condensed in the hydraulic system. I was planning to drain the fluid then refill to see if that resolved the issue.
2. The lift will stay up while the tractor is running but falls down within 20 seconds of the tractor going off.
3. Right before I bought the tractor, I looked in the radiator and could see no water above the fins. I asked the PO and he said he hadn't checked it but it never ran hot while he plowed a field the other day. Fast forward to the delivery yesterday. I drove the tractor 1/4 mile into my property to park it and I opened the radiator to add water and antifreeze and saw foam down in the radiator. He said that he had not added any water since the other day when I saw that the radiator looked low. I plan to drain the radiator, refill with distilled water and run to see if it foams again. I've read that foam can mean a blown head gasket or cracked head or block EEEEEK!!!
4. The glass fuel bowl filter has been replaced with a cheap throwaway inline filter. Should I replace it with original or keep using that type of filter. He said that I should keep several in the tool box and when it started to lose power or run rough, just replace the filter.
5. The starter foot button has been bypassed and a key starter is used. Does this bypass the transmission safety? Should I rewire the starter button back in?
6. The hood (center opening hood) looks like it is about 1" too narrow. The prongs that fit into the holes on the fenders don't line up. Is it possible that someone put a hood from a 600 series on this tractor? The fenders don't look like they are further apart than they are supposed to be.
Anyway, I just toss all that out there because I know that I will get good sound advice from someone on these. At the end of the day, I'm a happy new tractor owner. I bought the tractor for doing work around some river property we bought a few months ago. Bushhogging, hauling wood around and other general man stuff that requires more horsepower than a lawnmower.
I'm in the process of trying to get a pto shaft for the 5' bushhog that I got with it. Not sure of the bushhog's brand yet but it looks like it was built like a tank and the shaft spun very nicely.
Thanks in advance of all your help!!