Ford 3000 Clutch and Smoking

Drew1986 · Mar 12, 2018

Hello, first post.

I recently acquired a Ford 3000 (1966 or 1967 Belgium made tractor I think) from a friend.

So far, all major mechanical features of this tractor work. It smokes a bit all the time, but not enough to alarm me. I intend to restore it and have a few questions.

A.) IS SPLITTING THE TRACTOR IN HALF REQUIRED TO ADJUST THE CLUTCH? - I noticed that you cannot engage the PTO without pressing the clutch all the way down even with the floorboard and its still a little rough then. This does not seem normal in comparison to other tractors of the same period I have experience with like Deutz or Allis-Chalmers.

B.) SHOULD I CONSIDER DOING A TOP-END REBUILD? It smokes a decent amount under all loads and when the motor is running faster than say 1,000-1,100 RPM. The instrument panel hasn't worked in some time so I have no ideal of hours on the tractor, I'd hazard a guess at less than 3,000 though. It seems a little sluggish to pull itself in top gear.

C.) IF I DO A TOP END REBUILD, SHOULD I PURCHASE STANDARD PISTONS OR GO FOR 0.020 OVER PISTONS TO BE SAFE?

D.) ANY BALLPARK FIGURES ON WHAT A DECENT PRICE IS FOR SPLITTING THE TRACTOR IN HALF TO ADD A NEW CLUTCH?

E.) ANY BALLPARK FIGURES ON WHAT A DECENT PRICE IS FOR A TOP END REBUILD BARRING NO MAJOR OBSTACLES ARE PRESENT?

Thank you very much in advance. I'll try and post a picture of my father bush hogging to give you an idea of the smoke/ring conditions.[/b]

Drew1986 · Mar 12, 2018

(quoted from post at 15:08:06 03/12/18) Hello, first post.

I recently acquired a Ford 3000 (1966 or 1967 Belgium made tractor I think) from a friend.

So far, all major mechanical features of this tractor work. It smokes a bit all the time, but not enough to alarm me. I intend to restore it and have a few questions.

A.) IS SPLITTING THE TRACTOR IN HALF REQUIRED TO ADJUST THE CLUTCH? - I noticed that you cannot engage the PTO without pressing the clutch all the way down even with the floorboard and its still a little rough then. This does not seem normal in comparison to other tractors of the same period I have experience with like Deutz or Allis-Chalmers.

B.) SHOULD I CONSIDER DOING A TOP-END REBUILD? It smokes a decent amount under all loads and when the motor is running faster than say 1,000-1,100 RPM. The instrument panel hasn't worked in some time so I have no ideal of hours on the tractor, I'd hazard a guess at less than 3,000 though. It seems a little sluggish to pull itself in top gear.

C.) IF I DO A TOP END REBUILD, SHOULD I PURCHASE STANDARD PISTONS OR GO FOR 0.020 OVER PISTONS TO BE SAFE?

D.) ANY BALLPARK FIGURES ON WHAT A DECENT PRICE IS FOR SPLITTING THE TRACTOR IN HALF TO ADD A NEW CLUTCH?

E.) ANY BALLPARK FIGURES ON WHAT A DECENT PRICE IS FOR A TOP END REBUILD BARRING NO MAJOR OBSTACLES ARE PRESENT?

Thank you very much in advance. I'll try and post a picture of my father bush hogging to give you an idea of the smoke/ring conditions.[/b]

Fordfarmer · Mar 12, 2018

It sounds like you don't have a manual for it...get one. Well worth the $20 or so. Covers things like adjusting the clutch. No, you
don't have to split it to adjust the clutch. That's done with the linkage on the side.
Pushing the pedal ALL the way down to engage or disengage the PTO is normal. If it still grinds, the clutch needs to be adjusted,
or is getting worn.
Check your compression before you decide for or against a rebuilt, top end or otherwise. It may just need to be worked hard a bit.
If you're even close on your 3000 hour estimate (which I honestly doubt on a 40+ year old tractor), it shouldn't need a rebuild. To
me, a 'top end' rebuild is just doing the head... if you're into the pistons and rings, it's a full rebuild. Since you have to take
the rod caps off to get the pistons out, you can check/replace the bearings at that point. Is it a diesel? If you decide to rebuild
it, I'd bore and sleeve back to standard.

Drew1986 · Mar 12, 2018

HI Ford Farmer

No, unfortunately I do not. All that was long since lost. All I have is a spare key! That was definitely one of the next things I planned to purchase.

It has been worked pretty hard a few times and did ease up a bit from the original amount of smoke under load it produced. Originally, it produced a steady stream of blue that could be seen distinctly from 5-600 yards when my friend first got the tractor. Now, after working it under a load (5 ft bush hogg) in a 6 acre pasture cutting knee high cogon grass and brush its not as bad. We also added Diesel Kleen + Cetane Boost which worked wonders on our old Deutz 30-06. Its still smoking a bit which is why I thought the rings might be going bad.

I honestly have no idea on the hours. I just assumed it was around 3,000 because the previous owner planted a garden and used it for some light duty bush hogging of a small area to my knowledge.

Yes, it is a diesel.

This tractor also has the highest gearing I've ever seen. Gapped open in 8th gear it will run close to 25 mph... I've never been that fast on a tractor...

I have a video but am having trouble posting it.

Thank you for any and all help.

Fordfarmer · Mar 12, 2018

Big tires? Should top out somewhere around 15-18 mph. MAYBE it was an LCG that came with those dinky little tires and gears to match, then got normal-sized 3000 tires. Either way, that would explain it being doggy in high gear.
If it starts decently, your compression is probably ok. Low compression will cause hard starting. Maybe time for a set of injectors... or more injector cleaner.

Ultradog MN · Mar 12, 2018

My thinking is if you pull the head youll have
a much better idea of the top end by looking at
how much ring ridge you have.
Agree with FordFarmer that it probably has a
Lot more hours than 3K. Those diesels with even
half fast care are good for 6-8K before they
need overhauled.
As for clutch adjustment/grinding it would help
to know what transmission you have.
If you post the 3 lines of numbers on the
transmission we could id the thing for you.
Look on trans - right side - above and behind
the starter See photo.
Who knows but it might be an LCG (low center of
gravity) tractor that someone put ag rear tires
on to make it so fast.
If you just wanted to do an inframe on it I
have a set of new standard pistons with wrist
pins/rings I would sell cheap.
Welcome to the board.
Those are great old tractors.

Drew1986 · Mar 12, 2018

Thanks gents. It might have been a LCG tractor. I never thought of that..

I also never thought of needing new injectors. Makes sense. Are there any particular injectors that are best to use?

Who knows on the hours. You guys are probably 100% right.

I do know that the tractor does not have differential lock if that helps...

Drew1986 · Mar 12, 2018

Drew1986 · Mar 12, 2018

This is an example of my father running it this weekend with. 5 foot bush hog.

Ultradog MN · Mar 13, 2018

Is that the right side?
R vs L is Always as you're sitting in
the seat.

Fordfarmer · Mar 13, 2018

Looks like an Antwerp-built tractor. May need to check BOTH sides.

Drew1986 · Mar 13, 2018

(quoted from post at 01:53:43 03/13/18) Is that the right side?
R vs L is Always as you're sitting in
the seat.

Hi Ultradog MN:

Yes, that is on the right side right behind the engine when you are sitting in the drivers seat.

Sean in PA · Mar 13, 2018

As Fordfarmer said, look at the same flat spot on the left side. The early European made tractors didn't always follow the same placement of all of the numbers as the US made tractors. They did later on, but not always in the first couple of years.

The A at the beginning of the serial number should mean it was assembled in the Antwerp Belgium plant. 6J6C is a September 6, 1966 date code, but can't tell whether that's the build date of the transmission or the tractor.

Drew1986 · Mar 13, 2018

Guy,

The only numbers I can find on the left hand side (drivers seat looking forward) are:

B

7008

This is located behind and underneath the hydraulic pump (on the engine block) on the left hand side.

Does this help any?

Thanks again

Destroked 450 · Mar 13, 2018

Pull the grill and check the oil bath air cleaner, clean it and fill with fresh oil.
Pull the valve cover and check valve adjustment.
If those don't help I'd replace the injectors
They sell them on this site.

My brother in law has a early 3000 that is fast, I followed another 3000 some years ago doing 25-30 mph.
Couldn't hardly believe it at first.

Most 3000's had 6.16:1 ratio gears
2110,4100 LGC tractor and some 2-3000's were equipped with 5.12:1 ratio gears
A 3000 equipped with 5.12:1 ratio gears and 28" tires would move along pretty fast

Drew1986 · Mar 14, 2018

Destroked 450,

Excellent. Thank you for the tips. I'll do just that.

Ha! That makes perfect sense. Well, I may always have a future in racing this 3000

Thank you everyone for the tips and tricks.

Also... I'm sure I can adjust it when I get the shop manual in... But, the clutch rides very high... So much so that I actually have to swing my leg all the way out to the left towards the tire just
to be able to raise it high enough to even be able to depress the clutch. Any ideas??

Thanks again!

sotxbill · Mar 14, 2018

IF its cold.. .the pto will grind alot when engaging, as the thick oil between the inner and outer shafts will make the pto spin and grind when engaging. If warm... and you can push the clutch all the way down and the pto stops,,, the clutch is working correctly. The picture running the shredder looks as if he is scalping tall grass, it and really really really.....loading the tractor down, but again, the video is a bit far away.. The smoke showing is not good but I have much much worse...

Have you changed to oil to a hd diesel oil, so the detergents can clean up the rings. Do this yearly and see if the smoke drops back a bit. Also run a commercial grade injector cleaner through the tractor to clean up any dirty injector ports to help
make sure you get clean exhaust... Again the video is not the same as being there, but there is a chance of cleaning it up a bit, especially if it has been set up or not maintained properly.

As to the clutch being high, the early live pto tractors had two pin holes on the clutch lever on the side of the transmission.. one hole gave a high clutch pedal and allowed the pto to be turned off and on,, the other position for non pto work, lowered the pedal down and was much easier to used the tractor for normal duties without the pto shut off feature in the clutch pedal. Check the lever coming out of the trans for the double pin holes. should be a clevis pin so you can quick change the pedal position. Usually the clevis pin was lost and a bolt put in its place.

Drew1986 · Mar 15, 2018

Hi SoTxBill,

I appreciate your input very much.

It was under a heavy load as it was in knee high cogon grass which is so tough that its hard to even pull a stand apart with your bare hands... Its slowly getting better on the smoking front.

My plan is to restore the tractor over the next few months and I'm essentially just trying to decide if the headache of a complete engine rebuild is worth it... Thanks to you gents input, I'm
beginning to think its probably not worth the hassle since its likely still just fine and needs some injector cleaner (at worst new injectors), good oil (this weekend - just got the machine 2
weeks ago and it has "new" oil in it), and some good ole' hard work.

Sound about right?

Yep, this old jewel has set up for a while... Largely only used a handful of times a year and then nothing major after that... Some light bush hogging and planting gardens.

Thank you very much for the information on the clutch.

I ordered the shop manual (760+ pages) from here yesterday so I should be able to diagnose some more issues as they arise.

I'll definitely post pictures and video of the restoration and some shots of me working the tractor over the next few months.

Thanks again, everyone!

cdmn · Mar 15, 2018

The other date stamp is "J08 6", which is Sept 08, 1966. Just a couple days after the
transmission housing date. This would probably have been a model year 1967, since the changeover date is Sept 1 of each year.

Ford 3000 Clutch and Smoking

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