9N purchase decision

jeffkeno

Member
Been looking for a good machine to plow snow around our Wisconsin home. Found what the owner says is a 9N (not much left of s/n) in decent condition. Started OK, not too much smoke on starting, warmed up quickly, new battery and radiator, 12 v conversion, clutch seemed solid--if not a little jumpy, all gears worked, 3 point hitch worked up and down, comes with a 6' back blade. Steers and turns just fine. Has tire chains. Metal-work basically complete. did NOT seems like it was leaking oil.

problems--right brake doesn't work--very sticky; right brake free but doesn't provide much stopping. 1 rear tire low/leaky, all tires mis-matched. will need some metal work

Questions:

1. He's asking $1850 but is OBO. i'd like to spend no more than 1500 but don't want to take advantage. What's fair?

2. what the brake work like? I've done car brakes and have tinkered with my '55 640 but never taken wheels part or done brakes on a tractor.

3. what would an implement dealer charge to do brakes?

4. what else I should look at more carefully before I buy?

Thanks much,

Jeff
 
if it truly is a 9n/2n, the brake work is a hair more involved because you pull axles.. which may not be bad with a non working brake as it may have bad seals.

if it was an 8n, rear brakes are like an old truck. basic drum. ( 9n is drum as well. but different as said )

a beat up N needing work? offer 1500 and go from there.
 
"right brake doesn't work--very sticky; right brake free but doesn't provide much stopping"

Did you mean for both of these to say "right"?
Left brake on a 9N/2N usually gets froze up because it isn't
adjusted correctly and therefore doesn't get used.
Either brake being "sticky" I could be a leaking axle seal.
You would have to pull the axle to get at the brake anyway,
so it would not be too much of a stretch to put in new seals.
That's not exactly an easy job, but it is doable at home.

I used to work in Kenosha, lived in Zion, IL. (fishtab)
What a great home town you have! :)
 
If you have a 640 you will loathe going back to non live hydraulics.
Right brake is pretty important as you rarely can use the left.
$1850 is not out of the zone for a good running N.
And unmatched tires are ok for a worker but their condition would be crucial on that deal.
They'd all need to be 60% or better for me.
Otherwise $1500.
 
My mistake--right brake sticky. Left brake free but doesn't do much stopping. What do you think it's worth? kenosha is coming around.
 
Right brake sticky- does not work. Left is free but doesn't do much. Basically it has almost no brakes. Rear tires are probably 50%. Appreciate the pricing advice. What do you mean about "non live hydraulics'?
 
Left brake may be able to be adjusted if its free.
Does the pedal go down (or pull up) way too far?
Adjusted properly, the clutch pedal will apply the left brake when
you depress the clutch.
I think $1850 is high. Not seeing the tractor, hard to say what's fair.
Does it have an auxiliary transmission in it? What kind if so?

Another thing to look for besides the normal water in the oil/fluids,
oil in the radiator (not just combustion by-product) would be a
worn out front axle pin/bushing/axle.
 
left pedal rests at same height as clutch, goes down to almost bottom and then returns to rest height. What is aux transmission? Related to PTO? How could I check front axle stuff?
 
Aux trans would have an extra handle on the left or right to give you
more than one speed range, so 6 forward instead of 3 for example.
Check out John's sight here for great information on them.

For the front end, probably the easiest way to check is to jack it up
and check for free play. Dark out now, or I would go take a picture
of a good example. If you're not in a hurry, I can take a picture
tomorrow. You can often see that the bushing or axle is wore out.
 
Got mine for $900--engine in top shape except had to
replace valves-uses no oil--everything else had been
neglected or needed attention-had bad tires all the
way around..I wouldn't offer more than $1500.
Untitled URL Link
 
I live in an area of high priced little Fords too,
but 1850 for a 9N-2N is pushing it.
While still a maybe, and the tractor could be ugly,
the tires would have to be good...very good..for me to consider it.
a leaky (filled?) tire, bad brakes, any smoke whatsoever...not a chance.
1500 max, and when I got it home, I'd still be mad at myself....

ok, now the opinion part. Like said, it's going to be very hard to step backward from a 640.
That clutch having to be up for the hydraulics to work is annoying, especially plowing snow.
That front mount distributor and light fluffy snow will test your temper too.
While I understand that finding a NAA or newer Ford for under $2k can be very tough in some areas...
that $1850 [b:fa7326d1b5]will[/b:fa7326d1b5] put you on a decent 8N which is a better machine than a 9N-2N.
Look hard enough and it might even put you on a side-mount 8N
which is the best of the N's.
 
(quoted from post at 21:20:01 10/04/14) Been looking for a good machine to plow snow around our Wisconsin home. Found what the owner says is a 9N (not much left of s/n) in decent condition. Started OK, not too much smoke on starting, warmed up quickly, new battery and radiator, 12 v conversion, clutch seemed solid--if not a little jumpy, all gears worked, 3 point hitch worked up and down, comes with a 6' back blade. Steers and turns just fine. Has tire chains. Metal-work basically complete. did NOT seems like it was leaking oil.

problems--right brake doesn't work--very sticky; right brake free but doesn't provide much stopping. 1 rear tire low/leaky, all tires mis-matched. will need some metal work

Questions:

1. He's asking $1850 but is OBO. i'd like to spend no more than 1500 but don't want to take advantage. What's fair?

2. what the brake work like? I've done car brakes and have tinkered with my '55 640 but never taken wheels part or done brakes on a tractor.

3. what would an implement dealer charge to do brakes?

4. what else I should look at more carefully before I buy?

Thanks much,

Jeff

Around here $1000 is tops for a 9N in that condition. $1800 would get you an 8N in better condition and is a much better tractor. The brakes on a 9N are horrible at best.

TOH
 
On a 640 the hydraulic pump is driven off the back end of the camshaft. So any time the engine is running you have hydraulic lift.
On an N the hydraulic pump is driven off the PTO.
So any time you step on the clutch you have no hydraulic lift.
From the video at the link below:
"A farmer today with live action hydraulics can get lifting power any time the engine is running.
Whether the tractor is moving or standing still,
whether the clutch is engaged or not.
Live action hydraulics does away with the time taking, awkward and annoying gear shifting manipulations"
For a good explanation of the hydraulics on a Jube (and your 640) start the video at about the 4 minute mark.
PS a 9N also doesn't have position control which I'm sure you are used to.
An 8N does have it however.
New Jubilee ad
 
Brake work on 9/2N done correctly is not EZ work add to that its nasty as it gets and figure on replacing most all the parts.. I price those jobs at $1K and hope they do not take me up on it...

Pass on it look for a better newer machine...
 
I have more 9Ns than a person ought to admit to.
Brakes work well in all of them. Takes me about 1
hour a side to remove the axle, install a Sure
Seal, install new brakes and button it back up.
There is a video available (search ebay) that is
helpful if you've never done one.
tractors005_zpsf71f459e.jpg
 
I challenge anyone to do it in a hour... Even if they cut corners like most all do... I doubt you could even clean up the mess in a hour if it was a leaker and been that way for years... I would not admit to
hacking it up with sure seals by that admission you did not replace the original seal that was the issue to start off with and haftarsed it with a shim job folks call a sure seal...
 
I live in Wisconsin and the tire leaks? Where I am at a call to the coop to have someone come out and fix the tire is about 150.00. (or more)
Why is it leaking? Hows the rim?
I don't watch the n series to much on craigs list, but it does seem they run about 1500 to 3000 or thereabouts in asking price.
 

Brakes on my 9N never did work very well. On my flat land it's never been an issue.

Just my advise, look for an 8N or newer model, if you have $1,500 to spend you should probably look for an 8N at minimum.
 

When a brake job on 9/2N is performed correctly they are as good as any mechanical brake considering there age and ware issues...
They get a bad rap cuzz folks haftarse the job....
 
sound like a far deal, I would try to get him down a little, and you said it has a 6 foot back hoe? does it work. as for the brakes they would be easy to work on but as for the fords they never had good brake just to get started
 

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