Looking at a '51 8N

i'm looking at a 51 8N. decent machine but it smokes a little. not a lot, just a little. the tractor has been gone thru. new tires / rims. 12V, recently tuned up. runs great.

is a little smoke a problem with these machines?

What color is the smoke?

hmm. i did not pay attention, just saw smoke. what is the difference. i am going back this weekend to run it and drive it more.

Blue smoke is oil, black is running to rich and white is coolant. If blue maybe sticking rings which can sometime be freed up with an ATF treatment. Black smoke a simple carb adjustment may fix. White smoke a head gasket problem

i'll check next saturday. seems like i want to stay away from white smoke.

If white just at start up but clears pretty fast that can also be condensation

I've bought two N's using John Smith's checklist; it saved me from buying three or four others!

http://www.oldfordtractors.com

The only thing I have to add to John's excellent suggestions are:

1. Take a jack; jack up the front end & check it out just like you would a car for slop in the bearings, tie rods, etc.

2. Take a compression gauge. You can pull all 4 plugs & do it correctly, or roll the dice & do one cylinder.

3. Take a meter in case the ammeter on the tractor is busted; you can see if the charging system is working.

4. Get back home & access an on-line parts catalog or take a paper copy w/ you. Figure out what it is going to cost you to get it running (or looking) the way you want it. If you think it's bad.....it is! Price it accordingly & consider those costs in your offer.

I'll assume you're talking about smoke from the tail pipe, right?

As old is telling you, the color of the smoke is important.

It could be a carb out of adjustment. ($0 to fix)

It could be worn rings. (big dollars to fix)

It could be (unlikely, IMHO) a head gasket ($25 & half a day of your time to fix it)

Or just condensation in the oil at start up. (because it doesn't have a t-stat (see tip # 25) or hasn't been run at operating temp for a long time)
75 Tips

If I was selling a tractor I wouldn't let anyone take out the plugs to do a compression test or remove any parts. They could screw something up.

If it's burning oil, most times you can smell it if you stand by at the rear of the tractor while it's running.

Smell is an excellent indicator for sure and it often gets left off of the diagnostic list; anti freeze, engine oil, rich fuel or just condensation.

Broken rings can yield [b:93c77dc2cf]white[/b:93c77dc2cf] smoke too . . . I found that out first hand.