What one item would you take off to make N inoperable?

Big Trees

Member
If you're using your N tractor doing work and the sun is going down and you come up on a "tractor not starting" incident. What do you do if you have to leave the tractor where it's at and come back in the morning to diagnose? Is there one item you could remove that would leave the N inoperable unless that part was replaced?

I'm asking because I'm getting to the point where I'll be heading down our private road a good way to grade the road and I can imagine at some point the tractor is going to give me a hard time.

If I have to leave it, what one item should I take off to make it harder for it to be stolen?

We live in a remote part of our rural county but crimes of opportunity happen everywhere so I'm trying to be proactive.

Any and all comments are welcome.
 
Front or side mount?
Side mount would be easy to pull the wire from
the distributer to the coil.
Otherwise pull the seat off and install a
sharpened stud in the hole.
They might get it started but it would be a
painful ride.
 
(quoted from post at 13:36:49 08/28/15) Front or side mount?
Side mount would be easy to pull the wire from
the distributer to the coil.
Otherwise pull the seat off and install a
sharpened stud in the hole.
They might get it started but it would be a
painful ride.

LOL! That's a good one, I might have to install one as a plan B option haha. It's a side mount distributor.

With my little/no experience I thought maybe pulling the coil and taking it with me. But didn't know if they could jump it otherwise.
 
Pulling the rotor would work also, put cap back in place and not not as easy to see as a missing wire. less work than pulling the battery.
 
OK, owner has already said it isn't running, all that disabling ignition adds nothing to what already is. Take a rear tire & wheel with you!
On second thought, take both....they are probably worth as much as the rest of the tractor!
 

lol All great responses! I would take the battery with me and the rotor is a good idea. I just thought if it was something that a more mechanically inclined person may be able to get figured out and get started over night that I better take something off to disable it for good until I came back. It is VERY unlikely that would happen as we live on a private dirt road that has very little traffic. Just trying to think ahead.
 
I would say the battery, as well, and disconnect the push starter button. But, it does remind me if this joke-I was trying to get rid of an accordion, so I left it in my car with the windows down, hoping someone would steal it. When I came back, there were three more......
 
take the rotor
replace it with one where you have drilled out the locating tab.
It'll look right but it won't run.

it'll stop joy-riders, but nothing will stop a real thief.
hate to say it, but usually one night is all it would take to have the battery and all the gas in the tank disappear.
 
On a side mount the rotor and battery. Reason for both is a battery is easy to set in and then take off with it but with out both it will NEVER start unless the person also brings a rotor
 
The rotor is easy enuff to do...

Back in the 70's, 80's and 90's when I had a shop in town and no fenced in lot we would pull a plug wire and the coil wire and swap them. We never lost a car we did that way...

Things are different now the lowlife see every thing as a opportunity...
 

0Unless the wheels fell clear off I would hook a chain on it and drag it home.

I don't know if you've got a local tow service, but that would even be cheaper than what some knot heads could do to it over night.

Years ago my Dad and I did grading and seeding for new houses. No matter what, the tractors came home at night.
 
(quoted from post at 21:53:30 08/28/15)
0Unless the wheels fell clear off I would hook a chain on it and drag it home.

I don't know if you've got a local tow service, but that would even be cheaper than what some knot heads could do to it over night.

Years ago my Dad and I did grading and seeding for new houses. No matter what, the tractors came home at night.
xactly, as I said long ago, the guy already stated as not running , so all those "disabling" suggestions are moot! I have seen vandals just shoot them full of holes! Drag it home.
 
(quoted from post at 18:53:30 08/28/15)
0Unless the wheels fell clear off I would hook a chain on it and drag it home.

I don't know if you've got a local tow service, but that would even be cheaper than what some knot heads could do to it over night.

Years ago my Dad and I did grading and seeding for new houses. No matter what, the tractors came home at night.


All great suggestions and responses, I thank you all. My first thought was to drag it home if this was to happen and that's probably what I would do. I would have to unhook the grader blade attached but that's no biggie.

Otherwise it's nice to know that the rotor would be the best single item to take off to make it inoperable.

I 110% agree that there is no way to keep a determined thief from stealing what they want, given the opportunity. I intend to have the tractor back at the house at the end of the day but you never know what can happen.

I appreciate everybody's response.
 
If I wanted to put an anti theft device on my N. I would add a toggle switch somewhere hidden in the wire to the coil.
 

I am lucky to have some good friends tho at one time we were all scooter trash... All I have to do if I don't forget my cell is call and tell them my "Oxinaditch"...

If I could just get that in my kids head....
 
Hears an idea to make easy to get home. Mount a tow bar to the fount bumper. For the back blade jack it up then chain it up.
a199556.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 06:10:53 08/29/15) If it don't start-leave it-most of the crooks are too lazy to drag it off.
I went to an auction afew weeks ago. There were a bunch of old pickup trucks selling. Even out here in eastern Mt the bandidos got to about half of em. Mostly radiators for the copper. They were not gentle about how they removed em either, cut and slash. That being said, thieves are like coyotes, they have to circle around an oportunity a while before they jump in. What mean is you might get by for a day, maybe two. After that I wouldnt bet on it being intact. Of course you could alwaus be t b e victim of just plain old vandalism, in witch case all bets are off.
 
As nearly everyone else has said, the rotor is a good option. My 2N doesn't get used just a whole lot and it had a slight battery
drain so I installed a battery disconnect switch and used a length of string to tie the disconnect key to the ignition key. It
works to stop battery drains, but makes or at least helps with anti-theft unless the thief just happens to have one of those big
disconnect keys in their pocket.
a199736.jpg

a199739.jpg
 
Definitely the battery, and if a front mount, the coil itself would also be good. Not many folks carry a spare around just in case they want to swipe an early 8N. :lol:

es
 


All are very good responses and ideas. It gave me options to consider if that was to ever happen to me. Chaining up the blade and dragging home would be the option I would use if it ever came to that. Great ideas, everybody.
 

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