Article that appeared recently in the Ferguson club of England magazine in part reference to an article written by Johan Bakker for Agriculture on line magazine a few months ago.Attention, Ford 9N/2N owners. I try to write my columns for the widest possible appeal, but this one’s going to be an exception, and I’m addressing myself today solely to those readers who are fortunate enough to own a Ford 9N or 2N tractor. As I do. You’ll know by now that if this tractor has a drawback, it lies in the hydraulic three-point-hitch. The hitch was designed in the late 1930s, and it was designed for about one thing only, and that was plowing. To that end, the hitch operates in a draft-sensing mode only. It has no position-control mode, and so it’s not possible to set the height of the hitch at a given position and have it stay there. In less than 10 years, Ford realized that a position control mode would greatly expand the potential of their tractor. When they introduced the model 8N in 1948, they equipped it with a very accomplished position-control mode as well as the same draft-control system of the models 9N and 2N. Once that became available, all sorts of implements became available which took advantage of that function – back-blades, terracers, mowers, tillers, and so forth. Those who owned 9N and 2N models were left at a disadvantage when it came to using those implements. To use an implement that requires constant height, the operator is obliged to rig some sort of height-sustaining hardware – limiter chains, stay bars, or something of the sort. This can be very unsatisfactory. The only other alternative has been to find a junked 8N tractor and exchange the entire hydraulic system. All the parts interchange between the two models, but the system was so much modified to add the position control that the entire hitch system, including the pump, must be exchanged. Some enterprising inventors have modified the 9N/2N to add position-control mode. But their modifications have usually involved adding one or more remote cylinders and valves to the hitch system, and these modifications have usually disabled the standard draft-control mode. So, for fifty years, this shortcoming has been something that most owners have learned to live with. Enter Zane Sherman. Zane is a former Ford tractor mechanic, now retired, who lives in Talladega, Alabama. He’s not as “retired” as all that, and is still active in repairing tractors and other machinery. When I talked to him for this story, he told me how he got to thinking about how to address this shortcoming. “I had the idea one night when (I heard that) someone was going to spend $1,000 to put an 8N lift on his 9N so that he could have position control. I just sat back in my chair and thought of how the 8N system works by the pin following a cam that in effect changes the length of the control valve linkage internally. After about 4 hours of brain storming I came up with the way to change the length of the connection between the lift arms and the control valve to do the same thing in a 9N/2N system.” He built a prototype of his idea, and it worked every bit as well as he had thought it would, sitting in his chair. When other 9N/2N owners saw what he had achieved, they wanted one too, and so he made some more. One thing led to another, and now he’s making and selling these things as a regular business proposition. In tribute to his Southern heritage, he christened his invention “the Zane Thang”. When first I heard about his invention, I was frankly skeptical. After all, I figured, people had been thinking about this for 50 years, and hadn’t come up with a solution. But after exchanging a couple of e-mails with Zane, and hearing that he offered a no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee, I took the plunge and bought one of his “Thangs” for my 2N. Folks, my suspicions were unfounded, and I’m not ashamed to say so. Zane’s invention does indeed add position control to a 9N or 2N, exactly as he says it does. It installs on the tractor in 10 minutes with hand tools only. Another 10 minutes of adjustment gives perfect operation – the hitch can be set at any position in its travel and it will stay there. It will automatically compensate for leak-down in the hitch hydraulics. There are no changes or modifications whatever to the tractor, and it can be removed in 10 minutes. If draft-control mode is desired, it can be restored in a matter of seconds using one wrench. The “Zane Thang” is made of high-quality materials throughout – all the metal parts are stainless steel, and other parts are precision-machined from engineered plastics. It’s built strong to last long, and includes provision for adjustment to take up wear and variations in hitch performance. And it’s sold, as I said, with a no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. I don’t make a habit of endorsing products, but this is one about which I have no reservations. It performs exactly as advertised, it’s American-made and it’s the product of American ingenuity. It represents exactly the sort of inventiveness and entrepreneurial spirit that makes this country such a great place. If you’ve been bothered by this shortcoming in your tractor, I urge you to consider this alternative. You won’t regret it. Contact Zane Sherman direct at wzsherman@aol.com Have a great day! llater, llamas
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