Few questions about an old tractor I aquired from my Dad

Hello, I recently acquired an old tractor from my Dad. After reading this forum quite a bit, I believe it is a 49 Harry Ferguson TO-20. The serial number is right under the front of the steering wheel. It reads TO-13846 Harry Ferguson INC. Detroit Mich. USA. The starter switch is the gear shifter. After checking the fluids, installing a battery and giving the carberator a good cleaning, to my surprise it started right up. It actually sounds very good and drives good. It has a few issues though. First the PTO shaft vibrates and the seal leaks. After reading several post, I went ahead and pulled the bolts and after some pretty rough persuasion pulled the shaft out, and sure enough it has a twist on the spline on the inside. I would like to know what it would cost to buy a new one along with the seal. The other problem was that the 3 point lifts and will not go down until after some time to bleed down. After looking at several post on here I pulled the inspection plate and sure enough the Vert. Fork was not connected to the control valve T. I reconected it and It worked like it should for about 5 or 6 times. Then it fell off again. Is there a clip or something that is supposed to hold it on? Or is something worn that I need to replace? (Linkage, Contol Fork, or Valve?) I would like to know for sure what tractor this is before I started buying parts for it. Thanks, Karl

You are correct it is a 1949 Ferguson TO 20. For prices look at the top left of this page under Marketplace then click on Tractor Parts then follow through and they will have pictures, description and prices. I am surprised you was able to pull it with a twist in it. With the hydraulics I will let some one else explain as I haven't had the good fortune to have to do anything with them as yet.

Welcome to the forum, sounds as if you did your homework, there's an abundance of info on here, I too was an owner of a 49 to20, all my troubles were with oil in water and not the lift, this model is easy to crack in cold weather, good luck solving and someone has your fix forthcoming.

It"s a TO20. You can replace the pto shaft easily with new seals and bearing, and bearing retainer for $100+/- and have a 1-3/8" shaft instead of the OEM 1-1/8" shaft. Look at the part folks on this site and on ebay. Shafts are easy to find and easy to replace.
As far as the control fork coming off the control valve, I"d suspect the control valve stem ends are worn or corroded or the fork is worn or corroded and possibly bent open. If you drained the fluid from the hydraulic compartment you should e able to examine those parts and see what happened. Did the retention device on the control valve come off so that the crosspiece comes off the valve or did the cross piece come out of the control fork? Or is the control valve stuck?

2tractors said "this model is easy to crack in cold weather"

Not trying to steal this thread but other new owners, like myself may be curious as to what 2Tractors means by his comment. Crack what? And what to not do? I'm a new owner and winter will be here shortly.

Cracked blocks can happen if you son"t prepare for cold weather which can happen ro NY water cooled engine, But many PEOPLE forget about the hydraulic system which could have enough water from lEAKge from the gear ahift lever opening if the tractor is left outside a lot. The water could cause the pump ro fracture and the cast iron parts can be hard to find sometimes

Phil(WA)

Changing the size of the pto shaft all depends whether you wish to use the belt pulley. On my TEA I changed the pto to the larger size to fit my implements but now I want to operate a sawbench, the larger shaft is too big for the belt pulley. Fortunately I kept the other shaft.

Just something that should be stored away,in there.

He may be referring to "Phil Fenner's " post.

Karl,

As the others have said you do have a TO-20. From My parts tractor I have a few items that will help the issues you describe. (PTO shaft, and seal) as well as a control fork yoke. The later models had these to fix the issue you describe of the fork coming off. E-mail me and I can send you some pictures of the yoke.

Jeff

Bendee

Don't want to hijack this thread but:

Changing the size of the pto shaft all depends whether you wish to use the belt pulley. On my TEA I changed the pto to the larger size to fit my implements but now I want to operate a sawbench, the larger shaft is too big for the belt pulley. Fortunately I kept the other shaft.

Click to expand...

No problem at all. You need to build a simple "cage" that goes between the tractor diff housing and the belt drive unit, the cage being just large enough to accommodate a spline adapter, 1 3/8" female to 1 1/8" male. I have a photo and dimensions somewhere but think they may be in my old computer. I think John (UK) sent them to me but I know he also has a the photo and dimensions.

If you need details email me [email protected]

Bob in Oz
'53 TEA20

No i posted prior to Phil, from what I've experiened with mine and with what I've read on this forum, the continental engines are prone to cracking so I was attempting to give a new owner a heads up.

I am sure he was referring to the Continental engines vulnerability to block cracking in the cold weather with out proper antifreeze and also the same cracks can happen if they get to hot, these did not come with temperature gauges so that is a good item to think about installing.

There is also a great deal of valuable information on this website.
FENA

Jerry The Valve moved freely and the T was still on the valve. The linkage just wont stay on the T. Think I will see if I can just get the T. Can I just pull the valve all the way out and maybe replace the T or does it only go so far out and stop? Maybe I can find new bottom piece of linkage and replace them. The linkage seem to move arround kinda sloppy. I appreciate all the feedback

when you go to the down position on the control lever find out at what point it lets the arms go all the way down. if you have the stop clamp put it where the lever cant go past that point. my to20 did the same thing till i realized it was traveling too far and pulling the yoke off. once you dont go too far it will never come off again.

Thanks for the info John, That makes sense. I will Give that a try. I was thinking that the stop might have been a stop spot where it would not raise or lower the 3 point. But if it would keep it from falling apart, That would be great with me.

Hey Jeff, Thanks for your input. I looked in your profile to try and get your email address but it wasnt showing. I also tried to pm you but it was showing pm under construction. If you get a moment, give me a hollar at [email protected] I would like to see the pictures of what you have. Thanks again, Karl

If I understand what you said, the control fork ("H" shaped piece hanging vertically)is the problem. It must be sperad open or other wise loose on the control valve "T". The TO-30"s have a "stabilizer fork" Part #182 160 M1 that goes along with the TO-30 control fork (180 882 M91) that keeps the fork spreading. If you could find those parts, that woul most likely fix your problem.

The e-mail address shows up in the classic view, for what ever reason it does not show in the modern view.

Jeff
TE20Ferguson aol.com

A simple fix for your problem with the control fork falling off the
'T' of the valve is to tie the legs of the fork together with wire and
twist up tight with pliers. This can be done through the side
inspection holes,but be careful to get the PTO lever in correctly!
Sam