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I received a 1966 3000. After the Spring and most of the Summer season, the engine began to misfire. This resulted in an engine rebuild. Two things came out from this exercise: 1. Check the carburetor. The original carburetor on my tractor was a Holley. This is cast aluminum and very 'cheap'. As it turned out the whole interior of the carb disintegrated and the venturi nozzle was ingested into the intake manifold (the misfire was the nozzle getting stuck in the valve.) I replaced mine with a Zenith for about $350. 2. Watch out for GAS leaks near the carb. The carb is right over the coil. On mine, I had to replace all of the wiring leading to/from the coil as the gasoline had eaten away all of the coatings. From discussions with the 'old timers' around my community, this was a major cause of fires on the Ford. Again I am not an expert, but I value the opinion of my fellow farmers. 3. Take a flashlight and check the transmission and differential oil through the oil fill openings (there are two.) When I got the tractor, the oil was the color of cappucino. It turned out that the oil fill gaskets had deteriorated and there was about an 1/8" of water in the housings. I drained all the fluids before I started and replaced a lot of gaskets/seals. 4. Check to see if there is OIL seeping around the front timing cover. The oil seal is likely old and is probably leaking. This is not a difficult job to do, but it does take time. 5. Look at the wiring. I found that a family of mice had set up housekeeping in the housing around the gas tank. They had done a great job of eating all the coating off of the wiring. This again is a simple job, but time consuming. 6. Look for ANY oil/water seepage along the head, oil pan, oil filter. I had a few leaks which were nothing more than gasket and seal replacements, but this was discovered after I did the complete engine rebuild. 7. Look for leaks along ALL of the joints. The tractor is assembled from THREE main sections. The engine, the transmission, the differential/hydraulics. I found several leaks which were easily fixed by replacing seals. Since I had the tractor 'broken' apart, I figured what the heck, replace the seals. It's a small price to pay. 8. Since the tank had rust, it is possible that the fuel pump is jammed full. During the rebuild, I had to disassemble my pump, and empty ALL of the gunk from the pump chamber. To prevent this from happening, I put in a primary fuel filter right after the tank. I have already emptied a lot of sediment. Should make a big difference. 9. Keep in mind that this is a TOUGH tractor and it will be a faithful companion if treated well. I am pretty sure that in '65, Ford started using the heavier block and stronger engine components. BUT you will need to get the serial number and find out exactly WHEN this tractor was made. Mine has manual steering as well, and although it requires a strong hand to steer at times, I have found it to be a fine combination. Personally, it sounds like a great adventure! Have fun and let us know how it goes!
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