4000 3cyl hours

How much real importance does hours have on a tractor? If a 70's 4000 8spd has rolled over 10,000 + but everything works and doesn't smoke.....is there life left as a whole even if engine was rebuilt along the way? Are there some quick checks that can be made on site to reveal not so obvious inherent issues on this model? How difficult to get to plugs to check compression on 4000? What is acceptable pressure? I know my 8ns and 600's pretty well, but this is unfamiliar territory except for this board and shows. Sorry for the multiple questions....but your input is as always...appreciated. TP

The 4000 3 cylinder tractor is very well built. If the engine is a 201 cu in, it is 1/2 of the 401 diesel. I have a F 8000 diesel with about 11,000 hours that runs well and has never given us any serious trouble. The 3 cylinder uses the same pistons, rods, and crankshaft dimensions for the mains and conn rods. For the Hp output of the 3 cylinder, it is way overbuilt. I have no experience with the gasoline version of this engine, but have been told it is the same basics as the diesel version. As with anything this age, it is possible some PO mistreated it by running out of oil or antifreeze.

The rest of the tractor is quite robust as well. It has planetary final drives with wet brakes. The power steering may have problems as the steering assist cylinders are beneath the drag links and may have some damage from something hitting them. The power steering pump may be weak at this age.

Other people like Rod in NS or Bern know this tractor much better than I do, and can give better advice. My son has a 4600 and I have worked on it trying to eliminate some of the extreme abuse problems caused by PO.

Good Luck

Paul in MN

The bottom end is bullit proof 4000 gas seam to have short ring life. The disels didn't seam to have that problem. The other 3 cyl gas engines with a smaller bore seam to be ok. With that many hours I'd bet the rings have been replaced.

I pretty much agree with Paul. I have a '73 4000 with the 201 gasoline engine and it is a brute. Most everything on it is overbuilt for the hp that it puts out. I have no idea how many hours mine has, as the proof meter cable was busted when I got it. I don't really care, but I assume that it's way more than what the proof meter says. It was a state highway mower for the first 15 years of its life, so I figure it was run at least 5 to 8 hours a day, 5 days a week in the nicer weather for those 15 years, which would be at least 4000 hours or so, but when I got it the meter only had 1710 hours on it. The guy I bought it from got it from the second owner, and he didn't have much information about the person he bought it from, but he claims that he only used it to clear a 2 acre field twice a year with the brush hog that came with it for the 10 years that he owned it. So I figure that it probably has anywhere from 5000 to 8000 hours on it, and the engine runs like it's new.

The only thing Paul mentioned that probably doesn't apply is the part about the power assist steering cylinder. The 4000's only had an external cylinder from 1965 through July of 1970, and then switched to a system that had the cylinder internal to the steering column in August of 1970, so if it is a "70's 4000" as you say, then it likely has the later power steering setup if it has power steering.