6000 SOS

Hope to attempt getting a 1963 6000 diesel running this week, shoved it in the barn with the driveline disconnected. If it runs again, any advice on what to watch for far as the SOS is concerned? Story is trans was worked on years ago, then tractor sat in a barn unused for awhile after owner fell ill. If it does shift/drive OK, is there any special care it should get to keep it working as it should? If it is a dud, I'll probably part or scrap it after selling the new rear tires..

If the SOS was working when it was parked, it should work now. Check the oil level and condition first, and that's about it for the tranny.

You didn't say how long it's been sitting, however if it's been more than a few years, check to make sure the rack in the injection pump is not stuck like mine was. If I had tried to start it the way it was, it would have been a runaway for sure. I ended up going completely through the pump - I had to pull the governor weights off of the cam with a puller.

Thanks, Bern. I'm finishing the injection pump now, it had some broken plunger feet and needed governor weight kit and cam bearings. Replaced the pump elements with retard start notch assemblies for easier cold starting. Question about the SOS, was there a particular common part or parts failure on the early first models? I've seen talk of the "B" carrier failures, but have never heard of any around here, and the local Ford dealer did sell a few..

It is fairly common for the cam assembly that opens the valves to get sticky after setting. The vales are cam opened, but spring return. I have seen more than one SOS headed for the scraper that just need a wack on the side of the tranny just in front of the inching pedal to pop them loose. I have only seen this problem when cold. My old 6000 did this for years until I used it enough to loosen everybody up. If it runs ok, but stalls as soon as you take it out of park most times this is the problem.

I'm not aware of anything specific that you should watch out for. The really early versions of the 6000 were recalled by the factory and updated with various improved parts. A '63 model should already have the newer pieces installed I would think. The only thing I would be fearful of on the SOS is a stripped input shaft and/or torque limiting clutch. Unfortunately, short of splitting the thing there's no way you can tell what kind of condition they're in, and it won't give you any warning until one day it decides to stop moving.

I noticed that my injection pump did not have the retard notches in the plungers, but that's OK by me - it won't be a daily driver. My cam bearings were badly pitted, so I replaced those. There was minor rust pitting on the cam lobes, but it's good enough for what it's for. I've got it on my pump stand right now doing the calibrations. Do you have as much trouble as I do getting the levels near perfect? What tolerance do you allow?

If you want to talk to someone that really knows those transmissions its Leroy Printz in Luray VA owns Page County Implement.Real nice fellow I'm sure he'd be glad to answer any questions
you'd have.

While it's good to try, inline pumps seldom are perfect at both full load and idle delivery. The Simms P4573 is set at 800 RPM, 51-52 CC, plus or minus 2 CC per the specs. The Commander is 53-54 CC, and idle set is 250 RPM 15 CC plus or minus 2.5 CC. I prefer the idle to be set closer than the full load, so I try for 15 CC at 400 RPM with 1.5-2 CC spread. CAV and Simms all have ridiculously low idle test plan settings, and I got tired of hearing customers complain of always having to set the idle up compared to other pump makers. One thing that helps on Simms equal delivery is to number scribe mark each fork, remove them all and check how each plunger foot fits in it's own fork. I like .005-.010 clearance, and close any wide forks slightly in a vise if needed. It does take some time, but they will flow closer, and really helps more on the larger plunger sizes.
My tractor is stamped 61106-5, and SN is 12221, looks like maybe an early 1963? I plan on splitting it and checking the input drive you mentioned for any severe wear, I'd rather know for sure than be stranded, and I suffer from tinkeritus disease anyway..

My Commander came with the P4573 pump on it. Are you saying that's for the older series 6000? I asked my local pump shop for specs on a P4573 pump, and the number I got back was 53.0 to 54.0 mm3/stroke @ 800 RPM. I then used a conversion chart to translate that to 10.70 cm3/200 shots. Does that sound right to you?

Thanks for the tip on squeezing down those rack collars. If I ever do another one, I might just do that. I've never taken the rack out of those pumps before, as I've never had a reason to do so in the past, however now that you mention the clearance between the collar and the plunger finger, you've now given me a reason to take it apart and check it closer.

I can't help you on the serial number, I don't have any info on that era of serial numbers. Mine is a C1xxxxx number, so it's definitely a '65-up Commander.

What did you think of my old dinosaur test stand? It works great!

That stand brings back good memories of the fuel shop I used to work in, all stands were Hartridge. Over the years we used a 650, 1100, 1100 MK2, 850, 400, 700, and 2500. The 1100 series we had very good service from. Whenever I attended a Bosch service school I had to learn on all Bosch stands. Still use an old Bacharach here, I still prefer the older mechanical stands even though they are not as fast. For years I've had the habit of shutting down any stand at 200 pump RPM, so any repaired pump starts out slow. The electronic 2500 thyrister drive was acting up years ago, and would not hold the speed it was set for at times during use and/or startup. After it went past 1500 a couple times on startup had the drive board sent out for repair, think it was just over five grand. CAV and SIMMS likes 200 shot count, most times I still use 500 shot for more accurate readings even though it takes longer.
Have another 6000 question, ever seen a diesel with NO flywheel timing marks? I could not find ANY, even removed the starter and turned/cleaned through there too. Just as I decided to call it a day I did notice a pointer by the front pulley. Will clean it and see if there's anything there. There's a hole in the flywheel cover plate, but no marks on the front or edge by the ring gear..

My stand has got to be 30 plus years old, but it works great. It doesn't have many hours on it. Even the shot counter works great - at 800 pump RPM it takes exactly 15 seconds to collect a 200 shot sample.

The hole in the plate ahead of the flywheel is simply to allow you to stick a screwdriver inside and turn the engine over via the ring gear teeth. It will be slow going, but it's about the only way you can turn the engine over by hand short of pulling the starter out. The front pulley has a pump drive coupler on it that does not allow you to turn it by the front pulley.

Speaking of the front pulley, that's where you'll find the timing marks. You may need to grab some emery cloth and scratch off some dirt and paint first, as the marks are not real deep. Also, make sure that the rubber in your dampner is in good shape, or else the marks will be largely useless. Also, be careful about parallax when you're looking at the pointer. Ford didn't do a very good job of getting the pointer close to the edge.

The 6000 serial numbers were part of the same sequential serial numbers used for other series at the time they were being produced. Prior to 1965 they were in the same sequence as the prior 2000/4000 series, and 1965+ they were in the Cxxxxxx sequence along with the 3 cylinder 2000/3000/4000 series.