Kyle Mac

New User
Hey Guys,

Looking for some advice on what to look for when buying a 3000 and if the tractor im looking at is a good deal or not. Ive owned an old Ford 8N for a little while and am looking for something a little newer with a few more add ons and power of course. Going to be using it for snowblowing and work around the property. Its advertised as a 1967 Ford 3000 Diesel 3 Cyl 47 HP. Comes with a agro trend 6ft blower, which has only be used a handful of times and was bought 3 years ago from brand new. Has live PTO and 8 speed trans, that's about all the info ive gotten so far and the only thing that has been a concern to me is the hours, it has 7000 hours on it, now I could be totally wrong here as I don't know much about the diesels but is ths considered high hours? I know the diesels usually last a long time but don't really know what kind of hours would be high? what should I be looking out for? tractor has new battery,starter and block heater last year and apparently runs great, they said they would take $4500 Canadian for it wth the blower, what do you guys think?


mvphoto43617.png
 
Long post. Random thoughts:
$4500 CA = $3370 US
so to begin with the tractor with the
blower is a pretty good to very good
price. I don't know the brand of blower
but you rarely (never?) see a decent 2
stage blower here for under $1K US.
The HP rating is off by about 10.
According to the Nebraska Tests a 3000
diesel should put about 38 hp out the
pto.
If it is actually 7K hours on the proof
meter that is about as high as I have
ever seen one of those tachs go.
The 65-75 tachs/proof meters were
notoriously failure prone and rarely
registered over 3-4000 hours before
going kaput. My guess is it doesn't work
now and the tractor has more hours than
that.
Others here can tell you more about high
hours on a diesel than I but I think
with good maintenance a 3 cyl should go
10K before it needs overhauled. But at
that point it would need a complete
reman - bore and sleeve, crank ground,
major head work, etc. Also, there's the
pump and injectors to consider.
I would be asking if any engine or pump
work has been done to it.
You know enough about tires, clutches,
gears, working hyds, water in the oil or
oil in the water from owning an N to
inspect/inquire about those.
That model is a Very Good machine.
Pretty much bullet proof.
50 - 60% more HP than an N, plus you say
it has live PTO, much better/more gears,
live hyds, maybe differential lock and
it looks like power steering on it - all
on a platform not much bigger than an N.
I started on Ns and now have a 3000D and
would cry if I had to go back to an N.
And I wouldn't go back to a gasser
either. Diesels Stink and those 3 cyl
Fords are Noisy. But they don't have
points and carbs and bad gas to fool
with. They just run. They always run.
 

Condition is everything.

How does it start cold? does if fire right up? Do you have to crank it for a long time? do you have to give it ether to fire off?

When it fires off, does the exhaust clean up within seconds or blow white smoke for a long time or continuously? How does it sound and run?? How does it drive?

You can easily spend $4000 or more for an major engine replacement or rebuild, so engine condition is everything.

Diesels are harder to start in cold for snow removal, but an engine/block heater solves that problem if you can park the tractor close to power.

If the tractor starts good, and check out good, I would not worry about hours. On the other hand if it barely runs, wont start, missing gears, needs a clutch, pours oil and hydraulic fluids everywhere, your better off passing.
 

It's unusual for the smaller hp tractors like that one to accumulate that many hours without engine work but it does happen.
Ask if any work has been done.
That model has the Sims inline injection pump, ask if the oil as been changed in the pump, if not I'd be concerned about the pumps condition.
If it actually does have 7000 hours with no work done to the engine, at minimum it'll need a set of injectors soon.

After enlarging the photo I don't see a power steering pump so I'm going to say it does not have power steering.

If the snow blower is worth $1K US then the tractor is only $2370 US, that's cheap for that model, but if the inj pump needs work you'll be into it for what it's worth, if the engine needs work you could be a little upside down in it but would have a fresh engine that will last for years.
If the engine's tired and the oil hasn't been changed in the inj pump I'd walk away.
 
If the snow has any depth or packing to it, be prepared to use the clutch a lot.

The normal reverse gears in really old Fords (like N series) would give the Starship Enterprise a run for its money at warp 7. If it had the Sherman step up? Forget about it. Just close your eyes and pray you stop in time.

The 3000 has two reverse gears. High range is even faster than an N. Low range would be about as fast as an olympic sprinter wearing ankle weights...

I've used a six foot, two stage blower behind an IH856 back home growing up. Even with eight reverse gears and a torque amplifier, if you were going through a packed drift, you would be clutching a lot.

If you're just skimming six inches of fluffy stuff off of the driveway, you'll be fine.
 
It's a very early 3000 but it does have one of the good transmissions.

That's a BIG blower for any 3000.

Do not see power steering.

PTO HP is more like 38.

7,000 hours! Hard to believe.

Dean
 


I have had a couple of 3000s come through with 8 to 9k on the tach... both ran well but showed silicon gasket compound on the oil pan and other spots,, Meaning that some work had been done.

SO.. the high hours is more hard to believe that the tach still worked long enough to show those hours, than the fact the tractor lasted long enough...
 
I agreed and thought the same dean, but I asked for a picture of the proofmeter and there is 7000 on it, seems from all the replies ive got yes the diesels are great and last a long time but there is gonna be some much needed service pretty soon, also since I will be using it for a lot of snowblowing this trans and tractor may not be the one I want from what some are saying, 2 speeds is better than one like on my N but I still see how that could be either to fast or too slow.
cvphoto38616.png
 
Thanks lastcowboy, I guess I was looking at this as being used to the N and only having warp speed in reverse and a trans powered PTO, so yes it would be an upgrade but still not what I need, we get a lot of snow dec-march and sometimes the drifts get up to 3-4 feet, most of the time im blowing at least 6-12 inches and don't wanna get the tractor if its not gonna do what I want.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, opened my eyes up a bit more about these 3000's as I don't now much about them, so the question is for what I need the tractor for should I be looking at something else? would there be a better model for what I need to do? which is blowing mainly, im not running a farming operation but do a lot of work around the property and would like to get some implements in the future as well (backhoe, bucket etc) any ford or JD tractor im more than happy to look at, seems like the revers gears in the 3000 for blowing may not work as I want? blowing 3-4 foot drifts sometimes, anyways any suggestions would be great.
 
I had a new 6 foot ford snow blower on my 3000 that came with the tractor, I tried to use it on my gravel parking lot, it kept breaking sheer pins from picking up gravel.
 
(quoted from post at 22:39:57 10/10/19) I agreed and thought the same dean, but I asked for a picture of the proofmeter and there is 7000 on it, seems from all the replies ive got yes the diesels are great and last a long time but there is gonna be some much needed service pretty soon, also since I will be using it for a lot of snowblowing this trans and tractor may not be the one I want from what some are saying, 2 speeds is better than one like on my N but I still see how that could be either to fast or too slow.
<img src="https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto38616.png">

Again, how does it run... the service may have already been completed.


NEVER NEVER buy a tractor with out seeing how it starts cold and runs.... Tachs can be replaced, swapped out, or a used tach off ebay with high hours on it, can be swapped on to a low hour tractor. Or a low hour tach put on a high hour engine. Theses engines can last 10,000 hours before overhaul,, I have seen a few go 12000 hours. On the other hand I have seen tractors with 3000 hours already have an overhaul...

so again... NEVER NEVER buy one with out inspecting it first.
 
(quoted from post at 20:43:35 10/10/19) Thanks lastcowboy, I guess I was looking at this as being used to the N and only having warp speed in reverse and a trans powered PTO, so yes it would be an upgrade but still not what I need, we get a lot of snow dec-march and sometimes the drifts get up to 3-4 feet, most of the time im blowing at least 6-12 inches and don't wanna get the tractor if its not gonna do what I want.

It all depends on what your goals are. A newer tractor with more reverse gears will cost you more cash.

This 3000 will get the blower through a big drift, but you will have to use the clutch to feather it, even in low range reverse.
I would dare say that high range reverse will never be used when actually blowing snow. High range reverse on a 3000 is FAST! Possible issues with a lot of clutch feathering are:

1. Check the clutch height for comfort. Sit on the seat, put the tractor in reverse, turn around like you're watching the blower and try to feather the clutch. Is this comfortable? I know that, on my 3000, the clutch is very high, and it is tough on my hips/knees to feather the clutch, especially if I am turned sort of sideways in the seat and watching an implement behind me. Fortunately, I use my 3000 to run a haybine or baler, which does require me to feather the clutch while turned around all that often.

A snowblower would be a different animal. In a drift, you may sit there, looking backwards, with your foot on the clutch for a long time.

If you look at the tractor, see how that feels. It depends greatly on what the clutch height is.

2. The clutch will wear more quickly.


I don't bring this up to say, "Don't buy the tractor."

I bring this up as things to look out for.

The clutch may not be that uncomfortable to you, and clutches for these tractors aren't extremely expensive to replace.

It's all about tradeoffs. If you want a newer tractor with a hydrostatic transmission or more reverse gears with 38PTO horsepower, it's going to cost you quite a bit more than the 4800 you're looking at for the 3000.

Good luck either way.
 
My former Ford dealer switched to Orange tractors. Sells about 500 units per year, from lawn
tractors to full-size. I bought a 15 year old L5450 that had been used hard and overhauled. It came with a loader, and worn out tires. I put new ones on the front and leave it in 4x4. Been satisfied for 10 years. It has 8 speeds forward and reverse, with an oil-cooled instant reversing clutch, operated up by the steering wheel. But, it cost me $10K. I hardly use my 3000 for anything now, but I liked it a lot, too. Especially the on-off effort. Whisper quiet running is nice, but the new gas gives troubles if you don't keep it fresh.
 
(quoted from post at 20:48:29 10/10/19) Thanks for the replies guys, opened my eyes up a bit more about these 3000's as I don't now much about them, so the question is for what I need the tractor for should I be looking at something else? would there be a better model for what I need to do? which is blowing mainly, im not running a farming operation but do a lot of work around the property and would like to get some implements in the future as well (backhoe, bucket etc) any ford or JD tractor im more than happy to look at, seems like the revers gears in the 3000 for blowing may not work as I want? blowing 3-4 foot drifts sometimes, anyways any suggestions would be great.

As for something else in the Ford/John Deere brands to look at?

The only one that I have experience with is a JD1520.

The snowblower on the farm that I grew up on was six feet and often, like I said, behind an International 856; which is nearly 100horsepower.

But, dad also had a John Deere 1520; which was also sometimes put on the snowblower when the 856 was being used on the manure spreader. The 1520 was equipped with a 146 loader and chains. When the blower was on the back, you had a decent, well balanced machine that could blow snow backwards and plow/pile snow forwards.

The 1520 still only had two reverse gears, a high and low; but they are a little slower.

The 1520 was also a gasser; so it started well in the winter; while the 856 was a big old diesel and needed to be plugged in overnight, a sniff of ether, or both.

A 1520 is about 10 more PTO horsepower than a Ford 3000 and a little heavier for traction.
 

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