Opinion on ford 4000

laverack88

New User
Hello everyone, new to posting but have always looked here for opinions. i have owned a few tractors, 8n, Ferguson 30, a jubilee. i recently acquired a early 60's 4000 62 or 63 with the select o speed. seems to be a decent tractor minus a few things. my 2 big concerns. 1 theres a sluggish delay off the pedal going into forward gear or reverse. it hesitates and then it's there right at the end of the pedal.if i let pedal out all the way quickly it takes a second to catch and go. shifts fine after initial take off. my 2nd issue is im nervous about the trans. i planned on finding a 703 front loader for it to do some light work with and i have 10 acres i rotary cut. i got it loving the idea of finally having live hyd sense my jubilee ( first tractor i owned ) and power steering. plus the larger duty tractor. i dont have anyone really in my area that still works on select o speeds and i'm very mild with mechanics very basic stuff. i see some posts about guys swapping out the select o speed. im wondering 1 if its truley worth it for me. 2 all what i need to swap out. and 3 a round about figure cash wise what it would take to complete. i found someone who posted a early 4000 5 speed for sale. includes the tranny, dual stage clutch, flywheel and spacer plate. i know the pto shaft is different but i believe there might be more needed?

input would be great. other then those problems its a great tractor.
 
If you want to switch to a manual transmission and have a working PTO, the easiest way to go is to find a donor tractor with good manual transmission and working PTO and a blown engine and swap out the rear half. You can't just swap the transmission as there are parts inside the rear axle center housing of the manual trans tractor for the PTO linkage that aren't there in you S-O-S tractor because the independent PTO on your tractor is driven by a hydraulic clutch pack inside the transmission and the PTO in a manual trans tractor has a completely different mechanism for engaging and disengaging the PTO output shaft that is located in the rear axle center housing.
 

I wouldn't swap that beautiful SOS for any danged ole 5 speed.

Likely a sticky inching pedal valve making your transmission act the way it does. Make sure you have clean and proper oil in the transmission at the proper level and that your pickup screen is clean. If all else fails, the inching pedal valve and its bore may need to be polished.

As a worst case senario, you may need to replace the control valve body. That's a lot less expensive and much less time consuming than swapping to a 5 speed! I happen to have several NOS control valves in my possession.

Welcome to the forum, BTW! What exactly is your location.
 
Careful Larry.
I wrote that I would stop bashing your
beloved Select O Speeds - which I hate.
But that'll only hold if guys like you
don't bash the gear stick models.
And a transmission/rear end swap on one
of those tractors is pretty easy. Might?
take more time but only if you don't
count the hours a newbie has to spend
reading the SOS repair manual.
 


Laverack, my main work tractor is a '59 971. Just about the same thing as yours. Don't condemn the SOS until you get to know it and know that it has a problem. The inching pedal is NOT A CLUTCH! It is a valve control. It is working as it should.
 
Thanks for the reply's so far! Woke up this morning and was
wondering.... if i was jumping to worse case scenario to early.
Especially sense im not familiar with the trans. Haha Im
hoping to get some free time this week to give it a tune up,
buy some manuals. Change all the fluids and filters. Im in
upstate NY about an hour south of Albany. The guy who had
it for decades always kept it under cover or in the garage.
Which is a good start. What is everyone's thoughts about
throwing the 703 on it? I found one a few hours away thats
pretty decent few welds on one end of the cross member
above the bucket. But other then that complete and saw a
video of it working. I see everyone on here in the forms has
different opinions on tractor oils hate to open that can of
worms but for that tranny its probably going to worth my time
to do it with whatever is best. Ill upload a pic!
cvphoto988.jpg
 
Nice looking tractor. I've got a 1963 model with the 4 speed transmission. They are good tractors. I pull a Ford 101 two bottom 14 inch plow with mine in third gear through our thick Alabama red clay with no problems. It will cut 6 foot tall weeds with a 6 ft cutter all day.
 

By the time that tractor was built, the SOS was nearly bullet proof. It sounds to me as though you have a fairly minor problem that may or may not correct itself with some new oil and a little use.

Correct fluid spec for that transmission, when it was new, was Ford M-2C41. You may find that spec today, but you're more apt to easily find M-2C134D. Either of those spec'd oils will be great in your SOS.

703 will be a good match for that tractor. The weak point will be the front axle.

You'll need these two service manuals for your tractor:
Ford Service Manual
SOS Supplement Manual
 
That looks like a nice tractor with the hard to find weight ready front bumper. (as discussed in a previous long thread).
If the tranny oil is not crystal clear with no cloudiness I would change that first (maintenance) with quality oil and work it a while. It have sat a while and just need exercise.
 
Thanks! Ill beable to clean it up pretty good. This tractor has
been sitting like mentioned. I feel like i did okay with this buy ill
know more after all fluids and filters are changed. Thank you
for the manual numbers! Tractor has almost new rear tires
and outer rims. Came with a rear spare on a rim also new.
Came with the box blade that is attached in the pic above and
a bush hog 305 rotary cutter in really good shape. Plus the
rear weights For $2500.00 i felt like i couldnt go wrong. I
onow the front axle was mention as a weak point ive read that
in other threads as well. I dont plan on getting crazy with it.
But is it hard to find the heavy duty none adjustable front axle
for these? I dont have a NH dealer close buy 134. Ill bite the
bullet and take the drive unless someone has a good
recommendation of a different oil. I also notice the little i
moved it around on and off the trailer it seemed to be VERY
light in the front with the 305 on the back. Makes me realize i
need to get the front weights ASAP i have about an acre of.
very steep hill i cut.
cvphoto1006.jpg
 

You don't have to go to NH to find oils spec'd 134. Many brands of oils swill have good 134.

I'd tell you what I use, but unfortunately it's not available in your area anyway.

Sorry, I don't have the answer for your axle swap question.
 
Don?t write off your selectospeed until you get used to it and actually have a major problem with it. I agree with the other posts, a bit of maintenance and a bit of use is probably all that is needed at this point. If you get used to the tractor you may really like the transmission. I have a 3cyl 4000 SOS gas tractor and really like it.
 
Be advised that there is a filter beneath the top cover of your S-O-S transmission. This filter was unavailable for a few years but is now available again. Changing it requires that the top cover be removed. As a result, few of these filters have been changed in decades and have been in bypass mode for years.

DO NOT attempt to remove the top cover until you have read and understood the proper procedures in the correct S-O-S manual. All will be well if you follow the procedures precisely but expensive damage can occur if you do not.

Post back with questions.

Dean
 
Nice 4000.

PS, S-O-S, remote hydraulics, pie weight discs and adapters, all the goodies.

Dean
 
It's an hour's drive each way for me to get to my "local" New Holland dealer, and their oil is expensive. I can be at CarQuest in 10 minutes. This is what I've been using for several years now.

cvphoto1048.jpg


cvphoto1049.jpg
 
Not much I can add to what the others said, but that is a really nice example and it sounds like it would be in the best shape you could find in one of these, having been 1 or 2 owners. With that in mind, I would think this S-O-S transmission in it would be in good mechanical operating condition, aside from any maintenance work or adjustments, latter if any problems are noted, the manuals and folks here certainly can help with that. I would suggest getting the correct manual for this tractor, very good thing to have.

I had one of these for about 10 years, a 1964 model that was a former NYS thruway mowing tractor, it saw a ton of hours then and a fair amount when I had it. We did about everything with it on the farm, cut rake bale hay, snow removal, some tillage, lots of rotary mower cutting, mid mount sickle mowing and whatever else. It operated flawlessly and sure you may notice the hop when upshifting and or letting up on the inching pedal, this one was mild in that regard. We sold thousand series new with S-O-S transmissions and our mechanics were well versed in working on these. I did not see many in the shop, as was said, they were finally proven and even with those who were not so keen on maintenance, they held up very well from what I saw, and experienced with the one I ran.

With maintenance and care, given the speculation that it should be in decent condition with lots of hours left and then some, you'll more than likely get all the use and a lot more than you'll need.

If you add a loader, consider like may have been said already ( did not have time to read all posts thoroughly) the front axle, specifically the pivot pin assembly on this adjustable axle, and maybe even the spindles with heavy work. As much as this front end is not the best suited type for the application, it will hold up, but over time the wear to the pivot pin will be accelerated and that will be a maintenance item, longer you let it go, the worse it gets and they will run until they are very loose with excess free play. Also, given the way the S-0-S operates consider all the back and forth between R1 and or forward gears, when doing loader work. You have what appears to be an outstanding example of one of these, in my opinion, you may accelerate wear to it with a loader vs. leaving as is in which I would be very confident with the minimal maintenance, as is, should last you a very long time.

I was very fond of the '64 4000 because it had power steering, Independent PTO, 1 set of remote hydraulics etc., just an easy tractor to operate and was very stable on the hills, an LCG version would be even more so. I ran an 850 with a loader and a 6' rotary for 14 years, and while I did use the loader quite a bit, the only handy thing about it when mowing was being able to push a fallen tree out of the way. You may be $$$ ahead with a dedicated loader tractor, but entirely your call just the same, as having all in one is also beneficial, no doubt about that just the same.

Fluid, no matter what you do and how far you have go to get it, one thing is certain to keep it operating, use the correct modern equivalent and verify that it meets the correct specification for the S-O-S transmission, or get what CNH has that meets same.

If you put the wrong fluid in this transmission, it will fail soon after and this will be a time consuming costly repair. There is no taking chances with this, just wanted to make that clear.

Great looking tractor you have there, wish you the best of luck with it, I enjoyed the heck out of the '64 and would not hesitate to own one in the condition like yours !
 
Forgot to add, you said you have a steep hill to mow. Consider adding a Roll Over Protective Structure, and a seat with a seatbelt.
Turn it over on a hill, game over. Not a bad thing to have for safety reasons, I upgraded to a much newer ford/NH, main reason was that it has these features and that I have lost friends and even a cousin to roll overs. Neighbor over the ridge got bounced out of the seat of a 640 and went through the mower. It happened more than I thought, be safe at all costs !
 
The easiest way to add front weight is to find a set of wheel mounted weights. The "heavy" versions add about 100 Lbs. to each wheel, and with PS there is really no downside except for the need to remove the weights in order to remove the wheel if you have a flat or need to service the inside wheel bearing or grease seal.

Front wheel mounted weights can be found for sale from time to time but are not what I would call common.

I actually have a spare set that I'm planning to sell as I am divesting myself of most of my Ford tractors, parts and accessories, but you would need to be within driving range of Cincinnati for such transaction to work, as shipping of weights is cost prohibitive.

Dean
 
In 59 dad bought a 881 we put 4000 hrs of mostly field use pulling a plow or disk when it lost the coast gears. One year it was very dry and when cutting silage the crop was very uneven short on the high ground tall in the draws. The neighbors 70 John Deere and one row cutter would have to stop and change gears so they decided to put the little tractor on it. Because if the shift on the go the John Deere never was used on the cutter again. The Big problem now is parts for a 50-60 year old tractor. There is stuff that I can't get for my 91 7710. PS as a 19 year old I fixed the transmission.
 
Thank you everyone for the input and advice! Made sure
fluids were toped off ( all were at good levels to start) used it
for a half our or so just to see if i felt any difference with the
inching pedal and im actially liking it. I have to remember i
think its an inching pedal and slow and steady wins the race
haha. Going web shopping tonight to grab the things i need
for a full service. I did notice after running that the side block
cover or rod cover is slightly leaking so will be putting that on
the list. Thank you again to everyone. It made me way more
confident in my up-fit!
cvphoto1084.jpg
 
Well Dean, I'll bite since I'm not far from Cincinnati. And I've got a 64 4000. Got a 69 too I'd like to have weights for.

What do you have for weights? And how much? Just curious as much as anything.

Fred
 
I've sold all of my spare pie weight sets aside from some odd segments but do have one spare set (4 pieces) of front weights for 16" rims. This is the so-called "heavy" set, about 100 Lbs. per wheel.

Email is open on Classic if interested.

Dean
 
Yes, the so-called "heavy" weights must be removed to remove the wheel (the so-called "light" weights do not) but doing so is not difficult, especially if the correct, square headed attachment bolts are used.

I've done it many times and find it little more than an annoyance.

Dean
 

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