''72 3000

Looking to buy a tractor for my little homestead. Need it for mowing, garden and food plot work, and road maintenance.

I'm looking at a '72 3000 gas burner with power steering and a 5' bushog included. In good overall shape, barn kept. No obvious abuse. Rear tires may need replacing fairly soon (a lot of cracks/dry rot evident). Front tires are fairly new. Starts easily, runs good, everything seems to work except the lights. Showing about 2200 hours. Priced at $5000 with the bushog, I think it can be bought cheaper, maybe around $4000-$4200.

Owner has had it 15 years or so and mowed with it for a long time, then went to a new zero-turn lawnmower. He says after it has run for 30 minutes or so it develops a miss. Any ideas on the cause of that? I guess I want to know if that sounds like an easy fix or "sounds expensive."

Pros and cons of this tractor model? Any guidance appreciated.

Ken

Sparkplugs? usually shows up sooner. When were valves adjusted? Fuel screen plugged, there is 4 of them. suspect one in fuel pump. behind gen/alt. Talk down on price.

Welcome to the forum.
I like my 3000s. What transmission does it have? Lots of options.
The trans would have a lot to do with price and opinion on my part.
A miss after 30 minutes would be a guess at best.
Maybe points, plugs, carb, fuel flow?
If it runs the first 30 minutes without smoke or other issues, it
may not be an expensive repair.
Tires are an expensive repair though, so take that into account.
Price seems a little high for my area, but I don't know where you
are located. That may be different in your area.

It has the 8 sp. manual trans. I'm suspecting a good tune up would help a lot, it's been sitting up with very little use for 3-4 years. A buddy who's a pretty good mechanic and works at a forklift dealership wondered if it might be a valve adjustment issue... does that make any sense?

Tires are gonna cost me what, $400 each? Don't want any China bombs.

Thanks for the replies already.
Ken

What do you think would be a reasonable offer to make on it? I like to go with cash in hand prepared with a mental maximum price I want to pay.

tires are your least worry. My 2600 has tires with some dry cracks, doesn't bother a thing. look at the rims around the valve stems and see if they are rusted.

Maybe the coil is breaking down when it gets hot.

I think the asking price is a bit high for a gasser. I bought a 70 model 4000 with 2117 actual hours according to the owner. 55 HP diesel. The proofmeter was still working and it was mechanically sound, so no reason to doubt. Sheet metal and fenders in bad shape due to a lifetime of sitting outside. Tires severly dry rotted, but good tread. I assumed they were good for several more years, WRONG. I missed a slit in the right rear that had been glued back together. It popped the first time mowing. The other still holding up well. New 13.6x38 with tube and replacement ballast was right at $1000. The guy was asking $4900, but I hauled it away for $3300 cash. Not bad for a 55 HP diesel. I made a list with est cost of bad items: Tires, PTO brake, sheet metal, fenders, no lights, etc. Still came out a good deal.

Remember, a 55 HP diesel has a higher market value than a 45 HP gasser. I would guess $3000-$3500 is more realistic for a good servicable machine, less if any repairs are required. The brush hog can be had for $300 at equipment auctions, if you want to factor that in. Diesels have a much higher resale value than gassers in general, with dealers getting more than individual sales. You need to do some homework on what similar size tractors with similar options are bringing in your area, not asking price, then offer 25% less than the average in cash. Greenbacks can be a huge closer on a deal. If possible, take a good mechanic with you. Their advice is well worth the small fee for evaluating the tractor. Be patient. There are lots of the 70's model 3000, 4000, and 5000 on the market now, and you can find a real bargain if you are willing to do some work on them and resource out of your local area. Tractors generally ship for $1.80 a mile, but I would not purchase a used one without a personal inspection. Too many sidewinders today.

Rear tires are very expensive. But you
can drive them till they literally fall
off the rim which might be years yet.
Never, EVER trust the hours on a 1965-75
Ford tractor unless you drive it long
enough to see it click over with your own
eyes.
The tach and hour meter were notoriously
failure prone.
It sounds like a decent tractor. Price is
a bit high - especially with poor tires.
$4K would be better but most of us here
are bottom feeders and wont buy unless
it's nearly scrap price
They are great, small tractors.
Gas or diesel are equally desirable. Some
parts of the country prefer diesels.
Other parts, epecially cold country, like
gassers. If the miss doesn't show up for
30 minutes I would suspect
spark/coil/wiring problems and would not
be afraid of it. If it missed at start up
I would suspect something worse.
It would be nice to know if it has Live
PTO or not. Live PTO is a very desirable
option and adds value.
Only way to tell is to look on the top,
right corner of the transmission/bell
housing - just above and to the rear of
the starter.
You will see some HAND STAMPED numbers
there. Each number/letter means
something.
If yours has LPTO one line of code should
read C1023C. Write that down and bring it
with you.
There might be a foil tag under the hood
with that info on it too but often it is
unreadable. See photo for example of hand
stamped numbers.
Lots of wild numbers about horsepower get
thrown around. A 3000 gasser was rated by
the Nebraska Test - the Gold Standard of
tractor testing - at about 38 or 39 NET
(useable) horsepower.
Click on the link below for the facts.
I have had a 3000 for 16 years. Have
owned a couple 4000s too but the 3000 is
still my go to tractor for mowing,
plotting, road maintenance, moving snow,
etc.


nnalert Nebraska Test

$400 per tire is probably pretty close,
for a 13.6x28 ... but add more $$ for
tubes and labor. I had new 16.9x30's put
on my 4600 earlier this year, they were
just over $800 each, with tubes and
labor. Tubes for mine were $110 each.

Thanks for the shared wisdom, gents. Appreciated.
Ken

If it's just the tractor then $3500.00 would be a fair price around here in Southeast PA. If it's got a mower on the back, then $300.00 to $500.00 more depending on the size, quality and condition of the mower. Most folks around here sell implements separately because they generally bring a higher price then when they're bundle3d with a tractor. I don't know why, but a 5 foot rotary mower that would sell for $500.00 on its own only seems to add about $300.00 to the selling price of a tractor when sold together.

But location does have a lot to do with price. If old Ford tractors are selling for more in your area then that may be a fair price for where you are. In the older tractor market JDs generally bring more money around here. Most people around here these days seem to want a newer used CUT or SCUT. JD & Kubota bring the highest price on those, followed by New Holland and then there's quite a drop off in price for the also-rans.

Firstly new tyres across the pond are nearly double
to uk which is no help at all... the asking for tractor
price does seem a bit on the high side !
When or if you do buy it the first thing to do is do a
Complete service ... spark plugs,leads, distributor
cap, rotor arm , condenser coil.. oil and filter ,air
filter
and see what happens
Misfire after half hour could be valves but check
cooling system is good
Could modern fuel be a problem for older engines