New to me Ford 5000

Shawn C

Member
I posted another question about tires, but I just bought a 1973 5000 diesel from a neighbor. Before I run it at all, I'm going to change the oil, oil filter, fuel filter, oil bath air filter, coolant, and replace worn out fan belt. On other tractors I've bought, I usually change the hydraulic and transmission fluids too, but I'm not sure if that's really necessary.

I'll also try to clean it up (oily steering column due to leak there, and normal oily buildup everywhere else), to check for other leaks.

What else would you all recommend to do right away? I don't have a shop manual yet, so I'm not sure about other filters or recommended maintenance, but I at least want to get the obvious things taken care of before I do any more with the tractor.

Thanks
 
(quoted from post at 16:45:16 12/16/22) I posted another question about tires, but I just bought a 1973 5000 diesel from a neighbor. Before I run it at all, I'm going to change the oil, oil filter, fuel filter, oil bath air filter, coolant, and replace worn out fan belt. On other tractors I've bought, I usually change the hydraulic and transmission fluids too, but I'm not sure if that's really necessary.

I'll also try to clean it up (oily steering column due to leak there, and normal oily buildup everywhere else), to check for other leaks.

What else would you all recommend to do right away? I don't have a shop manual yet, so I'm not sure about other filters or recommended maintenance, but I at least want to get the obvious things taken care of before I do any more with the tractor.

Thanks
'm not you, but I personally wouldn't spend my time and money on maintenance until I was satisfied that it functioned.
 
Agreed, so I don't want to go overboard. I did get it started without any trouble, and I was able to drive it home with a brush hog attached, so I know the PTO and three-point work. Mostly just want to get the oil and filter changed, since I'm sure that hasn't been touched in a while, and the oil level is too high. Just checking for anything else since I'm not at all familiar with this model.
 
When you change the engine oil, be sure to change the oil in the cam box of the injection pump. New to me 5000 is just a great thing to say because they are fantastic tractors.
 
Later Ford 5000 diesel has the CAV DPA rotary injection pump, no oil needed. The early Diesel engine used the Simms inline injection pump that needs the cam box oil changed like the engine oil does.
 
Dieseltech my 1974 Ford 5000 has the CAV DPA rotary injection pump as you described. Thank you for clarifying that. I knew you would know. You explained it to me in the past and help me out. I kinda figured his 1973 was probably the same as mine but was not sure. You know your stuff!
 

If the engine oil on the dip stick looks good run it, if not change it
I'd drop the oil cup off the air cleaner to make sure there's oil in it, some folk were not good at servicing that part
Check the oil levels in the trans and axle, also if the oil is milky looking I'd change it
Youve had it running so if the fan belt looks bad change it before it breaks and you overheat the engine
 
This one does have the CAV rotary pump, so sounds like no oil to change there.

The engine oil level is high as I mentioned, but it's black and doesn't look too thin, so hopefully the PO just overfilled it. I'll change that in the morning to at least know for sure if anything's getting into the sump.

Is there any reason to switch from the single to dual fuel filter setup? I'm not too worried about the fuel filter, so no rush on that, but I doubt it's been changed in a long time. Just wondering if the single filter is ok.
 
Shawn I have a 1974 5000 diesel. It's probably identical to yours. Mine has a single fuel filter on it and I've never had any problems. I would definitely change that. One word of advice the o-ring that seals the fuel filter to the housing Make sure you put that big o-ring up in the housing not on top of the filter because no fuel will flow then. It's a common mistake and I did it the first time. Those tractors are just about bulletproof great old tractors. I have a loader on mine and use it a lot. Is yours the 8-speed transmission?
 
Keep an eye on the engine oil level and power steering oil level. If the engine oil creeps up and power steering goes down the steering pump drive seal could be starting to leak. The injection pump drive seal can also fail over time and allow fuel into oil too. I repair pumps often that the drive seal has failed.
 
(quoted from post at 20:18:54 12/16/22)
Is there any reason to switch from the single to dual fuel filter setup? I'm not too worried about the fuel filter, so no rush on that, but I doubt it's been changed in a long time. Just wondering if the single filter is ok.

Of the 9 tractors we have 5 have single filters, 2 have dual filters and 2 have single filers with water separators

I like the single filter best, easier to get to the starter
 
My 1974 has the rotary pump. So I thought his 1973 might also. I don't know the exact year they switched over to the rotary pump.
 
(quoted from post at 05:21:34 12/17/22) My 1974 has the rotary pump. So I thought his 1973 might also. I don't know the exact year they switched over to the rotary pump.

According to the parts pages, it was 11/72 when they switched from the Simms to the CAV on the 5000 series.
 
Always good to change the oil, and mark the date and hours on the filter... So you know where your at. Also then you know how much oil at what point on the dip stick, so you can watch it. As others have said, not uncommon for the power steering pump to pump fluid into the engine when its seal is worn out and hard from being 50 years old. SO you can follow up on that going forwards. Also grease up all the fittings and check other fluids. I also run a can of HD injector cleaner through them as well. On most you dont see much, but on some it magically changes how quick they start, and run smoother, less smoke, especially on starting. Charging systems need checking, tach cables and instrument warning lights, and gauges need looking at and maybe a muffler flapper put on to keep the rain out. An exhaust elbow is much better than a flapper though.
 
I checked the air cleaner this morning, and yeah I don't think it's been off in a very long time. There is oil in it, but it's completely
white. I've not cleaned it yet, but I'll be sure to get that taken care of right away.

I found a plug at the rear end which I pulled to check the hydraulic fluid. Is there a dipstick somewhere? Oil seems full though and it
looked pretty clear on my finger.

I shined a flashlight down into the transmission, and fluid there is white, so that's on my list too.
 
I drained the engine oil this morning, and thankfully it looks good. No sign of water, and the oil is thick enough that I don't think it has any fuel in it.

Injector cleaner is a good idea, I'll try that.

This one has a flapper, which I was happy to see versus a bucket or whatever.

Instruments and lights are all inop I think (tach was trying to work), so I'll be going through that stuff.

Steering box is the main issue I'm seeing so far, and I knew that when I bought it. The son of the PO said that it will leak out the fluid pretty quickly, and there's a lot of evidence of that. Don't know about the pump itself, but apparently the power steering works as long as it has fluid. I've not checked that yet, but I will likely be rebuilding the steering column at least.
 
Ford 5000? I'm jelly. I do not have a 5000, but I was the crew on a trawler with Ford Lehman's with Sims injection and I did check the injection levels daily. I would look into the fuel tank and flush any sediment out and replace the fuel filter(s). Check the wiring for breaks and rubbing that might cause a fire. This defends your investment. Oil and lube, including trans and rear dif oil check.
 

I got a replacement ignition switch in the mail this afternoon, so I'm working on wiring now. The harness is shorted in multiple places and a lot of the housing is gone, so I removed the rear half of the harness to get a better look. I was planning to build a new wiring harness myself, but I found that a new replacement full front and rear harness is pretty cheap, so I'm going to replace the whole thing.
 

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