JD vs. Ford

All comments (even negative ones) are appreciated.

Thanks

RICK/GA

The brakes sucked. Could not stop or hold much of anything. Was very light tractor, so '52 JD G would always out pull it. Many claimed the select-o-speed to be a piece of crap, but in the 20 years my dad had his the transmission was adjusted once...no problems. It was used and sometimes hard, but not for tillage.

We used the 4000 on a JD 24T with 8x16' hay racks on some pretty steep hills. Couldn't always fill the hayracks full, and had to be careful were one turned less the baler and rack push you.

I've driven other brand of older tractors such as oliver super 77, some old Massy Harris (I forget the model), JD As, JD G, Farmall B, Farmall super H, AC WDs, AC WD45s, and probably a few other smaller tractors (and a whole range of larger and slightly newer ones too). Each was pretty ok in my books. All of them beat JDs hand clutch when it came to backing 4 wheel wagons. The JDs usually could pull more, but was usually due to more weight for the base unit rather than horse power.

The all have their weak points and some are more suited for particular jobs than others. Lot of the time it really had to do with the equipment you had...if it was designed to work with the brand tractor you were using it usually worked ok or even well.

I choose JD because by and large I feel it is built to be more "user friendly" and seems to last longer (course that really has to do more with the users/abusers than the brand).

To be truthful, my favorite "little tractor" was the AC WD45 (old style). And some day I will get one and it will have to share the same shed space as my JDs.

Drawbar - Deere - A; Allis B-, Farmall - C, dropped to a D, with a worn fast hitch, Ford - F, only good for bending the clevis hitch on the wagon. Ford was about useless on a tractor spreader unless one bought a hitch from Deere that mounted under the differential.

Wagon Backing - Deere - D, at best, until they put the creeper gear in about 1950. Why they didn�t use a high range reverse at the original speed and then a low range reverse for use I don�t know. Low weight on the front end also sucked them into a fast steering ratio.

Plowing - When I left the farm in the fifties, the Ford plow we had didn�t have room for cornstalks. An 860 and a 5000 with JD plows replaced the 8N, which in turn were replaced by 18� semi-mounted plows. The constant �hydraulicing draft control� on the Fords gets old very quickly with or without back problems. Plowing with a �58 JD 820 and a 4 x 16 trailer plow is easier and will do a better job of plowing than any of the aforementioned plows. The 860 is still there with about 8000 hrs, used regularly for appropriate jobs. I might add that turning turtle is about 99+ % the fault of the person behind the wheel whether it is a tractor or an Explorer with Firestone tires.

But it's all in what you have in mind to do with a tractor. I have two Fords, three JD's and three Farmalls. They all have their good and not so good points. I would be hard pressed to say which one I like the best.

On hills, the Fords are a little light when hauling a load. But don't ever let anyone tell you that they can't plow. The person who says that is showing a lack of experience. Granted, they might be pulling only two bottom plows but they can keep up with the "big dogs."

Like someone stated earlier, the main reason the ford was outworked is lack of weight. If all you want to do is run a rear blade or maybe a finishing mower, the ford would be a good choice. If you want to pull a disc or a plow or a wagon on brush type mower, get something different.

The other miss on the ford which was attempted to correct by after-market products was the gearing. The fords are geared way too high. Especially reverse. Again, fine for pulling a hay rake, but not doing real work.

The ford was fun to own and easy to work on. Learned a lot and cussed a bit, too. But for any real field work, falls short of the JD, IH and AC makes.

Dave

best Wishes

John T Nordhoff in Indiana