Ford 4610 - considering purchase

Hello

I'm considering purchasing an '87 4WD Ford 4610. The tractor has a factory cab and 7410 loader. It is lightly used (for its age) with about 1000 hours total. The hours appear accurate as the tractor is in amazing condition for the year. Tires are original and seem to be about 80%.

What should I look for when checking it out? What kind of headaches can I expect?

Thanks from a novice tractor buyer.
John

John,

If the tractor is what it is advertised to be....low hours, unabused, etc., the only aches you should expect are from kicking your own arse for NOT buying it.

I'm not a great Ford fan....but the 3600-4600 series (10-30 et al), are some of the best utilities ever made....by any maker. I am not very familiar with the larger 5600-6600 versions, but I assume they were good units as well.

My pick of the litter is the 3930, a damn fine little tractor.

great tractor
do not pass on it
Ron

There's not really any one thing to check as much as you'd look anything and everything over carefully. They were pretty solid tractors.... but age can get some stuff. I'd probably take a close look at the water pump and make sure it's not leaking coolant from the drain hole. Look for a green tracer of dried coolant on the timing cover. The bearings dry out over time and then the pump starts leaking... and if you let it go it'll tear up the fan and rad.
Look at the FWD hubs too. I'd like to pull the level/drain plugs from the hubs and front differential, just to check for oil and evidence of metal on the magnets...
Beyond that, check all the fluid levels. Make sure there's no water in the engine oil and no oil in the coolant... Make sure it shifts correctly. Make sure the clutch doesn't slip when you start off in sixth gear. Make sure the hydraulics lift normally. Things like that...

They're good tractors. Only thing I can tell you is that if you DO have a problem with it, you don't want to work on it. I think that tractor, with MFWD, loader, cab and a syncro transmission is a canidate for the single worst tractor ever built from a repair standpoint. They are DIFFICULT to work on.
Open stations are slightly better but not much.
The basics of that tractor... the 4000, designed as a 2 wheel drive, open station utility wasn't too bad, but once you pile on all the other 'features', well... they get difficult.
Fortunately, you don't need to work on them much.
Also... make sure it starts quick and crisp, even on a colder day. Without help. If it doesn't or produces a lot of white smoke after it starts then it may not be as young and slightly used as you're led to believe. If it needs a block heater to start this time of year, it needs and engine.

Rod

I have an "82 open station 2WD 4610 and I thnk it"s a superb small utilty tractor with a rugged engine and the 8x2 tranny is rugged but somewhat hard to shift. But it"s a tough little machine and with 4WD and a loader it"s oughta" be a great. I don"t know what you"ll be using it for but I would think with the cab and 4WD it would be a fine cold weather small utility tractor and I wish I had one!