Small tractor

[white eagle]

I am in the market for a small tractor
been looking for a Ford 8n
does anyone have experience with these
the good,bad and the ugly if you would

[wgr]

lots of them out there they work good if u use ford equipment. But there are better ones out there

[Jeff Michel]

Way under powered for everything except cutting grass. If you like green, a 1020, Red, 454 International or Massey Ferguson 231. Try to round up one with a bucket. More money than an 8N for good reason.

[Thundarstick]

More information please? To do what, how many hours a year, how many HP?

[jimlj]

The 8n was introduced over 60 years ago, and was a good tractor at the time. It still beats trying to pull any kind of implement with a pickup, and still will do most tractor type tasks. Having said that, how many of drive a 60 year old car, when newer and better are available? There are still a lot of 8n's out there doing the work, but more and more of them are being relegated to parade duty.

[redneck1]

Very few of the n series tractors will have a hour meter ... it was an extra money option with the tachometer and farmers was cheap back then .
If it runs good without an excess amount of smoke call it good .
If you can take the time to do a compression check on all four cylinders it wouldn't be a bad thing to do , After all most of these have been run on unleaded gas for the last 35+ years .

Make sure the hydraulics ( three point ) work right , now that these don't often get regular use its become pretty common for condensation to build up in the sump and freeze breaking the pump
It's a $500 + fix with new parts .

Make sure the rear wheels aren't rusted out from calcium. . Most common area is right at the valve stem .

Look for welds on the engine block and front axle
And make sure both brakes work .

And lastly ... don't over pay . Thanks to the yuppy craze of small expensive imported tractors these guys don't bring $3000-$3500
Like they used to .

A pretty decent condition n series around my parts brings about $1200 .

Good things to look for ... a 9n with a 4 speed transmission.
Any of the n series with a Sherman auxiliary transmission


Oh and not to forget ... if you get one and use a brush hog or mower on it do not forget to use the overriding clutch adapter thing on the pto.
Been a lot of these guys run up trees or fence posts or into ditches when the clutch gets pushed in and the tractor takes off like a rocket from the stored energy of the blades spinning

[farmerjim]

I use mine for little quick jobs. As redneck1 said run a compression check to be sure it is not worn out. There are plenty of small 3 point implements that will work on it. It was made to run on leaded gas. The valves and seats will burn out on unleaded. ( aviation gas is leaded, but expensive)

[Beagle333]

8N is a nice tractor. They seem to work better if you convert them to 12V. The only real drawback I had about them was that the hydraulics worked off the PTO, meaning if you get on a stump or something with the bushhog and have to stop, you have to get off and disconnect the driveshaft to the bushhog before you can lift it and move the tractor, and then you have to get back off and reattach it after you get cleared. That also means that if you want to adjust the height of the box blade, you have to either be moving, or stopped with the tractor in neutral and the clutch out. You can't just stop and look down and adjust the box blade height while sitting still, you have to shift out of gear and adjust it and then back in gear. But if you can live with that, I'd go with it.

[Thundarstick]

I have a Yanmar 2000B that does garden tilling, box blade, and yard renovation. There are just too many small diesels out there to buy a 60 year old gasoline tractor....

[one-eyed fat man]

It depends, do you want to work the tractor or drive it in the Lincoln Days parade?

[white eagle]

small farm work mainly cut grass and pull logs
small field work 4 acres

[bob208]

it will do fine they work them a lot around here. I have a Ferguson 135 for our place.. it runs a j.d. bushhog a 30 inch buzz saw pulls a 2 bottom plow and lifts lots of things with the boom I made for the back of it.

I have never seen a valve burned from unleaded gas and I did a lot of heads over the years.

if looking at other tractors look for one with a 3 point hitch. I had a d14 a-c I converted to 3 point.

[Thumbcocker]

To quote my Grandpa " You can do little work with a bigger tractor; but you can't do big work with a little tractor." We have a Ford 4000 with a bucket and I would not dream of being without it. Also some of the larger tractors are cheaper than the "cute" size tractors. There is a sweet spot between farm sized tractors and small ones that you can take advantage of.

The N series Fords don't have especially good hydraulics and are pretty underpowered.

[justashooter]

as noted the 6 volt system, lack of live PTO, hydraulic take-off, power steering, unleaded gas design, and a bunch of other things make them nothing more than a hobby toy. that said, for 10 years i used the hell out of a model 640 (134 cubic inch "red-belly" update on 9N) that i had added hydraulic take-off to so i could run a power angle cylinder on an 8 foot snow blade on the 3 point. i often used it to run a 3 point "back end loader" that i made for grading and conveying soil. kinda like a reverse front end loader.

brakes go bad on one side from from people standing on one pedal of brake to make row turns. 3 point function should be verified and tested for drift by standing on the cross-draw-bar with lift up and tractor shut off. the 3 point cylinder is under the seat and can be rebuilt for a few hundred, generally. rear rubber is ****ed expensive. look at splines on PTO shaft, which is 1" size, and can't handle the bigger sized mowers that people mount to these old tractors with spline adapters. replacing the shaft is bux you don't want to know. wheels can be turned inside out to change gauge. some power-adjustable wheels on 600, 700, 800, and 900 series.

nothing like laughing at the new guy running head first into a creek when he pushes the clutch in and the mower bade momentum on his bush-hog feeds back into his transmission and keeps him going right into the drink when he thinks the ****ed thing is going to stop at the edge of the bank...


just saw a neighbor sell a 9n with working 3 point for about 1200$ here in south central PA, but this is john deere and international category 5 country for serious folk.

[Shopdog]

I had a 8N,sold it for more than I paid for it,which is about all I can say,good about it.Relined the brakes,completely detailed everything related to them,and it still was lacking in that departement.Understand however,we live in very hilly country so,brakes are important.If all you ever saw was,flat ground it probably isn't an issue?

[William Yanda]

If you plan to pull logs, invest in the attachment that will save you from pulling directly with the 3 point hitch. There is no excuse for one more fatality-yours-from that hook up.

[white eagle]

turns out I will be going after a 9n
it has a 5' tiller and a 2 point plow tire chains and some other thing that
I am not sure what it is
never worked with tractors or implements so its all learning for me

[fecmech]

If you do get an 8N be sure to get an overrunning clutch for the PTO. Simple idea, mounts right on the PTO shaft and works great. I bought one real quick when I saw what the bush hog would do to my old John Deere B.

[Blanket]

unless it has a Sherman underdrive you won't like the tiller. 8N's had hardened valve guides but not the 2 or 9N so you will need a lead substitute. I always called the n's a 5/5 tractor. Work for 5 hours, work on for 5 hours. By the way a 9n is pre WW2

[MyFlatline]

I have a Yanmar 2000B that does garden tilling, box blade, and yard renovation. There are just too many small diesels out there to buy a 60 year old gasoline tractor....

Yep, them compact tractors are strong..221633

Little 25 hp Kubota, a work horse. I have pushed it hard..

[wgr]

turns out I will be going after a 9n
it has a 5' tiller and a 2 point plow tire chains and some other thing that
I am not sure what it is
never worked with tractors or implements so its all learning for me check out the hydraulic on the 9n I had one and I remember that the hydraulics were eather up or down no in between made for plowing

[jimlj]

Ford tractors introduced
9n 1939
2n 1942
8n 1947
Give or take 6 months
I think all the 9 and 2n had 3 speed transmissions, 8n had the 4 speed.
I have a 2n that might get a drag hooked to it once in a while. When growing up we had a 8n with a loader bucket and several blade/spring tooth plow/disk.... that saw quite a bit of use.

[Blanket]

Ford tractors introduced
9n 1939
2n 1942
8n 1947
Give or take 6 months
I think all the 9 and 2n had 3 speed transmissions, 8n had the 4 speed.
I have a 2n that might get a drag hooked to it once in a while. When growing up we had a 8n with a loader bucket and several blade/spring tooth plow/disk.... that saw quite a bit of use. all correct 8N late 47, I have one front distributer

[buckwheatpaul]

Ford 8N's were great in there day.....cut my teeth on them.....Like what was said there are plenty of great smaller tractors. I like the KUBOTA's but there are a lot of great John Deere, Case, New Holland....etc....

I found a L3400 4wheel drive with a bucket with 98 hours on it for $14,000.00 several years ago.....good luck on your quest....Paul

[Thundarstick]

Yep, I cut my teeth on a red belly and a something N Ford, because when I was 10 they where the oldest, least used, most expendable tractors on either Granddads farm, 45 years ago! I've raked hay with one when it was so hot the gasoline was boiling in the tank sitting over the engine, and you couldn't give me one today! Good luck with that 9N!

[Petrol & Powder]

I have a Yanmar 2000B that does garden tilling, box blade, and yard renovation. There are just too many small diesels out there to buy a 60 year old gasoline tractor....

I did my time with the 8N and I have to agree with this /\

The 8N is not a bad tractor but for what they sell for, their age and their limitations - I wouldn't go looking for one.

No live PTO or live Hydraulics, the brake pedals are purely decorative on most 8N's, positive ground and 6 volt at that and not a lot of horsepower for its size.
In the pro category - they are simple to use and work on, they have deceptively good pulling power for their horsepower rating and there's a pretty good supply of aftermarket parts available.

A barely running example of an 8N in my area will start around $3000 and that generally doesn't get you much. You can put a lot of money in an old 8N before you have a good working machine.

There are a lot of good small used diesel tractors out there.

[redneck1]

I always get confused between the 8 and 9n's on which have a three speed or four .

I've never been on a 4 speed 8n but is it slow enough to use a tiller ?
I know the three speed tractors are to fast to use one without the Sherman auxiliary transmission.

A five footer seems awfully big for the available horse power

[Finster101]

I have owned a Kubota DT-3000 for a few years now..a real work horse. They can be had pretty reasonable. I would not buy a gasoline tractor for work with so many better diesel options available.

[samari46]

My two cents. Have a Kubota L3800 and have had it for about 2 years now. Just came back from it's 50 hour service. Has the front end loader and a 5 ft bushog. Have about 4.5 acres around the house. By the house use my riding mower for the grass. No problems so far except got a small twig stuck where the little locking lever is preventing me from locking the brakes. I do use a cetane booster and a microbiological additive to prevent critters growing in the fuel tank. Pretty good on diesel and love the front end loader. Lots of trees so get lots of tree branches and limbs. Front end loader I usually scoop up the little ones and on the burn pile. The biggies I stuck a large shackle on the tow bar in the back and made a long double looped sling from 1" poly rope. Then drag that to the burn pile and use the fel and on the pile. Less said about the John Deere I had before the kubota. It sure didn't run like a deere. Frank

[myg30]

I just sold off my 8N and bush hog. Ran great for past 7-8 years with a motor knock. 1 cyl was lil low on compression but it worked for what I needed.
I stumbled into a JD 1050 with loader,5’ hog and box blade. Posi rear wheel engage lever has been used often on wet ground and uphill mowing.

If you have any long slope on your land you will find out that when brush hog or dragging logs, you will spin a rear wheel and dig a hole if not careful. Damp grass traction not great unless flat.

All the warnings above about PTO are true and you need to be careful. Drain ditch, Hill, hooking the hog on a rock or stump you can lift the front wheels off the ground and roll over if not careful.
My lift was getting sluggish, water in the hydraulics from rotted boot on shift lever.
Really suggest you cover it or under a roof if possible.

Mine always started in hot or cold weather on few cranks. If not just clean the points in place with fine sand paper in place. Also the 90’ elbow coming out of the fuel tank gets built up with sediment. Poor gas flow.
Ran on unleaded, 10-40w oil. 12 v alternator n battery. Good tractor.
They sell here around $1200-$3800

[RU shooter]

Another vote for something newer. My dad has 15 acres mostly grass cutting with a brush hog plows up a little garden spot and hauls firewood and plows snow with a back blade in the winter . About 8 yrs ago he treated himself to a new compact 4x4 JD think it's a 20something hp diesel with the front bucket . He actually likes doing those chores now at close to 80yrs old with that new machine .

[lightman]

I started with an older tractor, a Massey 135, and used it for years. After going that route I highly recommend looking at a smaller, newer diesel tractor. They will be much more fuel efficient and have more features. Having front wheel assist is like having a bigger tractor and there are no end to the uses that you can find for a bucket.

[crowbuster]

Nuther vote for kubota with grapple. Have never heard someone say dangit....I have to much tractor !

[trapper9260]

The one that live down the street from me had a 8N and sold it for some thing else for how it was for him.he glad he did.he did got a different Ford.I am not sure what one.

[dverna]

Interesting thread.

I have been looking at getting a small tractor since moving to northern MI 6 years ago. Came really close to buying a Kubota B series. When I was talking to my neighbor about it he offered to let me use his Kubota L series FEL machine whenever I needed it. He has a rototiller and york rake that I use when needed and the FEL is handy for a lot of different uses. I have used it a few times and a tractor is handy to have.

I hate borrowing things so I don't use the machine as much as I would like to. So I have been thinking about getting my own unit. I will tell you the L series spoiled me. Size does matter.

Unless you are experience and careful, getting an old tractor without a ROPS is foolish. If you get an older machine the link below may help.

https://www.ropsr4u.com/

[justashooter]

hooking the hog on a rock or stump you can lift the front wheels off the ground and roll over if not careful.

Really suggest you cover it or under a roof if possible.



i can't warn you enough about the possibility of a head over backwards roll on a tractor like this. if you are dragging logs and hook on a stump the entire front end of the tractor will very quickly come up as the transmission tells the wheels to turn and they can't so the body of the tractor rotates upward and backward under the power of the engine, which is considerable as these ford utility tractors are geared lower than you would expect. lots of guys have been killed this way, and modern tractors have ROPS (rollover protection systems) and 4 point harness as a result. i had a neighbor killed this way 10 years ago. if you absolutely have to pull with a tractor that does not have ROPS sling your chain under your belly from a draw bar and pull in reverse. you can't roll a tractor this way. it will just spin tires instead. these machines are much heavier and more powerful than they look. most rear tires are filled with calcium water the add traction and a 28" wheeled tire will weigh 300 pounds or so plus dry weight. an 8N will weigh around 2400 lbs without filled tires.

[wv109323]

White eagle
To expand on what others warned you about never pull loads from a point that is behind the rear axle. If you pull from behind the rear axle the tractor can turn over causing almost certain death. To pull heavy loads make sure you have a drawbar that bolts to the tractor in front of the rear axle.
If on steep slopes always have your implement directly behind you according to the slope. Or in other words make sure both rear tires have equal weight and traction. That way the tractor can not flip backwards over the implement.

[redneck1]

Actually the n series tractors were never designed to use a draw bar
Except a three point mounted draw bar ... and they can be safely used .

First thing is you should never use a three point draw bar without the stabilizer bars that go from the swing arms to the center link ... these keep the pulled load from pushing the hitch upwards .

Second .. you should always keep the draw bar as low as possible , and never ever have it above the axle centerline . Ford actually had a recommended maximum height of something around 6 inches below the axle centerline.

Keep your hitch point low and it's very unlikely the tractor will rear up under load ... the higher it is the more leverage there is .

The tractors tend to rear up with implements like brush hogs because they put the swing arm height over the axle centerline .

[white eagle]

Bought a 1942 Ford 9N tractor very strong running
with a Ferguson 2 bottom plow and a 5' disk tiller
will get a over run coupler and a finish mower at some later date
thanks for all the tips and warnings very helpful
this is my first tractor

[bob208]

the tractor will work for you if you take your time and learn how to use it. think about what you are trying to do before just driving into it. if you plan to plow I would get the tires filled with something for weight. calcium is common but that eats the rims. I use a mixture of antifreeze and water 50-50 mix. I get mine used from the junkyard. do both from and rear

[15meter]

I like my 6000 Lbs. wheelbarrow.

221730

[fast ronnie]

I like my 6000 Lbs. wheelbarrow.

221730

A nice looking tractor, but that loader shouldn't be raised too high. A row crop front end with a loader will tip over VERY easily. We had one on a Massey-Harris. It didn't stay on there very long. That said, they sure are handy.

[justashooter]

always have your implement directly behind you ... the tractor can not flip backwards over the implement.

good point about the use of an implement as an anti-rotation device. i pulled many logs with chain hooked on the frame of a two bottom plow that was 3 point mounted. if they snagged the front would come up just enuf to force the plow into the ground, stopping the rotation long enuf for me to clutch. learned this pulling stumps with the 640.

the sway bars used in 3 point implements are designed to stabilize load center, which is important on PTO driven stuff. in snow country you will use an 8' back blade, which is also good for grading gravel driveways. don't make the mistake of trying to run a mower bigger than 5 feet on a 9n PTO.
keep your shifter boot in good shape to keep water out of your hydro/trans reservoir oil. these are the same oil in ford utility tractors.

[15meter]

A nice looking tractor, but that loader shouldn't be raised too high. A row crop front end with a loader will tip over VERY easily. We had one on a Massey-Harris. It didn't stay on there very long. That said, they sure are handy.

I've been driving tricycle tractor with a Horn/New Idea loader on it since 1963, haven't rolled one yet.

But I did watch my uncle roll an Oliver 770 with a Horn loader once, he stepped spritely off the back as it rolled and we watched it roll down and embankment. It came to rest on it's side. Being the kid (pushing 30) I got to walk up to the house to get the 4020 to roll it back on it's wheels. Loader was high enough that it protected the sheet metal, just knocked off the muffler. topped off the radiator and the battery and it started right up. That tractor was still running last year. With a bent muffler.[smilie=1:

[lksmith]

as others have said GET A LOADER and get a diesel. Diesels in general last longer and don't bog as easily as a gas rig when you hit a thick patch of grass or similar
Also, anything under 40hp needs to be 4wd or you end up getting light in the rear and can't move with any weight to speak of. This goes regardless of brand

I have a Yanmar 2210D that until recently was pretty much unstoppable. Most older Yanmars are really simple commercial machines, built for rice paddies across the pond, and all the ones over here are "grey market" rigs. Up until recently, Yanmar made all the smaller Deere diesel tractors and most of the engines used in Deere tractors.
Put mine in low and pulled a 13k# backhoe that had died. Not too bad for a 22hp tractor that weights about 2200#

[Three44s]

I like Kubota ...... a lot! They are the top of the heap in small and mid-sized Diesel 4x4s.

Three44s

[Gator 45/70]

I like Kubota ...... a lot! They are the top of the heap in small and mid-sized Diesel 4x4s.

Three44s

+2, I have the L-3901

[pworley1]

When we went from mules to a Ford-Ferguson, it was a major jump, and going from the Ford-Ferguson to the 8n was another jump. We don't use any of those today for a reason.