Ford 8N Tractor

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aplusmnt

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My father lives about 30 miles from me and is retired. I am going to buy some calves and put on his place to give him something to do and maybe make a little cash.

Need something cheap and simple for him to put some hay out with. Thinking about an older ford 8N tractor. Any problems with one of these cheaper tractors if in good condition and its only job ever to do will be to put out a couple round bales of hay a week when needed? Can they handle a large round bale on a back spear?
 
pretty common for the hydraulics not to work when cold on these old tractors too and if they do the weight of the bales will shell em out
 
an 8n isnt stout enough to lift a round bale.as said it would rear the front end up.it might pull a 2 wheel hay dolly.
 
An 8N tractor is like a 1960's Volkswagon.

Even in "new" motor condition it has enough power to pull a wagon, drive a 5' brush hog if grass isn't too high, or pull about a 5' wide disk on the 3 point hitch.

To move a 1500 round bale, for example, one would need about a 40 or 50 HP tractor with a hefty frame to do it safely.

No way an 8N could safely move over about a 300 or 400 lb bale with a 3-point hitch bale spear.
 
You want a cheap, tough loader tractor for 1500 lb bales, you can't beat a Case 7/8/930. The 7 and 830 were better bale movers, with the lighter 4 cylinder not being so hard on the steering ram. The dual range 8 speed trans is great for bale moving, with reverse high doing about 7 or 8 mph.

I see 7 and 830s all over the place for a couple grand, probably less than you'll find an 8N.

Rod
 
DiamondSCattleCo":4j2rcqj4 said:
You want a cheap, tough loader tractor for 1500 lb bales, you can't beat a Case 7/8/930. The 7 and 830 were better bale movers, with the lighter 4 cylinder not being so hard on the steering ram. The dual range 8 speed trans is great for bale moving, with reverse high doing about 7 or 8 mph.

I see 7 and 830s all over the place for a couple grand, probably less than you'll find an 8N.

I just bought a Case 730 with a heavy duty Duall loader to leave at the other farm. It needs rear rubber. Paid U$S 2,200.

Any tips on how to maintain this make and model?
 
Stocker Steve":pjohfik1 said:
DiamondSCattleCo":pjohfik1 said:
You want a cheap, tough loader tractor for 1500 lb bales, you can't beat a Case 7/8/930. The 7 and 830 were better bale movers, with the lighter 4 cylinder not being so hard on the steering ram. The dual range 8 speed trans is great for bale moving, with reverse high doing about 7 or 8 mph.

I see 7 and 830s all over the place for a couple grand, probably less than you'll find an 8N.

I just bought a Case 730 with a heavy duty Duall loader to leave at the other farm. It needs rear rubber. Paid U$S 2,200.

Any tips on how to maintain this make and model?

These critters require very little in the way of maintenance. Change the oil regularly (15w40 in the summer, 10w30 in the winter), fuel filters every couple of years (depending on the number of hours you put on it) and check the water pump from time to time to ensure its not getting loose. Don't recall if the 730 has the greaseable water pump, but if it does, give it a shot every 50 hrs or so.

Otherwise, just do the things you'd normally do with a diesel (give it some warmup time, cool down time, and don't run the snot out of it.

Rod
 
Thanks for the feedback.

A question - - the steering is sloppy right below the steering wheel. Looks like there should be a sleeve bearing in the cast iron housing, but the steering wheel is froze onto the shaft. Any tips for taking the steering wheel off w/o busting it into pieces?
 
Aplus,

The first tractor I bought was a gas 8N. I should have never sold it, it was nice and simple to work on. It will not move round bales though. Mine was a 1951 model, and I believe it was around 24 hp. It would barely pull a 6 ft bush hog. The second tractor I got was a Ford 3000. That will move round bales well, and they can be had on the cheap. If your round bales are big, you may have to put some weights in the front (or water in the tires) Again, there are tons of them out there and the parts are cheap. I'm partial to older Ford tractors, not sure why.
 

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