1963 Ford 2000

[TomIn]

I'm going to look at a 1963 Ford 2000 tractor which is advertised on FB in the next couple of days. I've owned a 1955 Ford 600 for nearly 20 years, so am familiar with basic tractor. The pictures in the ad don't shows much detail, but I can see that it has power steering with the old Eaton Pump (with the reservoir on top.) Is this something I should be concerned with in a tractor of that vintage? I'm an old man and power steering sounds nice, but I have had some experience with a dripping cylinder and leaking pump on a Ford 960 I bought a couple of years ago. If the power steering develops problems, can one just remove the belt and use the tractor as a manual steer?

The second thing I noticed in the pictures is radius rods are arched upward quite a bit. Does this signal excessive wear in the front axle, or is it just normal to have to straighten the rods periodicallly (like I did last year on my 600?)

Is there anything else I should be especially concerned with on this model. The tractor is located about a 100 miles from my city home, and I don't have internet service at my country lhome.

 

[Steve in IL]

I'm going to look at a 1963 Ford 2000 tractor which is advertised on FB in the next couple of days. I've owned a 1955 Ford 600 for nearly 20 years, so am familiar with basic tractor. The pictures in the ad don't shows much detail, but I can see that it has power steering with the old Eaton Pump (with the reservoir on top.) Is this something I should be concerned with in a tractor of that vintage? I'm an old man and power steering sounds nice, but I have had some experience with a dripping cylinder and leaking pump on a Ford 960 I bought a couple of years ago. If the power steering develops problems, can one just remove the belt and use the tractor as a manual steer?

The second thing I noticed in the pictures is radius rods are arched upward quite a bit. Does this signal excessive wear in the front axle, or is it just normal to have to straighten the rods periodicallly (like I did last year on my 600?)

Is there anything else I should be especially concerned with on this model. The tractor is located about a 100 miles from my city home, and I don't have internet service at my country lhome.

I really like those later 4 cylinder tractors. They seem to be refined versions of the 6xx & 8xx.

The comment on the radius rods is a bit odd though. We have a ‘58 641 since new, and have never had to straighten them. Perhaps from doing heavy loader work?

 

[Welding man]

If it is a 5 Speed with live power, it will make you a good little tractor. I have a lot of tractors and I think this is my favorite one. Power steering is not needed on these. . They steer very easy. I rebuild the engine in one for a friend last month. He really likes his too.

 

[Dean]

I'm going to look at a 1963 Ford 2000 tractor which is advertised on FB in the next couple of days. I've owned a 1955 Ford 600 for nearly 20 years, so am familiar with basic tractor. The pictures in the ad don't shows much detail, but I can see that it has power steering with the old Eaton Pump (with the reservoir on top.) Is this something I should be concerned with in a tractor of that vintage? I'm an old man and power steering sounds nice, but I have had some experience with a dripping cylinder and leaking pump on a Ford 960 I bought a couple of years ago. If the power steering develops problems, can one just remove the belt and use the tractor as a manual steer?

The second thing I noticed in the pictures is radius rods are arched upward quite a bit. Does this signal excessive wear in the front axle, or is it just normal to have to straighten the rods periodicallly (like I did last year on my 600?)

Is there anything else I should be especially concerned with on this model. The tractor is located about a 100 miles from my city home, and I don't have internet service at my country lhome.

Most of the PS systems on these tractors are well worn and many leak. Yes, you can simply remove the belt and continue to drive the tractor if you like.

I would be more concerned about the bowed radius rods. This is usually caused by previous use with a FEL. More than likely, the front axle support is badly worn and good used ones are becomming rather scarce. Look for evidence of previous FEL installation and thoroughly inspect the front axle support, pin, etc.