My 1952 8N Story

[Jeremiah's Tractors]

Change the fluids.

If you are planing on washing it, I would wash it before you change fluids.

 

[Jeremiah's Tractors]

A question about rims - it looks like there are two different widths of the rear rims? My 8N has 13.6 x 28 rear tires, so what would be the best rim width for these? I've seen many 8N's w/ 12.8 rear tires - is that what they came originally? I need to look for a replacement for the left rear as it's rusted like the cars get after a few winters in Ohio. I'm sure that's thanks to the calcium chloride.

The original tire size is 10 x 28

 

[Jeremiah's Tractors]

 

[OldBlue61]

Thanks. I did find that in the manual after I posted the question. Guess I should read the manual first!

 

[Jim.ME]

A question about rims - it looks like there are two different widths of the rear rims? My 8N has 13.6 x 28 rear tires, so what would be the best rim width for these? I've seen many 8N's w/ 12.8 rear tires - is that what they came originally? I need to look for a replacement for the left rear as it's rusted like the cars get after a few winters in Ohio. I'm sure that's thanks to the calcium chloride.

12" is the recommended width for 13.6 tires. 12 x 28 tires were renumbered to 13.6 x 28 on 12" rims years ago. The " on 12" rims" has been removed from the side wall markings on many newer tires.

 

[504]

Well, I spent a little time last night getting more familiar with my 8N. Looking things over, making a list of a few things to order for the first round of maintenance. Looked over the fuel system, and nothing seems to be buggered up...until I looked inside the tank. Not that it's buggered up, I mean it looks like a brand new tank on the inside, but there's something in there that there probably shouldn't be. Hopefully you can see it in the picture. Not the easiest thing to take a pic of.

View attachment 106415

Yup, somehow a fuel filler neck ended up INSIDE the tank. Well, I guess I gotta dig that out...

I have one like that in the tank of my 656. It will probably be there when the next owner gets it.

 

[OldBlue61]

12 x 28 tires were renumbered to 13.6 x 28 on 12" rims years ago.

Good to know. Thank you!

 

[Lynn Patrick]

The numbering system changed since the 8N was new. 10.00 x 28 tire is now 11.2 x 28.

 

[Jim L WA]

Just my two cents worth, but the hard starting may be a worn starter motor drawing too much current.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Hope this is OK, but I created this post to document my experience with my 8N that I picked up yesterday.

I purchased my 8N from the 2nd owner (making me the 3rd owner) and got a little backstory on it. It was purchased by the original owner in '52 and used to mow and maintain their 15 acre property. Fortunately it was almost always stored in one of a couple of barns on the property when not in use. When the original owner passed away in 1988, the property was sold and the tractor went along with the

There are lots of good reasons to convert to 12 volts.
Electronic ignition is nice too but your 52 has a side mount distributor which is not too bad to change or adjust the points on.
If you had a PIA front mount I would suggest you change to EI.
Don't get caught up in the restoration craze. If you do you will soon have $5K+ in it and for that you can buy a much newer Ford tractor that has a Lot more options and features.

 

[OldBlue61]

Don't get caught up in the restoration craze. If you do you will soon have $5K+ in it

Exaclty. While I want it to operate properly, I don't want to spend too much on it.

I did start some maintenance on it yesterday. We had a beautiful day yesterday, sunny and 57f in Ohio, so I pulled the hood and started on the cooling system. Drained it, use a Prestone cleaner in it and flushed it 3 times after that. Nice clear water running out. Should have new hoses and thermostat delivered today or tomorrow so I can wrap that up then. Did a compression test on it and everything looks good there.

The wiring is just a mess but it's working for now - I will eventually convert to 12 volts, but I may wait until summer for that. Plan on working on degreasing it later today and using a power washer only on things like the wheels, suspension, and fan shroud - all of those parts are caked with crust after years of use. I'll just use regular water pressure on the undercarriage after some degreasing w/ Simple Green, then I'll change the oil/oil filter and work on the air cleaner. Blew out the radiator w/ air - I couldn't believe how much crap came out of it! It was replace about 15 years ago (according to the sticker on it). I'm surprised it was cooling at all.

There is a metal cover over the PTO, so I removed it to look at it and the cover was filled w/ a bunch of lube, so I'm assuming the seal needs changed? Is that much of a job? I found a video on YT and it didn't look too terrible involved, though I do not own a press.

 

[Lynn Patrick]

If the pto is the original 1 1/8" shaft just buy the kit to convert it to 1 3/8", then the replacement is quite easy. I don't know for sure, but if it's already the 1 3/8" one it may not be that much more expensive to buy the kit instead of buying the seal & bearing. Then it's a few minutes instead of pressing off & back on!

 

[OldBlue61]

If the pto is the original 1 1/8" shaft just buy the kit to convert it to 1 3/8", then the replacement is quite easy. I don't know for sure, but if it's already the 1 3/8" one it may not be that much more expensive to buy the kit instead of buying the seal & bearing. Then it's a few minutes instead of pressing off & back on!

Good to know, thanks.

--EDIT--

Wow. $97 from this website. I didn't think that's too bad for a part that includes the bearing and seal, ready to bolt in. Ordered.

 

[soaked]

Look-- a Howard shift lever. Will slow the tractor down to rototilling speed without slowing the PTO.

Also see the loom on the spark plug wires isn't bolted to tbe coil bracket. If you dont run the short #1 plug wire through the grommet, the other 3 wires are super easy to sort when doing the 1243 firing order.
Hope compression was 110 or more (Rebuilt ones can be 120-125.)
Distributor looks aftermarket. Prolly just fine. A timing light on each plug wire can compare to verify points gap stays the same---so timing stays the same.
52 would have come with a TSX 241-B carb with a brass tag, yours looks like a TSX 33. ( My 52 runs great with a TSX 33.)
When doing the pto, its a great time to drop the pump. Gives room to swab out the goop.

 

[Non-farmer]

Good to know, thanks.

--EDIT--

Wow. $97 from this website. I didn't think that's too bad for a part that includes the bearing and seal, ready to bolt in. Ordered.

Good choice. I think of the time I replaced my 1 1/8" PTO shaft with the modern 1 3/8" shaft as one of the easiest automotive repairs I've ever done. Do it when you change the trans/hydraulic fluid. Be advised - don't do what I did and park it facing downhill to avoid draining the fluid. I got lucky, but then i learned some people end up needing to change their clutch after they do that. (That angle + a bad front trans seal can = soaked clutch.)

And now you won't need an adapter to hook up to "modern" [sic] implements.

 

[Eman85]

Before pulling the PTO shaft check the hydraulics and the axle seals. If the hydraulics need attention or the axle seals are leaking it's better to do it all at once so you're not draining the fluid multiple times.

 

[OldBlue61]

Look-- a Howard shift lever. Will slow the tractor down to rototilling speed without slowing the PTO.
View attachment 106814
Also see the loom on the spark plug wires isn't bolted to tbe coil bracket. If you dont run the short #1 plug wire through the grommet, the other 3 wires are super easy to sort when doing the 1243 firing order.
Hope compression was 110 or more (Rebuilt ones can be 120-125.)
Distributor looks aftermarket. Prolly just fine. A timing light on each plug wire can compare to verify points gap stays the same---so timing stays the same.
52 would have come with a TSX 241-B carb with a brass tag, yours looks like a TSX 33. ( My 52 runs great with a TSX 33.)
When doing the pto, its a great time to drop the pump. Gives room to swab out the goop.

Thank you! That was one of the questions I was going to ask next! I couldn't find that lever anywhere in any of the manuals. I'll have to look up how to use the Howard system. (I found this https://fordtractorcollectors.com/howard-gear-unit/). And yes, I did notice the spark plug wire loom. I'll look to see exactly where to bolt it up and get it back in the right location.

Compression was good:

1. 125
2. 120
3. 115
4. 120

Aftermarket distributor - hopefully parts won't be hard to come by. What was the TSX 33 originally for? I'll have to look for the tag when I get home. And good tip about dropping the pump. I'm sure there'll be a bunch of crap to clean out.

 

[Non-farmer]

Those compression numbers are great - they are close to a new engine (125). I rebuilt mine, inframe - my local auto part guy, out here in tractor country, felt my oil pressure was good enough to not need to drop the crank. I ended up with only 90 psi across the board, but the inframe rebuild DID fix the issue that bothered me, namely, that the tractor smoked enough from both ends that the army called me and asked if I'd be willing to sell it to them as a smoke generator. That problem DID go away, so the new sleeves, rings, and pistons did the job I needed. I attribute the low compression to the fact that I didn't touch the valves. It runs fine now, so I hopefully will never need to touch the engine again. Someone else will have to worry about the valves once I'm gone. I really ought to clean the right 3-point arm tho - the left is red and the right is black

You, OTOH, have nothing to worry about with the compression numbers you have.

 

[soaked]

The Howard lever only has two positions IIRC-- no nuetral.
Loom bolts here

Tsx 33 came on 9n, 2n, and early 8n.
War era 2n with no battery or starter had a tsx 38, with a ckoke knob mounted up forward so hand cranker could pull it.
Here is info on TSX 241 series

 

[OldBlue61]

It took about 2 hours, but I got the air cleaner assembly removed and cleaned out. Geez, I don’t think it’s been cleaned for at least a few years, at least not well. Had to soak the oil cup in mineral spirits for an hour just so I could dig out all the goop. I need to find some non-toxic solvent that I can put in a plastic bin that I can soak parts in.

I did not notice any tag on the carb unfortunately. I’ll try and find the number on the body later.