TractorDad3
Member
- Location
- Golden, CO
Gold!!
tractorford
my ford 850 gonna git the dim mak
ooh is that one of them gold demonstrators hiding under there
www.dtnpf.com
Ford Gold Demonstrator Tractors: A Coveted Rarity
Ford Tractor Company, as part of an ad campaign, tried to pump up sales of its new Select-O-Speed transmissions in 1959; Ford Tractor dealers were supposed to paint at least one of their tractors gold. Russ Quinn asks if anyone owns, or has stories about, these rare golden tractors.
www.dtnpf.com
"A coveted rarity" eh?ooh is that one of them gold demonstrators hiding under there
Ford Gold Demonstrator Tractors: A Coveted Rarity
Ford Tractor Company, as part of an ad campaign, tried to pump up sales of its new Select-O-Speed transmissions in 1959; Ford Tractor dealers were supposed to paint at least one of their tractors gold. Russ Quinn asks if anyone owns, or has stories about, these rare golden tractors.
I don't really like the way they look, at least in pictures. I've not seen one in real life. Are they much desired beyond the regulars? Is there actually any premium involved?
The story on this one is that some high school class in TN painted it and maybe more (years ago). It starts and runs but doesn't idle, I can take care of that (park safety switch is bypassed, that's scary). Fuel valve leaks, I can take care of that. Wiring is screwed up, I can fix that. Power steering leaks at the fitting on top the pump - the flair is worn, weak, and maybe cracked a bit - I'm thinking about that.
Transmission is missing a lot of gears. That could be challenging. I overhauled a 981 transmission in the '90's. Still my favorite tractor today. I could still buy a lot of parts and there was a dealership setting on a stash of used transmissions available for parts. That's all gone.
I'm going to clean it out, pull the cover, and service the valve body, then run thru the diagnostic tree in the service manual and try and deduce what's gone bad. If I'm real lucky, maybe the valve body service and band adjustments will cure it. PTO cable is open to the weather and transmission has a thick layer of milkshake clogging the screen. It has reverse, 1, 2, and 9 right now.
I passed on a X81 transmission on eBay last year - considered it hard, but didn't have a need. Its input shaft splines were about 50% worn, but was advertised as working. I have regrets right now.
Got my shop floor cleared today and was able to pull the 881 into position. I had previously pulled the sheet metal and pressure washed the front half. I fixed the gas leaks at the valve and settling bowl, I nested a couple of o-rings in the power steering output which cured the pump leaking, at least for a while. One power steering cylinder leaks badly. Chrome is gone from some of the shaft. Looks like I will be buying a cylinder.
Time to figure out what I'm up against in the transmission. I drained the oil, which didn't look too bad, but I think the previous owner had changed it recently trying to get the machine working.
Pulled the top cover, doesn't look as bad as thought it might. Pulled the valve body. Found a stuck valve. Got it loosened with a little effort, reassembled, and re-installed the unit.
Didn't see anything obvious looking in the top, and there's nothing else to do from the outside except adjust the bands. I kinda doubt one stuck valve could screw up so many of the gears, but we'll see. I found evidence that someone had been in there previously and there's one band adjuster which is very loose.
Next session I'll put in fresh oil and run thru the adjustment series and see what I have.
Wiring is really kluged up. Neutral safety switch is bypassed. Other than that I could live with it short term.
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Tom in Mo.
Well-known Member
Thanks for the report.
Btzj02
Member
Pomester, did you find a source for the control valve gasket or are you making your own. If making your own what kind of gasket material are you using? I was also wondering about the metal gasket under the SOS cover. My metal gasket is in pretty good shape but I expect to replace the filter again after putting a few hours on the SOS transmission and I just want to be prepared incase I ruin the gasket.
Thanks
Thanks
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The control vallve gasket came off cleanly, stuck to the valve assembly. I was careful not to disturb it and it was fine for reuse.
Same with the top cover gasket, which in this case was the fiber one rather than the metal. The last time I needed a top cover gasket I made one out of heavy weight gasket material purchased from NAPA. I've read that the 5 speed gasket will work, but found that not to be the case.
Here's a thread with some discussion and pictures. https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/threads/ford-881-sos-trans.1540321/#post-9998661
David
The PTO cable sheath was broken and the cable funneling water into the transmission. I was pleasantly surprised to see things as non corroded as they were.
Tractor had not been used much for several years tho.
I spent another evening with the machine tonight. Decoupled the transmission from the rear end, reinstalled the screen/plug, filled the transmission with oil, and decided to do the pressure checks and band adjustments with the cover off so I could see what was going on. Installed a gauge at servo #2 on the interlock plate and another on servo #1 on the right upper side of the transmission. I started the tractor and got the idle adjusted nicely. Engine sounds good, needs a valve adjustment, I think it's healthy.
First thing I notice is high pressure oil spewing from the seam on the bypass filter. Looking more closely I see that the end is ballooned and it's obvious the outlet is blocked. Spew is visible at 8 o'clock from the filter lid.
I decided to go ahead with the adjustments because I don't have a filter in stock and once it's off it looks like oil everywhere, now at least it's spewing neatly into the transmission.
The first reading is the #2 servo, suppose to be 175-185 pounds. It's 160. There is an adjustment for that in the valve body and I'll deal with that after getting thru the rest of the protocol. Perhaps a non-clogged filter might make a difference.
At least the pump seems healthy, rev up the engine and the oil spewing is quite impressive.
The low oil pressure does not preclude adjusting the bands. To adjust #1 with the engine running the transmission is shifted to neutral, the lock nut is backed off and the adjusting screw is tightened to 10 ft pounds and then backed off 1 full turn. #1 screw is very loose. I back the lock nut way off and go to tighten. I run the screw all the way in and nothing is there, it does not come up against tension. Unfortunate. More on that later.
#2 band adjusts with the transmission in neutral, tighten the adjusting screw to 10 ft/pounds, and back off "exactly" 3/4 of a turn. The band is maladjusted but comes into adjustment fine.
#3 band is adjusted with the transmission in fifth gear, the adjusting screw is tightened to 5 ft/pounds (which just about stalls the engine), then backed off exactly 3/4 turns. Again, maladjusted but comes into adjustment readily.
Back to #1. I have a gauge installed in #1 servo and I shift thru the gears and the pressure comes up (150#, just what it's suppose to be) in the appropriate gears. Valve body is working properly.
It appears the transmission is working except for band #1. I have a hypothesis. The band is wrapped around a drum and hydraulic pressure actuates servo #1 which pushes and tightens the band around the drum and stops it from rotating. Between the servo mechanism and the band there is a "strut", which is a small piece of metal (#48) which is loose, unattached to either the brake band or the servo. My suspicion is that the former ill-advised adjustment attempts loosened the adjusting screw far enough that the strut fell out.
It's hopefully that or possibly the band is broken. Possibly the band is rotated enough that the adjuster does not engage.
I am thinking about the situation and tentatively plan to drain the transmission, remove a side cover, and feel around for the strut. If the steering column is removed it exposes the band and associated mechanisms. I'd be able to replace the strut. I don't know if it would be possible to replace the band from the top, I kinda doubt it. Picture from my 981. Band and mechanism is visible right below the flair nut.
This is a job for another day tho.
After getting to this point it was time to check out the spewing filter. I pulled it off and found it had been installed backwards. And it made a real difference.
The element inside is loose and the pressure had forced it against the outlet with a metal strap blocking 99%. Not really much excuse for that, both ends are labeled.
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Btzj02
Member
Thanks for the pictures and the update. When you replace your filter I would be interested to know if you have problems with the I.D. of the inlet. The one filter I replaced required me to ream out the Inlet of the filter to get the inlet tube to fit. Curious if you run into the same problem or did I just get a "bad" filter?
Didn't have much time today, but I dedicated an hour and a half to exposing the #1 band situation. Jobsite is getting messy.
I raised and blocked the steering column high enough to access the front compartment. I did indeed find the strut missing, the brake band rotated, and out of position in regards to the adjusting bolt. It's difficult to take good pictures, here's some different angles.
The adjusting bolt is actually against the catch for the servo/strut and the boss it's suppose to rest against has rotated underneath the bolt. The band is unbroken and fairly easily returned to its proper position.
At this point I needed to go to fulfill some evening obligations. I did not have time to drain the transmission and search for the strut. In all likelihood I'll find it at the bottom of the case and there's access to the area thru the side covers. My best magnet on a stick is misplaced. I stuck my backup down the only place it would fit and didn't catch anything.
Not a lot of hurry, the new filter won't arrive until after the holiday. I would like to get the steering column back in position. Now that the battery box is loose I'd like to take it over to a local place and have it sandblasted. It's heavily pitted on the bottom but still serviceable, the hook for the spring is still there. I suppose this is the time to rewire. I'll need a key switch and would like a new starter button. The solenoid needs analyzed, looks like it's been replaced and may be of the wrong sort to use with the grounding start button.
I am cautiously optimistic that I won't need to disassemble the transmission, although there are several potential failure points that are not tested with the adjustment procedures.
A short update. Today I drained the transmission and removed the right hand side cover from the housing.
An aside: Does anyone know why these holes/covers exist? Looking inside there's two bevel gears that look like they could transfer power to an implement bolted up to the transmission, but I've never seen or heard tell of what that implement might be.
Anyway - I find no trace of the strut which is missing from the #1 servo/band assembly. The band is right above this opening, I can reach in and touch it. The strut should have fallen down and landed between the two casting reinforcements. I slid a magnet on a flexible wand to either side and pick up no trace of anything. There's places that I can't get to, but I don't see how the strut could have gotten to them either.
Dunno.
I did have some luck on eBay tho, I found one amongst a collection of random parts from a seller. I've purchased the collection, but with Sunday and the holiday I'll be fortunate if it gets here next week. I've got things to stay busy with, but I hate to lose momentum. I was hoping to find out if there is anything else that needs to be addressed within the transmission.
Greg NE
Member
- Location
- Duncan, Nebraska
Somewhere in the past I came across a picture or two that showed a pto type shaft coming out of those holes. I believe it was a really rare option to run some sort of equipment that was mounted in the middle of the tractor. I wish I had a picture to share.
showcrop
Well-known Member
You are probably thinking of a hole on the left side, with the cover with the lever for the PTO. It is where the power is take for the Elenco front wheel assist comes from.
The filter for the Select-O-Speed came today.
I had the tube assembly on the bench so I test fitted it. It took some work and putting the tube in a vise, but I did get the filter fully onto the tube without modifying anything. It's tight. Removed the tube and checked it in the outlet and it slid right in place like I wished the inlet did. Might explain why the old one was in backwards.
I put the filter back in its box. I won't do any more to the transmission until the strut arrives since the steering column is precariously blocked up high and in the way. When I get it back into place I'll pull the valve body again to adjust the bypass pressure which was 15 pounds low.
Btzj02
Member
Thanks. similar experience I had.
The strut was delivered Saturday. I haven't had time to work on the machine until this afternoon when hot gusty winds made the shop look attractive. Piece was smaller than I thought it might be.
Here's the piece in position. It's at the end of the flexible magnet.
The filter is a PITA to install, I bypassed it with a bit of hose while making the band adjustment and checking the bypass pressure. #1 band adjusted as expected.
The first check, the pressure was 160#, suppose to be 175#. But with the old clogged filter out of the way the pressure came right up to 175, so I didn't need to make any adjustment.
I installed the new filter, put the cover back, installed the shifter, and it was time to see what I had.
I backed the machine out of the shop and drove it around the lot. I am happy to report that all gears are present and functional. I won't know 100% until I hook it up to something and work it, but I am encouraged and optimistic.
The machine still needs a lot of massaging, and now I feel much better about spending the time and money to return it to good operating condition.
Here's the piece in position. It's at the end of the flexible magnet.
The filter is a PITA to install, I bypassed it with a bit of hose while making the band adjustment and checking the bypass pressure. #1 band adjusted as expected.
The first check, the pressure was 160#, suppose to be 175#. But with the old clogged filter out of the way the pressure came right up to 175, so I didn't need to make any adjustment.
I installed the new filter, put the cover back, installed the shifter, and it was time to see what I had.
I backed the machine out of the shop and drove it around the lot. I am happy to report that all gears are present and functional. I won't know 100% until I hook it up to something and work it, but I am encouraged and optimistic.
The machine still needs a lot of massaging, and now I feel much better about spending the time and money to return it to good operating condition.
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