Conversion from SOS to 5-speed

I've seen posts in the past on this subject. Thinking of doing this to an 1871 I just rescued and got running. How difficult is it to do? Also would this be a good time to look at getting a 'shuttle' for the transmission? Any resources that lay out the procedure?
 
Just go it running yesterday, I have 3 other SOS tractors, this one feels really rough trying to get it to go through the gears. The son of the former owner said his father complained about it also.
 
(quoted from post at 08:21:22 11/15/23) So it sounds like I'd be looking for a 5-speed with live PTO, the shuttle is optional. How hard is the swap out?

Are you swapping out everything from the flywheel back or just the transmission.
 


I did one last winter. I swapped the whole thing from engine back after a thorough cleaning and inspection of course. I bought a parts tractor, and sold the engine and other parts after. My engine is a diesel with under 500 hours and a fresh pump.
 
I would do the 4-speed before I would do the 5-speed. Ford never offered the 5-speed in that industrial line, there must have been a reason for it. The reason I say this is because this tractor is not the best choice for bush hogging in a field, carrying a large loader kills the HPG and makes maneuvering much harder than that of a 601 or 801 without a loader. Plus, with the 4-speed you can get one of the optional auxiliary transmissions. For me there is not enough of a advantage with the live PTO over the standard PTO, especially if you are coming from an independent PTO. The trick is finding a donor tractor that will become a donor tractor and not just another project. That is what happened to the last 3 801s I got (2 5-speed and a 4-speed). If you can find an 801 or early 4000 with a bad or missing engine, that would be the way to go. In the end its really come to what is available around you.
 
It's not too bad of a job but your heavy industrial will have a loader and that heavy frame in the way. I changed a model 871 to a model 861 a couple years ago. I like the SOS but this one had some bigger transmission issues (as in a couple parts laying in the bottom of the transmission according to the previous owner). I purchased the tractor with the bad SOS. Chicken house mechanic has a very good video explaining the process and the parts you will need for the switch.
 

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