Ford 1710 Differential Lock

[flembo]

I inherited a 1710 about 4 yrs. Ago that belonged to my FIL. The Differential Lock hasn?t worked for many yrs. I seem to recall him mentioning that the shift fork was broken I don?t know if he knew that for sure or just assumed it was broken. The differential lock not working has not caused me any problems but I would like to fix it if I can, just so that everything works as it should. I have the FO 44 manual that shows the exploded views of the differential showing the Diff. Lock pedal the cam pin, spring and fork. What I can?t tell is if I could get at it by removing the lift arm housing. When I push down on the pedal it does spring back making believe the cam pin is not broken or missing and that the notch in the fork is functioning. Long story short has any one ever worked on one and can give me some advice as far as how best to go at it. I know parts are hard to come by for these tractors but I did find and buy a used fork and a spring just in case. Thanks for any help.

 

[RickB]

You will have the lift cover and at least the right rear axle housing off to service the diff lock. Matter of fact, I think both axle housings will need to come off to get the differential out.

 

[flembo]

Thanks Rick for the quick response. My gut feeling was that I wouldn't be able to do anything from the top but was hoping. I wonder if I can at least see if the fork is broken or not from up top. If I decide to dig into it later this summer I will update. Thanks again.

 

[ericoberg1]

Hi Flembo,

We have had our 1710 for 20 years. As we almost always have the tractor in 4 wheel drive, the lock never gets used. However, the pedal is a bit "weak", as in its travel is only about 2 inches till it hits bottom. Springs back up, just not very snappy. Like yours, nothing seems broken, but wondering what could be worn.

Looking forward to seeing some pictures if you tear it open.

 

[flembo]

Will do with the pictures but don't know when I will do it. The few times I could have used diff. lock, alternating left or right brake did the trick.