Ford 4000 Select o Speed repair DFW area

[scottpaulf]

Greetings All,
new to the forum and looking for someone that knows how to work on the Select o Speed (SOS)? I have a late 60s Ford 4000 with the 4 cyl diesel. It runs well but the SOS locks up every so many years. I had someone that worked on it the last time but he's since retired. Any recommendations would be greatly apprecaited as I'd love to keep this old guy running.

thanks much!
paul

 

[13fx]

Should be a 3.3L 3 cylinder diesel motor in there. Don't know of anyone on that side of the country that does sos transmissions, but I'll send you a contact back east.

 

[Dean]

Greetings All,
new to the forum and looking for someone that knows how to work on the Select o Speed (SOS)? I have a late 60s Ford 4000 with the 4 cyl diesel. It runs well but the SOS locks up every so many years. I had someone that worked on it the last time but he's since retired. Any recommendations would be greatly apprecaited as I'd love to keep this old guy running.

thanks much!
paul

If your 4000 is a 4 cylinder it is a 63 or 64. The 63 and 64 SOS models had the DDC system with no coasting gears but did not have externally accessible transmission oil filters in the suction circuit as did later models. Because the discharge side oil filters in these models could not be replaced without removing the transmission top cover, these filters were rarely changed, and the oil usually became badly contaminated.

Don't know what you mean by "locks up every so many years," but best guess is that shifter cable is improperly adjusted and/or that contamination in the oil is causing selector valves to stick.

Yes, technicians both competent and willing to work on the Ford SOS transmission are becoming few and far between. No, I do not know of any such technicians in the DFW area.

You have three or 4 options.

Of course, you could replace your tractor.

Secondly, you could find a mechanic to replace your SOS with a five-speed mechanical transmission. For multiple reasons, I would certainly not recommend this option to anyone not competent to do the work one 'self, unless one has an established relationship with a trusted technician well-acquainted with vintage Ford tractors, especially, the 5-speed transmissions.

Thirdly, you could have a local mechanic remove your SOS and ship it to a competent SOS rebuilder. This is a very expensive option that I would not recommend to anyone not working on a family heirloom. Buy a Kubota, instead.

Finally, if mechanically inclined and time permits, you could learn how to work on your transmission yourself. Despite what you may have heard, there is no black magic inside a Ford SOS transmission, and anyone who has been inside of any vintage automobile automatic transmission will be completely comfortable working therein. Of course, you will need the proper Ford shop manual(s).

Good luck.

 

[scottpaulf]

If your 4000 is a 4 cylinder it is a 63 or 64. The 63 and 64 SOS models had the DDC system with no coasting gears but did not have externally accessible transmission oil filters in the suction circuit as did later models. Because the discharge side oil filters in these models could not be replaced without removing the transmission top cover, these filters were rarely changed, and the oil usually became badly contaminated.

Don't know what you mean by "locks up every so many years," but best guess is that shifter cable is improperly adjusted and/or that contamination in the oil is causing selector valves to stick.

Yes, technicians both competent and willing to work on the Ford SOS transmission are becoming few and far between. No, I do not know of any such technicians in the DFW area.

You have three or 4 options.

Of course, you could replace your tractor.

Secondly, you could find a mechanic to replace your SOS with a five-speed mechanical transmission. For multiple reasons, I would certainly not recommend this option to anyone not competent to do the work one 'self, unless one has an established relationship with a trusted technician well-acquainted with vintage Ford tractors, especially, the 5-speed transmissions.

Thirdly, you could have a local mechanic remove your SOS and ship it to a competent SOS rebuilder. This is a very expensive option that I would not recommend to anyone not working on a family heirloom. Buy a Kubota, instead.

Finally, if mechanically inclined and time permits, you could learn how to work on your transmission yourself. Despite what you may have heard, there is no black magic inside a Ford SOS transmission, and anyone who has been inside of any vintage automobile automatic transmission will be completely comfortable working therein. Of course, you will need the proper Ford shop manual(s).

Good luck.

Hi Dean,
Thanks very much for the great feedback/write up. Gives me a lot of options to explore. When I mentioned that it locks up every so many years, I was deployed overseas a few years back and when I returned, the tractor had been sitting covered in a tarp. I got the diesel running well but couldn't move the SOS lever. I was able to get it on a trailer and take it to a friend/mechanic that could literally fix anything. He's since retired, etc. I was overseas again and when I returned, the same thing happened - locked up while in gear.

That said, I'm leaning more to options one (1) or four (4). I grew up on a small farm doing a lot of shade-tree mechanic tasks, have rebuilt old V-8s and an old carburetors or two, etc. However, I've never touched an automatic transmission - always felt that was a trade/craft I didn't have enough experience to tinker with, if that makes sense.

However, if I was going to choose option 4 and "attempt" to fix this, could you point me in the direction of the proper manuals I'd need to buy? I'd plan on reading them before I pulled the transmission top cover.

The tractor is sitting on a ranch south of me so I'm going to need to find a way to get it up on a trailer while in gear. that will be step one.

Thanks again sir!
paul

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Hi Dean,
Thanks very much for the great feedback/write up. Gives me a lot of options to explore. When I mentioned that it locks up every so many years, I was deployed overseas a few years back and when I returned, the tractor had been sitting covered in a tarp. I got the diesel running well but couldn't move the SOS lever. I was able to get it on a trailer and take it to a friend/mechanic that could literally fix anything. He's since retired, etc. I was overseas again and when I returned, the same thing happened - locked up while in gear.

That said, I'm leaning more to options one (1) or four (4). I grew up on a small farm doing a lot of shade-tree mechanic tasks, have rebuilt old V-8s and an old carburetors or two, etc. However, I've never touched an automatic transmission - always felt that was a trade/craft I didn't have enough experience to tinker with, if that makes sense.

However, if I was going to choose option 4 and "attempt" to fix this, could you point me in the direction of the proper manuals I'd need to buy? I'd plan on reading them before I pulled the transmission top cover.

The tractor is sitting on a ranch south of me so I'm going to need to find a way to get it up on a trailer while in gear. that will be step one.

Thanks again sir!
paul

You said "retired." There's a saying, "Retired doesn't mean (that other r-word we're not supposed to say anymore)." Maybe it's a saying. Maybe I'm having a Mandela Effect moment.

Why not ask him what he did? Maybe it's something simple that you can handle yourself.

 

[wore out]

Greetings All,
new to the forum and looking for someone that knows how to work on the Select o Speed (SOS)? I have a late 60s Ford 4000 with the 4 cyl diesel. It runs well but the SOS locks up every so many years. I had someone that worked on it the last time but he's since retired. Any recommendations would be greatly apprecaited as I'd love to keep this old guy running.

thanks much!
paul

If by "locks up" you mean the ship lever can't be moved parts in the selector lever mechanism could be rusted/stuck or the "Morse cable" that connects it to the transmission (35) could be stuck.

https://www.mycnhstore.com/us/en/ne...56875BD6/35F6724F-E6BE-E111-9FCE-005056875BD6

 

[Dean]

Hi Dean,
Thanks very much for the great feedback/write up. Gives me a lot of options to explore. When I mentioned that it locks up every so many years, I was deployed overseas a few years back and when I returned, the tractor had been sitting covered in a tarp. I got the diesel running well but couldn't move the SOS lever. I was able to get it on a trailer and take it to a friend/mechanic that could literally fix anything. He's since retired, etc. I was overseas again and when I returned, the same thing happened - locked up while in gear.

That said, I'm leaning more to options one (1) or four (4). I grew up on a small farm doing a lot of shade-tree mechanic tasks, have rebuilt old V-8s and an old carburetors or two, etc. However, I've never touched an automatic transmission - always felt that was a trade/craft I didn't have enough experience to tinker with, if that makes sense.

However, if I was going to choose option 4 and "attempt" to fix this, could you point me in the direction of the proper manuals I'd need to buy? I'd plan on reading them before I pulled the transmission top cover.

The tractor is sitting on a ranch south of me so I'm going to need to find a way to get it up on a trailer while in gear. that will be step one.

Thanks again sir!
paul

Buy the proper Ford service manual and the SOS supplement. These are available online.

You should also have the proper Owner's Manual. The Owner's Manual will show how to disconnect/reconnect the traction disconnect so that you can move the tractor without the engine running.

 

[scottpaulf]

You said "retired." There's a saying, "Retired doesn't mean (that other r-word we're not supposed to say anymore)." Maybe it's a saying. Maybe I'm having a Mandela Effect moment.

Why not ask him what he did? Maybe it's something simple that you can handle yourself.

HA! agree with you there. Reached out and plan on buying him some lunch so he can walk me through what he did to repair it last time.