Ford 8000 Questions

[SuperCpuller]

Looking at a 8000 and was wondering what I should look for in terms of good and bad traits of the tractor because i don't have much experience with the bigger Fords. The tractor supposedly has 2059 hrs. How reliable is this series of tractor. Any information would be appreciated.

 

[shaun wallace]

Look at rear wheels where centers clamp to axle was weak spot. they used ubolts instead of wedge and key setup.

 

[Old Ford Mechanic]

Ah yes the 8000.Fords first 100 hp tractor.I cut my teeth working on them.1968 was the first year.First of all the the 401 cid engine was bullet proof.That is if it was left alone.They don't tolerate extra fuel turned up at the pump very well.So leave the fuel screw and the rpm's alone.The first ones out of the factory had no hydraulic filter installed and trouble with wear on the brake discs.As a result the filing's from the brakes contaminated the hydraulic oil and wore everything else in the system.Ford soon remedied this with a recall of the tractors.The tractors had to be completely dissasembled from the tranny back.They were cleaned and repaired with new redesigned parts and a filtration system was installed for the hydraulics.I personally did this on several of the tractors in the 1970's.I did some as late as 1978.It was a time consuming job but Ford did foot the bill.After the early 8000 problems the latter ones had the updates from the factory.The tractor proved to be a good one after the updates and sold well.The transmissons in the early tractors were a tad weak so Ford updated with different gear bushing's and shafts.Most of these were done when then the new 8600 tractor came out around 1973.The brakes gave some trouble with piston seals and wrapped discs throughout the series.The dual power clutchpack and the pto clutchpack also needed a rebuild from time to time.Shifting forks in the early transmissons were also prone to breakage.Hydraulic pumps also gave some trouble.A lot of the hydraulic troubles after the update were caused in my opinion due to a lack of proper maintenance.Dirty filters and worn contaminated oil contributed to problems.The tractors improved a lot over the years with the original 401 engine being kept in service all the up way into at least the TW series of tractors.Keep in mind that these tractors are 35 to 40 years old now.One that has only around 2000 hrs is not likely.Thats only 50 to 60 hrs a year.Most people with a 105 hp tactor have more work for it than that.All that being said my take is that they were decent tractors easy on fuel and cheap hp.Now if i was thinking of purchasing this tractor to farm with i'd want to do these things first.#1-check all fluids and make sure they are to specs.#2-check the oil level in the injector pump.(this is very important)#3-i'd want to see an implement hitched up and see the tractor worked up to operating temp.Perferably a 3 point implement to operate the lift and the pto.This to be sure the lift and the pto still operate correctly when the oil gets hot.#4-plug a guage into a remote outlet and check the hydraulic pressure.With the oil at operating temp you should have close to 2000 psi.Anything less and it may need a pump.#5-insist on driving the tractor while it is working.You should have good brakes with petals of equal height on both sides.If dual power equipped,upshifts and downshifts shoud be quick and smooth if the clutchpack is in decent shape.Also check the pto to see if the brake works.The shaft should stop quickly when the lever is shifted to the off position.There should be slight rpm change of the engine anytime you shift the pto lever if everything is correct.Also check for steering play.The engine should be smooth with not a lot of black smoke.If it smokes a lot i'd suspect that the fuel screw has been turned up.If everything i've described is ok then,i'd say the tractor would be allright.As for as worth that tractor here in the south woud be around $3500.00.A couple are still here close to me.One of them comes to my shop every year for serviceing.Both are used in haying operations and both have well over 10.000 hrs on them.