Ford 8630 and good?

[JDBrian]

I am looking at a Ford 8630 MFWD powershift with 6400 hours for $18,000 and am wondering if these tractors are any good? What are the strong and week points of these? Are the engines and transmissions any good? Is 6400 hours high for this type of tractor? How necessary is MFWD(I have never owned or operated a tractor with MFWD)? I will be using the tractor with a NH BB960 big square baler, JD 15' offset disk, and Hesston 14 shank chisel plow.

 

[Jerry/MT]

I may catch some flack but I read somewhwere that the design life of a tractor was about 7000 hrs. That doesn"t mean they die right after 6999.9 hrs of operation but that some major components are reching there wear limits when the tractor is used at ITS DESIGN OPERATING CYCLE for 7000 hrs(if that"s the correct design life)and maintained to the manufacturer"s recommendations.
Many utility tractors are not used this way and so they may go longer. Also, how the tractor was maintained is a big factor.
Personally I don"t farm, I ranch and my equipment doesn"t really get a lot of hours at rated power and rpm. I look for used tractors that have less than 4000 hrs max and I really shoot for tractors around 2000 hrs when I"m looking for tractors.
RodinNS is very knowledgeable about these Big Fords and I"m sure he can give you more advice based on direct experience then I can. He will most likely have a response for you.

 

[oj]

if i remember right, the 8630 is the old TW series with a Funk powershift box. engines are nearly bullet proof, although excess oil pressure can cause some problems with the relief valve wearing funny and then causing loss of oil pressure. The transmission is fairly reliable, although if you can check to see if previous owners have had transmission updates done, i know there were a few problems with some of the early ones, later ones seem to bee ok. There will be a noticeable gear change between 9th and 10th gear, the transmission shifts gears and shafts resulting in a loud "clunk". I know of TW series tractors with excess of 10000hrs on them with out major problems. MFWD is a plus, it makes the tractor handle better under load, it"s more stable towing heavy weights too especially on the highway, although front tires can wear a lot if doing lots of highway work. One thing to note, we looked at a TW35 several years ago, and once started the drive belts were squealing once the engine was running, the harmonic balancer on the crank pulley was on it"s way out, i walked away from that one, that sort of thing can mean a new crank. I agree with the other post, RodinNS knows a thing or two about Ford tractors.

 

[RodinNS]

Unfortunately I don't know much about the 6 cylinder Fords.... I have no direct experience with them.
I do know that this one has the 401 engine and the 18 speed Funk transmission. As far as I know the transmission is the same basic transmission that was eventually used in the Genesis tractors. Basically rock solid there.... The 401 is bulletproof too.
They were generally good tractors as far as I know. You might expect some electrical gremlins with that transmission, mostly in the connections I think. Dunno how the hydraulics hold up on that series tractor...

FWD is a must have in my opinion. It's pretty hard to correctly ballast a 2 wheel drive for maximum pull without screwing with ballast and duals all the time... FWD pulls more with less hassle. I would not be without it.

For what it's worth, I believe the 8630 is the upgrade from the TW15 which was in around 110-115 HP with the N/A 401. It's going to be over matched on the offset disc in anything but light soil. I think you'd want to be quite careful with the baler too. It should run a smaller model OK but I don't think I'd try the big models...

If you want to know more, I'd hollar for Bern. He stops by on the Ford board from time to time and also frequents the Machinery board at AgTalk. He knows that tractor inside out.

Rod