TO20? To look for...

[Anonymous-0]

I am going to pick up (hopefully) a TO20 I believe. It has been parked for a couple of years and I was told it ran when parked. What should I look for? Also where is information on tune up specs other than whats on here? I'm looking specifically for capacities. Also is $600 a decent price to pay? Paint and rubber seem to be in good shape. Thanks.

 

[phil(va)]

I assume it is not running now. Impossible to know about such things as whether the engine smokes or whether the hydraulics work well until you get it running. A non running tractor for sale is basically for parts, or at least the buyer should look at it that way. At $600 you are not hurt if it is just for parts, but that is probably the upper limit price for a parts tractor of this type. Now if you get it running fairly soon and the engine does not need major work, you have an excellent buy. If you know the seller at all and he is not too far away, I'd try to buy it a little cheaper, but kick in more if it runs well. In other words, see if he will take $400 as is, and then if you get it running and it doesn't smoke give him another $300, so he has a chance to make more than his asking price if the tractor is good. Sorta like baseball player incentives. Jerry/MT has lots of posts telling you all about how to make sure you are getting a good spark. One of the first things you need to do, however, is clean the gas tank and carburetor and fuel lines. They will be gummed up.

 

[Richard L]

Trent if there is a crank available try it and see if the engine will turn over if it does that is a good sign. If it doesn't it may just be a minor or a major problem. Like Phil says if you can get him to come down a little it might be worth it. If not and there are major problems look at it and say to your self can I part this out and recoop my money. There are many people out here looking for used but good parts everyday. Hopefully you will end up with one of those stories I cleaned the tank and fuel lines and then it started up. Good luck

 

[gshadel]

Trent, the tune-up spec's are over on the left column. I totally agree with the other guys, a non-running tractor is a parts tractor and should be priced that way, which $600 is on the high end of that. You have no idea what your going to find when you tear into a non-running tractor. Might just need a few cob-webs cleaned out & it fires-up, might have cracked block from freezing, locked-up pistons, stuck clutch, ... who knows, and would easily cost you way more than it is worth to fix.
BUT, a running tractor is a different thing alltogether and worth a LOT more than a parts tractor. If your prev. owner can get that tractor running for you, ~$1400+ is a good price around here for a running tractor with good metal & rubber.
Either way - check the radiator to make sure it's got coolant (not water), and no oil floating in there. Check oil to make sure it looks like oil and not overfilled or off color which my suggest water leaking into the crankcase. The gears shift smoothly, the clutch is working, the PTO shifter works, (kind-of hard to check that on a non-runner), rubber, sheet metal,wiring makes sense and not shredded from age, and gas shut-off/sediment bowl is clean & works. Even if the engine don't start, if you can hook-up another battery & turn the engine. That is a huge plus and maybe worth $600 if it cranks and sounds "normal".


George

 

[Jerry/MT]

If you can"t check it out running, $600 for a parts tractor is a fair price. If you can get it started you can find out a lot more. Go over with a gallon of fresh gas and see if you can jump start it.( Make sure that you aren"t jumping a 6V with a 12V! You can disconnect the starter lead and jump any battery directly to the starter.)
If you hook it up to your car, MAKE SURE YOU HOOK POSITIVE TO Even if POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE TO NEGATIVE WHEN YOU JUMP IT! (I know there are those who will say that"s damgerous you should hook the proper ground terminal to a body part but on these old tractors it sometimes kinda hard to determine battery +/-sign.)

You might be able to start it. If it doesn"t start, see if the oil pressure comes up when you crank it and note how high it gets. Check the oil. Check the coolant and look for cracks in the water jacket in case some clown used water or a weak antifreeze mix. Check the hydraulic fluid.

 

[Bob (Aust)]

[b:d8bcf219b9]Trent.[/b:d8bcf219b9]

If you talk to [b:d8bcf219b9]ericlb[/b:d8bcf219b9] he'll tell you to check that it has big end bearing caps!!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Might be an idea to try to get it running before you pass over the $$$'s???

Bob in Oz

 

[Anonymous-0]

Thank you all for your help. I know the tractor was running atleast two years ago until the guy died, and then started every now and then.

 

[Jeff-oh]

Trent,

$600 is a V. good price for a tractor that was in good running condition 2 years ago. As others have said even if it is a piece of junk, you will be able to get your money back out at that price.

Jeff