TW15

[Birdman]

Curious about how much it would cost to rebuild a PTO on a TW-15 ford tractor 1985 MFWD.
Just an idea, no need to be exact.

 

[Bern]

Rough guess, 10 hours of labor and $1000 in parts, depending on whether or not the PTO clutch housing needs to be replaced.

 

[Birdman]

Sweet, thanks Bern.
Were those things a peice of crap or what. One for sale near me with oil leaks at the pan and diesel pump and a leaky water pump and a weak PTO. I was trying to get an idea what kind of money would have to be sunk into it to fix it up.

I wonder now if it would be a waste of time no matter what the asking price. Thats not bad money for the PTO fix but with everything else, I'm wondering if it would ever be a decent and dependable tractor again.

Too bad if not, they were a cool looking tractor.

 

[Fordfarmer]

If the price is decent, go for it. Turbo 401's are good, efficient engines. Water pump was in the neighborhood of $60 last I knew. Oil pan gasket will involve more labor than parts $$. Dunno about the fuel (injection?) pump. I've bought ugly, leaky tractors before, and have been pleased with them once the leaks were fixed. Made decent money on them, too.

 

[Birdman]

Yeah, they were asking 16.5 for the thing and I thought that was high for all the problems it has but didn't know for sure.

The PTO I considered as being the worst of the problems. The engine sounds okay and tranny is a little sloppy at the shifters but works alright.

The PTO wouldn't pull the engine down when hooked to a dyno and won't shut off. Seems like a common problem on the TW's and usually can count on the PTO being crap at least shortly after. I hate breaking tractors in half (cabs are worse yet)and getting into gears..intimidates me a little even now.

It also has a tach problem and a leaky front hub on a front wheel. It shows 3995 hours but I suspect it's far higher being the tach isn't working. I wasn't too aweful worried about the smaller stuff but the PTO and the injector pump leak makes me nervous were I to do the labor myself.

Just seemed like a bunch of problems for an 1985 tractor. It looks good just looking at it, pretty straight and all, new tires and rear weights, cabs good too.

I don't mind rebuilding the thing if I can be reasonbly sure I have something decent when it's finished and don't have the same problems next year, lol.

My feeling talking to the dealer is they would consider an offer for considerably less dough. They need to IMHO.

 

[Bern]

I think the oil leak and diesel leaks are minor issues. Those oil pan gaskets generally don't leak. It's likely something else. Same thing with the fuel pump.

If the PTO slips (usually the problem with those TWs is that the PTO wont stop), this may be as minor as a pressure issue on the outside. How does the dual power work?

 

[JAC FARMING]

injector pump would cost about 1000 to rebuild. if you look arond on the net you might beable to find a rebuilt 1 or an aftermarket 1 for the range $600-1000. you cant go wrong with a ford especially when it is all fixed up. they last forever. very pleased of our fords and thats almost all we got.

 

[jbirnsch]

Look at the clutch petal and the floor mat under the cluth petal. If the clutch petal is starting to look smooth and there is a hole starting in the floor mat then it has something like 8000 to 10000 hours on it.

Oil pan gasket is not a simple fix as one would expect it to be.

The injector pump has an overflow and if that is dripping then it may need a rebuild as fuel is bypassing the plungers. Check for cracked injector lines or leaking return lines at the injectors. I think we replaced one or 2 injector lines on our 8700 in the 11000 hours that it has on it currently. Make sure none of the vibration dampening clamps are missing on the injector lines.

As for the PTO, Madison Tractor has the steel clutch plates and other parts at a reasonable cost. Never used them so I cannot vouch for quality:

http://www.madisontractor.com/pbb77573a-pto-steel-plate-39647.html

Offer him $10k and see if he bites with a counter offer.

 

[Bern]

No injection pump overflow on TWs.

 

[Birdman]

It's not diesel leaking at the injector pump, it's motor oil. I thought it was coming from a gasket near the pump. I didn't see any diesel leaks on the tractor, sorry I didn't clearify that. The pan gasket may not be leaking, might have just been the other oil running down and around there.

I don't know about the dual power, I didn't try it I guess. Actually I didn't see a dual power lever on it like a TW30 has on the floor. Maybe I just missed it, they were closing when I was there so I was in a hurry to let them go.

The PTO won't stop and thats the noticable problem with it. I didn't see them dyno test it but the guy said it was "weak" and wouldn't pull the motor down.

 

[Birdman]

Well, the dealer came down to a flat $13,000 on that tractor. I offered to rent it and pay the repair bill at a ford dealer for the rent and under contract that I buy it after fall harvest.

They said, no..we can set it up through JD credit with 20% down if you'll fill out the paperwork.

I laughed and said no, I didn't want the hassle of filling all the paperwork/crap/red tape. A simple contract should have sufficed under the circumstances. They have had this tractor on the lot since 2007 and won't fix it to sell it. Everyone that looks at it is scared of it and walks on. I'm sure it's not the first time they have come down to the 13k either.

I thought they couldn't lose with the deal I offered, if I don't buy they get a 20+k tractor back with maybe 300 hours added to it that will sell to the first person that comes along. I guess they will have to keep watching folks look at it and walk on until a retard with more money than brains comes along.

 

[Birdman]

Oh, forgot to mention, appearently the dual power swith thats supposed to be there is missing or broken as well. Probably might as well figure on replacing the dual power along with the PTO. Whoever buys it.

 

[RodinNS]

If they'll let you... get a gauge on the dual power/PTO circuit and see what it's making for pressure. I'm not sure what the spec is on that tractor but I'm thinking it should go in the 200 psi range at a fast idle when it's warm? Bern will know.
This may be a simple leak that involves more labor than parts. It may also be a complete nightmare if the oil is dirty from brakes falling apart... If that's the case then I'd tend to think it's a 10K or less tractor... but for a simple leaker with no other major issues I don't think 13K is out of line. If you were serious and know what it will take to fix I'd bet they'll move more. Still a quiet time of year...

Rod

 

[Birdman]

I was serious about the tractor, one of those things that I knew I should probably leave alone but was still a nagging feeling in my gut that says it's worth it.

The dual power switch is gone so there's no way to test it without a pressure test I guess and the guy made it very clear thats as low as he was going to go. When I tried to haggle further he got pretty huffy with me and aggrevated and said the "13 was as is where is" and that was all he was going to do (with a crappy tone). I suppose it's probably worth it but there are still a ton of "if's" involved. Engine, dual power, clutch, actual hours, hydraulics etc..

I think I'll pass on it, would probably have been still mulling it over had the guy not been such an irratable jerk. I've bought $20k worth of stuff from his dad in the last three years at the other store, thought I might be treated wit ha little more respect than I was...everyone deals and haggles, no call for being rude IMHO.

 

[RodinNS]

I think I might call a tractor wrecker and see what they'd want for a MFWD TW15 or 25 and go from there. I think you could do better than 13 at a wrecker but mabey I'm wrong... and the way I look at this one... if it needs major internal work because of clutches and brakes being destroyed... it's as good as any other salvage tractor. That's how I'd look at it. If he won't match salvage price, he can keep sitting on his golden egg.

Rod

 

[jbirnsch]

Bern,

So if the fuel pump goes bad and leaks fuel into the injector pump it will fill the engine crankcase with diesel to the top of the dipstick tube?

Jason

 

[Birdman]

Haha, thats priceless, lol. Good point too BTW.

 

[Bern]

Yup. Seen it happen on a TW20.

 

[Bern]

Without having a manual in front of me, 200 PSI is close, but I think it's more like 180 PSI. It's been too long since I've worked on those things to recall exactly.