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east central MN | Anyone have or had one of these old girls? Neighbor has one for sale and I need a cheap, basic tractor to replace one that had some "problems". Are they decent machines? Anything to look at specificly or watch out for on them? I think the price is right and he put a new clutch in last year, good rubber too. TIA |
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ROCKHAMPTON CENTRAL QLD | Brother has one he bought new, it has done an incredible amount of work I think it's up to about 12,000 hours now, only thing it's had done to it was a new clutch about 2 years ago and some air con work.
Everyone talks about them pitting out the cylinder walls but we have a 9600,8700 ,TW10 and TW5 all with big hours and have not had that problem yet, (touch wood) maybe a colder climate has something to do with it.
Wouldn't be scared of one especially if its been reasonably looked after. |
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Sanilac Co. Michigan | Not a 8700 but a TW10, basically same thing. Like it real well, bought it(well) used as a spraying, fertilizer spreading tractor and occasional drilling or light tillage. The only downside is the hydraulic system. It's open center or quasi-closed center depending on how you look at it, flow rate adjustable at the control levers. It works, but the pump capacity isn't all that great. I run an Ace hydraulic driven pump on it, but really ought to either buy an Ace pump designed for open center systems or run it off the p.t.o. I don't know exactly what you intend to use it for, but will say they ride well over rougher ground which I guess is a function of wheel base and position of the operators seat. More like a 4430 Deere than a 1070 Case if you know what I mean. |
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east central MN | Good info! I plan on using it for running my mixer wagon and the occasional pulling chopper boxes or hauling manure so as long as the hydraulics work I don't need flow rate or speed. |
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SW “Ohia” | eweland,
They are good, simple, reliable tractors. Period. Parts are plentiful and decently priced. Not flashy, but Ford didn't market them that way.
Keep the coolant changed every two years and add an external bypass filter. That is their only downfall, and only occurred due to lack of proper maintenance. Hydraulics are not spectacular, but it is an old tractor. The 401 diesel is legendary for durability. My 8000 (older version of the 8700) is a hoss, my main tillage tractor turned to 125hp. 8,700 hours and going like a top.
These tractors have very few issues. I know of several with 18,000 hours on them and they have done a massive amount of work over the years. There is a reason that many dairies ran blue for decades.
Dual Power is good, but can wear out. Check for strog shifting between both while driving. Watch the PTO shaft while running the tractor; it should stay still. If it spins with the handle disengaged, the band brake is worn out. This is a pain to fix, and usually shows the tractor has been run hard. Snap the PTO lever off and see how fast the shaft stops, that can tell you good the band is. PTO clutch replacement means splitting the tractor, just FYI. If you need to switch between 540 and 1000, there are two different stub shafts that you have to interchange.
The power steering hand motor under the steering wheel can give problems, but this is very rare. Check for leakage in that area. Power steering hoses use a special thread with packing nuts; pretty odd and usually only available at a NH dealer. The shifter linkage is very long with several wear points, so check that is goes in all gears easily; usually not a problem.
DO NOT use automotive brake fluid in the brake system. It must be NH spec fluid, or the rubber will turn to mush. The brakes and power steering on these tractors are both separate from the hydraulic system, which I prefer. You have immediate use of both at startup.
The 401 injection pump has a separate oil reservoir that must be changed when you change the engine oil. Some people neglect this. In my experience, Fords have somewhat noisy transmissions/rear ends, so just be aware.
I recommend these Ford tractors to anyone who asks. They just plain work. |
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NE WI | We have one with 11,400 hours. My dad bought it new in 77'. At the time it was the biggest tractor in the neighborhood.
Engine was overhauled at 6800 hours but that tractor was started every day in the winter for hauling manure.
The dual power has never been touched and neithor has the injector pump.
Last year we replaced the hydraulic pump and clutch, flywheel, pressure plate. It has had a few clutches because dad used to have a loader on it. Loader work was hard on the clutch.
It was our main tractor until we bought a TW30 in 2004. It pulled our 24' IH 496 disk, Chopped with a Gehl 1060, and hauled manure with a Houle 4200 gallon tanker.
Now we use it for planting, spraying and hauling gravity boxes.
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Madison Co. Virginia | Red Paint, you obviously know these old fords, and while I don't much care for it, I've got one-- a tw-25.
You mentioned a separate oil reservoir for the injection pump. Does this still apply to the tw-series? I've never seen evidence of it.
I've put auto brake fluid in our tractor not knowing anything else. Where does it cause damage-- only in the master cylinder, or at the brakes as well? The bigger brother of our tractor had power brakes and just ran hydraulic fluid through them. Were the slave cylinders any different to handle the different fluid? What would happen if I put hydraulic fluid in my brake reservoir?
Does the dual power ever wear out to the point of slipping, or is all slippage because of leaks or other hydraulic problems?
Is the PTO brake really a big deal? Ours is pretty much worn out(it can take 30 seconds for a 15 foot bush-hog to come to a stop), but it doesn't bother me much. |
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NE WI | The TW series has a low pressure port plumbed on the front corner of the block from an oil galley that feeds the injector pump. The injector pump is modified where the oil then spills into the timing gear case. No need to check the oil on the injector pump on the TW series. It's this way on our TW30.
The auto brake oil will deteriorate the piston brake seals. These are located in the rear axle and the trumpets have to be pulled to work on the brakes. Only a matter of time before the brakes get mushy.
Dual power can wear out or break. On our 9000 the dual power disk housing broke the entire back side out. The tractor would not move. The sealing rings can wear out and you then lose pressure to hold the disks tight under load and will then slip.
PTO brake band replacement requires a rear split from the transmission to the rear end. The band is only 3/4" wide on the 8700 with a thin layer of lining.
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Urbandale Ia, (but originally from SE IA) | My Dad had a VERY late model 8000 ('72/'73 had a lot of similar features as an 8600 that older 8's did not.)
Anyway, he had the tractor for 20 plus years & I do not remember ever changing oil in the injector pump. Oooops! |
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8700 Ford
