Ford 8n Water in Oil

   / Ford 8n Water in Oil #1  

strum456

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Westmoreland County PA
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Is it common for rain water to leak into the crankcase on 8n tractors that have been sitting outside? If so, what is the likely source of the leak? I was never much of an 8n fan, but now I'm the proud owner of one. lol
 
   / Ford 8n Water in Oil #2  
Not supposed to let rain into engine "IF" everthing such as filler cap and dip stick are original or designed same as original. Depending on climate,condensate can collect inside engine but not more than a few teaspoons total. If you have a few oz or more,I would suspect blown head gasket,cracked block or head. If you have a lot of water and unsure if it's from rain or coolant,try this before changing oil. Buy,beg,borrow or steal a device to pump and hold pressure at radiator cap fitting. If system will not hold pressure and you find additional water in crankcase,you have an engine problem. Tell us how much water and some history on tractor.
 
   / Ford 8n Water in Oil #3  
A vertical exhaust with no flapper/tin can could cause a problem although most 8n don't have a vertical exhaust. It's likely the problems Jaxs spoke of.
 
   / Ford 8n Water in Oil
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Well, it's kind of a long story. I am looking at buying another 8n as a parts tractor. It has been sitting outside for a long time and apparently has a stuck clutch. I mainly just want the engine and a few odds and ends. BUT, I don't want it if it is likely that the engine is or has been full of water (like mine was - which would be the reason mine needs an engine). The owner claims that the engine runs great, doesn't smoke, etc.. but he hasn't had it running in over a year and doesn't want to take the time to get it running. LOL

"It ran great when I parked it". Translation: It really didn't run all that great, which is why I parked it.
"Easy fix, just don't have the time". Translation: I do not know what is wrong or how to fix it.

Haven't we all heard this a time or two...
 
   / Ford 8n Water in Oil #5  
Another translation to ran until parked,"was running great until it threw a rod and I had no choice but park it".
If you don't know and trust the seller,never pay according to what they say,pay for what you see. Even if a tractor run's fine,if water manage's to get inside,odds are high it will develop serious issues as the result. If the seller will alow it to be tinkered with before making a decision,a compression check plus the coolant pressure test at minimum should be done. If I realy liked the tractor,I might make a deal for $xxx payable only after I got it running.
 
   / Ford 8n Water in Oil #6  
This should be an easy decision if you weren't a fan of Ns to start with. Yeah, they'll pull a wagon around, and are probably a lot better than a pair of asses for pulling a plow, but they're not worth putting money into, at least in my opinion. I grew up running two of them, and I don't miss them one bit. Lack of live hydraulics, live power, power steering, ROPS, too high gearing, all make them very undesirable in my book. I'd sooner scrap one than put more than $100 into fixing it. There's a lot better tractors that only cost marginally more to purchase that will make a much more useable machine.
 
   / Ford 8n Water in Oil #7  
if he won't get it running .. I'd skip it...

If it's been setting a long time with water in the engine.. no telling how the crank is, or if it poped a head gasket and now a jug is orange and crusty.. etc.
 
   / Ford 8n Water in Oil
  • Thread Starter
#8  
This should be an easy decision if you weren't a fan of Ns to start with. Yeah, they'll pull a wagon around, and are probably a lot better than a pair of asses for pulling a plow, but they're not worth putting money into, at least in my opinion. I grew up running two of them, and I don't miss them one bit. Lack of live hydraulics, live power, power steering, ROPS, too high gearing, all make them very undesirable in my book. I'd sooner scrap one than put more than $100 into fixing it. There's a lot better tractors that only cost marginally more to purchase that will make a much more useable machine.


I don't disagree. We have other tractors that we use for all the "real" work. Someone gave me the N that I'm trying to fix up. I don't really want to scrap or sell it...but I don't want it just sitting around either. It has a sherman over under and a foot throttle, so it's actually not too bad to operate. I was thinking that the pedal arrangement might be good for my daughter to start out on when she gets old enough. The clutch is a whole lot easier to push than the 7600, that's for sure.

I'll probably skip the parts tractor. I don't really trust the guy selling it. I'll end up in about 500 for a rebuild, by the looks of things.
 
   / Ford 8n Water in Oil #9  
I don't disagree. We have other tractors that we use for all the "real" work. Someone gave me the N that I'm trying to fix up. I don't really want to scrap or sell it...but I don't want it just sitting around either. It has a sherman over under and a foot throttle, so it's actually not too bad to operate. I was thinking that the pedal arrangement might be good for my daughter to start out on when she gets old enough. The clutch is a whole lot easier to push than the 7600, that's for sure.

I'll probably skip the parts tractor. I don't really trust the guy selling it. I'll end up in about 500 for a rebuild, by the looks of things.

I have an 1951 8N that I bought in 1973.
Mostly it sits, because I do have two other tractors, and all 3 are just for play.
The old 8N is in great shape (w/Sherman transmission), and I do play with it occasionally.
Certainly I don't "need" it, but I like it, and it is not worth enough to bother selling it.
 
   / Ford 8n Water in Oil
  • Thread Starter
#10  
I have an 1951 8N that I bought in 1973.
Mostly it sits, because I do have two other tractors, and all 3 are just for play.
The old 8N is in great shape (w/Sherman transmission), and I do play with it occasionally.
Certainly I don't "need" it, but I like it, and it is not worth enough to bother selling it.


I don't enjoy hitching and unhitching equipment much. We never seem to have enough tractors when we're doing hay and I have another project or two going on at the same time. Having the Sherman makes all the difference. As long as you're not trying to pull anything real heavy or run something off of the PTO, the 8n isn't bad at all. At least the 8n is easy to get on and off of...you need to be a gymnast to board a lot of tractors from that era.
 
 
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