eBay/Craigslist Added another TO-30 to the stable.

   / Added another TO-30 to the stable. #1  

Owenslee

Bronze Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2009
Messages
84
Location
Farmington MO
Tractor
Kubota M5040HD 4WD, Ford 8N , White 105, Case 1200 4WD, (1) TO-20 (3) TO-30 Fergusons
On my recent trip to Sikeson MO to order a custom 20ft flatbed trailer described here:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/trailers-transportation/271482-help-needed-trailer-options.html

I stopped in Chaffee MO to check out a TO-30 that was advertised in Craigslist. I was impressed by both the tractor and the owner. After considerable mechanical checks and discussion on the tractors history and repairs made...I bought it.

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Details of 1953 Ferguson TO-30.

Tractor was not rebuilt but was refurbished one year ago with many parts replaced:

New paint, new fenders, new battery, new clutch disc and pressure plate, new rear crankshaft main seal, new exhaust, new PTO shaft assembly, new radiator and hoses, new 12v alternator, new steering wheel, new brakes, new rear work lights, new plugs ,cap, plug wires and points, new center axle pivot bushing and pin.

The Good

Started easily in 20 deg temp
No smoke of any kind on start up or under load
Three point hitch and Hydraulics worked well
Motor sounded tight with no valve noise and ran very smoothly
No oil on any plugs. Light uniform chocolate brown color on all four insulators.
No oil in very clean antifreeze...whew..! Antifreeze was one year old.
No antifreeze in reasonably clean oil...double whew..!
No water in hydraulic oil
Excellent front tires 90-95%
Rear axle end play nonexistent.
VERY straight sheet metal with one year old enamel paint job.
Good water pump bearing and seal
Excellent oil pressure
Gas tank looks new inside. Not a hint of corrosion.
Had receipts for all parts and materials used to refurbish.
Tractor has remained stored in the barn for the past year when not being used to brush-hog.

The bad

Steering box has about 10 deg of backlash and outboard bushings need replacement
Lift arm pivot bearing are worn (have replacement NOS lift arms as spares)
Upper and Lower Spindle bushings need replacement. Useable...but worn
Rear tires are badly weather cracked but hold air. (Have a spare set of tires from a parts tractor)
Exciter in 12v Alternator is bad. Have to manually excite the alternator to get it to charge.
Hood latch not working... but easy fix
Gas shutoff valve sentiment bowl needs new gasket. Has minor seepage.
Some cosmetic paint orange peel on fenders

Bottom line was that the owner had spent over $900 in parts and materials on the tractor when it was refurbished one year back. His reason for selling the tractor was that he was building a new shop and had run out of funds to finish the building.

I paid what the owner was asking without trying to beat the price down as I though he was asking a very fair price for the condition of the tractor, number of repair parts and amount of labor he had invested in it.

Final cost was $2350.

This makes my forth Ferguson.

Kerry
 
   / Added another TO-30 to the stable. #2  
Congratulations.
 
   / Added another TO-30 to the stable. #3  
Sweet indeed Kerry. You did we'll on that one. The "bads" is a short list. The sheet metal looks to be in really good shape. It wouldn't take much effort to make a "WOW" tractor out it. Take care. -robert

Message posted with TractorByNet v1.6.2 for iPad
 
   / Added another TO-30 to the stable. #4  
Nice looking tractor. It's problems, what few of them there are, don't sound like they will take too much work to repair. Repairing the steering box can be a bit tricky (and expensive), but shouldn't be too bad.
 
   / Added another TO-30 to the stable.
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Nice looking tractor. It's problems, what few of them there are, don't sound like they will take too much work to repair. Repairing the steering box can be a bit tricky (and expensive), but shouldn't be too bad.

I've got a spare steering box on both a TO-20 or TO-30 parts tractors that I can rebuild and then just switch down the road. I believe the TO-20 and TO-30 boxes will interchange...
 
   / Added another TO-30 to the stable. #6  
I've got a spare steering box on both a TO-20 or TO-30 parts tractors that I can rebuild and then just switch down the road. I believe the TO-20 and TO-30 boxes will interchange...

I'm more familiar with the MF-135 steering box, but recall reading something about the steering boxes on the Ferguson tractors being similar if not identical, but I'm not 100% certain about that. You can go to AGCO Parts Books and look up the steering boxes for each model to be certain. If they're the same, it sounds like a great plan. :thumbsup:
 
   / Added another TO-30 to the stable. #7  
Nice! :thumbsup:
 
 
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