My new to me Ford 2810 II with Pic's

[sawtooth]

OK so yesterday i serviced my new to me 1989 Ford 2810. Changed oil/filter, coolant, fuel filter/water separator, 2 new air filters, transmission oil, hydraulic oil / filter etc. The engine oil looked ok, fuel filter looked decent but the fuel separator was full of very black fuel with small particles of something in it and it was totally nasty looking, transmission oil was milky white, hydraulic oil was very dark color, coolant looked great, and outer filter was dirty but inner was very clean. Tractor has 440 original hours so some of the stuff was first time being done. Fuel separator had never been apart but fuel filter had been replaced. Air filters were original cause they were made in 1988. So overall nothing terribly bad except fuel separator looked very rough and transmission apparently had some condensation in it. Anyway i had ran tractor before service and it cranked and ran ok but loped at idle a little and always has some light smoke coming from the exhaust. Now the lope is totally gone and the black smoke seems to be a little better but it still smokes some all the time where my other Fords seem to almost stop once your going (unless you load up the engine). Should i be concerned with the light amount of black smoke? What could cause this? I know this tractor has not ran much in years and when it did it was not used long just by the hours on the tach. Also there is a small amount of oil residue below the manifold so not sure what that is about. Oil around the head gasket too so I may need to replace some seals due to limited use. Overall the tractor looks about new and is in amazing condition. All original tires except for one front was replaced, all pedals show very very little wear and theres hardly any rattle can paint on this tractor. Everything is original except he's painted the muffler a silver color at some point in time. It is an original muffler though or OEM as it says Ford on the side. What a great tractor well made tractor. Im very excited to put it to use next week.

 

[backdoor]

I have one of those, bought it new 17 Aug 87. Mine has a foot throttle, diff. lock, and I put a pre-cleaner on the air intake. It works great for my very large garden and 2 acres of deer food plots. Mine doesn't look nearly as good as yours, but it still runs and works like new, with a few leaks. I have 1350 hrs on mine. I have loaded rear tires, and there is plenty of weight there to get all the power to the ground. I use a 2 bottom plow, 8 foot disk, and all kinds of garden stuff. I would not get rid of mine unless something major comes up. I used to bale square bales of hay, with a IH 430 and later a Ford 532, on the hillsides here in SW VA, with no problems, but I did not pull a wagon behind the baler. The only trouble I have is in the winter the Hi/low shifter has some difficulty getting into neutral on very cold mornings (below freezing), so I park where I can leave it in neutral with the brakes locked. Other than that it works great. Hope you enjoy it. Mine lopes a little at startup, but soon settles down. A little throttle at that time smooths it out. I can see a very little smoke during normal running, but nothing to be alarmed about. I think that's just a normal thing.

 

[sawtooth]

Awesome thanks for your feedback. Maybe the smaller engine just smokes a little more than the 192 and 201 engines im use to in my 3910 and 4000 SU. Have you ever changed the transmission fluid? I would if not and make sure to use the New Holland 134G fluid or a high grade equivalent. Maybe that would help. Really looking forward to trying it out next week.

 

[jimmysisson]

If you can find some hard use for this rig, it might straighten out on its own. Deep grass bush hogging, 2 bottom plow hard ground, something like that. A couple of hours with the engine hot and in its power band should revive the old girl. Nice find, by the way. Probably not too many like that around! Congrats!
Jim

 

[sawtooth]

Thats what I'm thinking too. I have a few acres of river bottom grass etc that will be the perfect medicine for her. Gonna stick her in it next week and see how she does. Really looking forward to trying her out. Will post back.

 

[backdoor]

I should clarify my problem with the hi/low shifter. Moving the lever is as easy as always, but the neutral start switch seems to hang, and I have to jiggle the shifter around and in and out of gear a few times to get the starter to engage. Warmer weather is no problem. I used some generic hydraulic oil a few years ago, and I noticed immediately that the hydraulics worked a little bit slower, but not enough to really be a bother. Next change will be back to Ford 134. I have 2 remote valves on mine and they work plenty fast. I paid $9600.00 for mine, with a large fiberglass canopy that I had to install. I looked at new New Holland tractors a couple years ago, and it seemed like I was going to have to buy a 60 HP tractor to get the same size and weight as I have now, and make payments till I die, so I came home and counted my blessings.

 

[sawtooth]

Well i can tell you they hold their value well too. A 2810 in poor - good shape brings $6-8000 all day long. I believe the reason is just as you mentioned as the newer tractors are not made as well. For starters take a look at the rear ends as they look like something that would come on a garden tractor. Crazy. Then as soon as you run the engines its very obvious you need 2300-2700 rpm's just to have any sort of power. For some reason the low end grunt engines are a thing of the past. All the old Fords tug like a tank at 1400 rpms. Better hang on to what you have as they are no more. I can afford new or used and for these size tractors would not even consider new. Unless i just did front end loader work AND needed a compact 4x4 tractor. This is the only purpose there good for in my opinion.

 

[hank193]

Fine looking Ford ! I agree that after servicing, put it to work. You may see some carbon burning out of the stack when it gets fully warmed up. After that, I'd bet it'll run nicely . Might give it a few oz. of Power Service in its fuel for a treat too.

 

[sawtooth]

Fine looking Ford ! I agree that after servicing, put it to work. You may see some carbon burning out of the stack when it gets fully warmed up. After that, I'd bet it'll run nicely . Might give it a few oz. of Power Service in its fuel for a treat too.

Good point on the fuel additive. I just put in Opti-Lube which should help. Wish i didn't have to work this week as i really want to put this girl to hard work. Just a few more days. Only things left are to install new oil pressure sensor and grease all the fittings. I also wondered if i should check timing but not sure. All else is complete.

 

[sawtooth]

Well today i worked my new girl first time and boy does she run sweet. Im amazed at the power considering its only a 32 pto hp tractor. Even very deep thick grass left plenty of power to spare with the 5 ft Hardee 90hp gearbox cutter. Going to try a 6' next just to see how she does. Smoke got better as i ran her to. Thing is like brand new. Im very happy with my find. Ford really made some great tractors.