Questions about ford 6000

[CharlieTR]

I am wanting to buy an old ford 6000. The seller thinks it has 73 HP.
The clutch is out on it but he says everything else is OK.

First to get it home can I tow it behind my truck with just a tow strap?
Its only six miles or so. will it hurt the transmission on the tractor.

I guess replacing the clutch is a big job. Does it come out without taking through an access panel or something?

Is that tractor big enough to run a large hay baler?

Thanks

 

[JerryG]

A standard transmission tractor can be towed without hurting the unit. Towing a tractor is a lot different than towing a car or truck. They will dart and get out of hand if the speed it to high. Anything over 10 MPH would be to fast for me. The tractor has to be separated in half to change the clutch. Soundguy will more than likely post given a little time. He will be able to answer any specific questions you have about that model.

 

[Soundguy]

I don't have all my manuals with me mind you.. but here are the stats from a few websites..

Ok.. you have a bit of a problem on 2 counts.

1.. I'm pretty sure that the 6000 was only sold with the ford SOS tranny... I'm not aware of a gear tranny for that unit.. Every online source I lookup shows a 10/2 speed tranny.. which means it is ford's SOS.

Herein lies your problem.. the SOS is a type of powershift tranny.. it has no real clutch.. it has an inching pedal .. and that's about as close to a 'clutch as you get) it also has a torque limiter as well.

Now.. when the tractor is not running. the tranny is locked down due to no hyd pressure.. and thus the rear wheels are locked. The smaller units with SOS have a traction disconnect lever, which essentially uncouples the rear end from the tranny. I ~assume~ the 6000 does as well.. but again.. my parts manual is not here.. otherwise I'd tell you where the disconnect is. In general.. I'd guess somewhere by your heels on either side.. aft of the tranny.. beginning of diffy... etc.

SOS trannies were ford's "red headed stepchild" problem. Early units had significant problems ( and there were many field service corrections ). later units were more robust. The 6000's year range puts it towards the 'early' part of the SOS.. as SOS came out about 59ish or so...

In general.. if you find a tractor with a SOS that is running in all ranges correctly, and has been maintained.. it generally will 'continue' to do so.

if you get one that already has probloems.. then it becomes a roll of the dice.

CNH carries very few parts for the SOS.. many are NLS. However I'm guessing you can find many 6000 carcass's ( carci ? ) though many will have shelled out SOS trannies likely. I know of a fellow named Ralph Alexander that supplies some SOS parts and info.. and will buy sos parts.. etc. I have his tele# ( by PM only ). He advertises in some antique tractor magazines.

You will be challanged to find a mechanic to work on SOS trannies. Most CNH dealers won't give you time of day if you mention SOS work.

After years.. we finally just now have a mechanic in our area that will do some SOS work. I've heard stories of some places that do SOS work, that quote 2500$ and core to even pull the dipstick out..

So.. worst case scenerio... dig a hole in soft ground till you get exhausted.. now.. climb out and start filling it with 10 dollar bills.. that should give you an idea of the 'high side' of the repair costs ( many times it's cheaper to buy a 6000 that would walk.. but has a blown engine, or diffy, and buy it and do a transplant... )

Now.. on the brighter side... I've also seen where a 59 cent part caused an SOS to fail.. and was easilly correctable. Same with filters... SOS are picky about clean oil. and filters.. A dirty filter will render an SOS inoperative... ( reduced hy pressure to clutch packs and servo ) Filter repalcement is a bit of a chore.. though not monumental...

If you are ok with checking and setting tranny bands, and checking PSI on servo's to diagnose the problem.. go for it.. you will save 50+% of the money on the labor. Also.. do buy the SOS insert to the shop manual!!

If you do get the unit.. PM me, and I'll send you some contact info for a guy that may have parts.. as well as contact info to a shop that I know will reman the sos units. I can also give you the email address or contact info to a fellow on one of the antique boards that I haunt that is as close to an SOS amateur-expert ( he owns and maintains SOS equipment.. and helps others do the same ) as you can get..

Maybee it is just the torque limiter????

Soundguy

Ford 6000
Manufactured: 1961 - 1967
Cost: (US Dollars) $4,900 (1967)
Power:
Drawbar (HP): 58.2
PTO (HP): 66.26
Transmission:
Forward: 10
Reverse: 2

I am wanting to buy an old ford 6000. The seller thinks it has 73 HP.
The clutch is out on it but he says everything else is OK.

First to get it home can I tow it behind my truck with just a tow strap?
Its only six miles or so. will it hurt the transmission on the tractor.

I guess replacing the clutch is a big job. Does it come out without taking through an access panel or something?

Is that tractor big enough to run a large hay baler?

Thanks

 

[firemanpat2910]

I thought the same thing when I saw the 10/2 on tractordata.com but knew soundguy would be able to supply better info. LOL dig hole fill with $10.00 bills. would it be easier to dig smaller hole and fill with larger bills? inquiring minds want to know!

 

[CharlieTR]

Well I have this to say about that...

WOW!! THANK YOU for such a detailed and knowledgable reply SoundGuy!

Although I love all things Ford, I am leaning towards not getting it. I am not that good of a mechanic, and I can't even spell tranny bands.

The only thing I've got going for me on this one is time. The owner is a retired machanic so he may know it's not simple. because the price is real cheap. But he did say he drives it around every so often.

 

[Soundguy]

If it does move, then it is not the torque limiter.. it is likely a servo issue.

Still.. for what you said you could get it for.. I think I'd get it... Since it -will- move some.. there is good hope it is not 'worst case'.

Where ya located at? In the antique section there is a fellow with a powered grap picker that has a SOS tranny that was rebuilt by a shop local to him.. .. not sure how close you are... You might even luck out and have a local mechanic that will tackle it if he could get a service manual and parts.

If you get it, PM me, and I'll send you some info on peopl eto contact for parts, tips, and info concerning the sos.

Soundguy

 

[Toolguy]

Unless you are looking for a "Project" and are getting it for next to nothing ($500?) I would look for a used 5000 with gear tranny. It will do anything the 6000 will do and you can still get parts. But that's just me.

We had one of the first 6000s sold back in 1961. It was a "Big" tractor back in the day. It had some nice features for the times. It pulled a 5X14 semi-mounted plow very well and powered a two row corn chopper that was used to fill a 24' X 60' silo. The SOS was nice for running the corn chopper as you could easily change ground speed as needed to keep the chopper running at full capacity. We also baled hay with it and the SOS was good for that too, although it was a pretty violent shift between 4th and 5th. It was also pretty rough between 8th and 9th. That earned the the SOS trannys the nickname "Jerk-O-Matic" by the JD, IH and Case guys.

Another feature the 6000 has is a 2 speed 540 RPM PTO. At one setting the engine only needs to turn about 1600 rpm or so to achieve 540 PTO speed. This was great for low power requirements like haybaling. The other speed was about 2200 rpms for high power requirements like a corn chopper.

Good luck!

 

[whitetiger]

The 6000 was only avalible with a SOS transmission. This tractor was built in England and has nothing in common other than color of paint and transmission with US built 4000, 5000 & 7000 tractors.
Best thing you can do with a 6000 is paint it up, drag it to the end of your drive and mount your mailbox on it.
I have rebuilt severial SOS transmission's over the years, but with cost and parts avalability I will not mess with another.