Ford 1920 rear end noise

['52 8N]

Hi,
I hope that I am posting in the right section. I do have a 52 8N and am looking to purchase a 92 Ford 1920 4wd. It has about 4,000 hours on it and looks to be in fair to good condition. I was told that the tractor was making a popping noise from the rear end and that the hydraulic filter had metal shaving in it. Did a cold start and she fired right up. It was not staged because we put a battery in it on a whim to see if it would start. I also know the owner and they were not looking to get rid of the tractor. Put it into gear and proceeded to drive about doing figure 8s to see if I could hear anything. The tractor did not make any unusual noises. The hydraulics for the 3 point went up and stayed up. The pto ran okay. Checked and the lug bolts were all tight. There is a hydraulic leak on the left side and right side of the rear end. Could it be that sitting for over 4 months and the outside air temp being cold kept everything coated good enough with hydraulic fluid for it not to make noises? Since it was driven with no noise, that leads me to beileve that it is more of a minor issue. Something like a bearing instead of the ring gear. Anybody have any similar experiences? Thanks.

 

[MTGreen]

I'm thinking you probably have a fragged bearing somewhere in the transaxle. Either the bearing bits have all fallen down in the case or maybe you only get the noise under load.

Regardless those shavings in the filter didn't magically get put back from where they came from over winter.

You have something internally wrong for sure that likely will require some moderate surgery at a minimum to repair. That being said, some machines can run a long time minus a bearing depending on which bearing and how the machine is used.

My advice is if you're comfortable doing the repair work yourself and your livelihood doesn't depend on having the machine running, then you could offer a very low amount of money for it. If you are not willing and able to do the work, I would steer clear of it altogether as professional shop hours for repair are likely going to be a sizable portion of the repaired value of the machine

 

['52 8N]

Thanks for your reply. I do appreciate it. It would be an additional tractor and definitely not for livelihood. It would be more of taking care of weeds on about 2 acres of flat land. Basically it would be a lawnmower. I am okay to do the mechanical work myself. I own a forklift and have tools. I would purchase a complete service manual from Peaceful Creek with parts break down, so I could get the right part numbers. I was planning on a modest amount of money for the offer because I don't know exactly what could be wrong. Thanks again.

 

[MTGreen]

Best of luck to you and happy new year
Post a new thread if you hit any stumbling blocks

 

['52 8N]

Thanks. If I do run into an issue, I will post again. Yes, Happy New Year, hopefully 2024 is considerably better than 2023.