Ford 641 Workmaster Questions and Advice

knifeman32 · May 13, 2012

Hi guys, I am new to the forum. I am sending a certified check to a dealer in Michigan to purchase a 1959 Ford 641 Workmaster tractor. It has a freeman pipe loader, drawbar, etc.. I am buying it from M. Nolan Farms in Michigan. Has anyone had any experiences with this company? Anyways, I realize that I am going to need an overrun clutch in order to do some mowing. I will be using a 5ft rotary cutter. I haven't quite made up my mind about the brand as of yet. I worked at a tractor supply for about 7 years before I went into education and was considering their county line brand of rotary cutter. Basically, my question is, will a standard 6 spline 1 3/8 slip clutch fit with this tractor? Also, what are your thoughts on the county line brand of mower? It seemed as if customers had mixed reviews about the mower when I would talk to them. Some seemed to love it and others seemed to think that it was not up to par with other brands. Finally, will I need to run this mower with a slip clutch as well as the overrun clutch? I also realize that different tractors need different lengths of shafts for the mower. Will the shaft that the TSC brand mowers come with work for me? Thanks for all of the help in advance guys. I appreciate it.

By the way, here is the link to the mower that I have been looking at:

CountyLine 5 ft. Rotary Cutter with a 40 HP Gearbox - 2127248 | Tractor Supply Company

Also forgot to ask about hydraulic fluid and engine oil? What weight should I use? Will general trans-hydraulic fluid work in the hydraulics? Thanks.

Jerry/MT · May 14, 2012

knifeman32 said:
Hi guys, I am new to the forum. I am sending a certified check to a dealer in Michigan to purchase a 1959 Ford 641 Workmaster tractor. It has a freeman pipe loader, drawbar, etc.. I am buying it from M. Nolan Farms in Michigan. Has anyone had any experiences with this company? Anyways, I realize that I am going to need an overrun clutch in order to do some mowing. I will be using a 5ft rotary cutter. I haven't quite made up my mind about the brand as of yet. I worked at a tractor supply for about 7 years before I went into education and was considering their county line brand of rotary cutter. Basically, my question is, will a standard 6 spline 1 3/8 slip clutch fit with this tractor? Also, what are your thoughts on the county line brand of mower? It seemed as if customers had mixed reviews about the mower when I would talk to them. Some seemed to love it and others seemed to think that it was not up to par with other brands. Finally, will I need to run this mower with a slip clutch as well as the overrun clutch? I also realize that different tractors need different lengths of shafts for the mower. Will the shaft that the TSC brand mowers come with work for me? Thanks for all of the help in advance guys. I appreciate it.

By the way, here is the link to the mower that I have been looking at:

CountyLine 5 ft. Rotary Cutter with a 40 HP Gearbox - 2127248 | Tractor Supply Company

Also forgot to ask about hydraulic fluid and engine oil? What weight should I use? Will general trans-hydraulic fluid work in the hydraulics? Thanks.

If you jhave a transmission drive pto, you need an ORC.

If you have a live pto, you will not need a ORC.

The ORC and the slip clutch serve separate purposes
A slip clutch is used to protect the driveline, (like a shear pin) while an ORC protects the operator driving a machine with a transmission driven pto (and the surroundings) from an implement with a high rotating inertia from powering the rear axle of the tractor even when the the clutch is depressed.

Invest in an owners manual for this tractor. They are generally available a reprints of the factory issued ones. Generally UTF ( Universal Tractor Fluid) is fine. Check the spec on the container, looking for Ford Spec M2C134.

For engine oil SAE30HD, SAE 10W30 or SAE 10W40 or 15W40 will work depending on the ambient tempertures you operate in. If the engine has a lot of wear SAE 20W50 maybe needed. If you have a diesel engine youll need diesel rated oil. If its a gasser, the auto lube oil will be fine.

A far as a mowe r brand I look for value and found with a KingKutter 5 Points mower. It's a higer quality that the run of the mill farm store yellow moderls, but is significnty less expensive (by a factor of 2 ) than Woods. the mowers generally come with a shaft that is too long and you have to cut it to size. The instructions are in the mower operators manual supplied by the OEM.

rambler · May 14, 2012

Your tractor has a transmission pto, it will be better with the over running coupler.

Most mowers come with a slip clutch or shear bolt built in. You'd sure want one or the other! I guess a brush hog with a stump jumper has enough give in the blades to get by without, now that I think about it?

Pto shafts tend to come a bit too long from the factory, and you need to cut them down to fit. Follow the manual on that. Adding the ORC will probably for sure make the pto shaft too long as it ships....

Many folks now run their gas tractors on 10-40 oil year around and do just fine. These old gas engines are pretty fogiving, they just need oil, they are sloppy & worn and not so fussy on the exact type. The manual will tell you something different, it was written 60 years ago when the oils were different.

You will need to find a trans-hydraulic oil compatable with the Ford/NH 134 spec. Most universal 'trans/hyd' oils do so, you will find that number somewhere on the bucket. Do not use a 'hydraulic only' type of oil. You actually have 3 areas to fill with the trans/hyd, but they tend to splash & leak one into the other so use the trans/hyd in all 3. Some folks feel the old tractors leak a lot with that thin of a trans/hyd oil through old worn seals, and put in something a tad thicker. That is your call. I go with a 134 compatable oil......

I've no opinion on the brand of mower. I got an old well used Dearborn/Ford model for $300 several years ago, and keep on using it, works fine.

--->Paul

Ultradog MN · May 14, 2012

I would say your Countryline is a rebadged King Kutter.
The first tool I bought for my first tractor was a new KK 5' brush mower.
I had excellent luck with it. I ran it hard for about 4 years then found a heavy old Bush Hog brand so I sold the KK. The top deck on the KK was all dented up but it still worked great.
I have since had 2 KK finish mowers. First a 6' and now a 7'. I think a lot of the brand. They are somewhat lightweight but well engineered.

knifeman32 · May 14, 2012

Hi guys, Thanks for the advice. I will definitely purchase an overrun clutch. Will the standard 1 3/8 6 spline clutch work? Being that I will also be mowing in some rocky areas, is it okay to run an overrunning clutch and a slip clutch at the same time? I will remove as many of the rocks as I can but I can't promise I will get them all. Finally, When I do purchase a rotary cutter and I need to cut the shaft, is there any particular information that I should know? Will a die grinder with a metal cutting blade be sufficient for this task? Sorry for all the questions guys. I am a bit new to all of this. My expertise at the tractor supply was garden tractors and dog food. Thanks for all the help!

Jerry/MT · May 14, 2012

knifeman32 said:
Hi guys, Thanks for the advice. I will definitely purchase an overrun clutch. Will the standard 1 3/8 6 spline clutch work? Being that I will also be mowing in some rocky areas, is it okay to run an overrunning clutch and a slip clutch at the same time? I will remove as many of the rocks as I can but I can't promise I will get them all. Finally, When I do purchase a rotary cutter and I need to cut the shaft, is there any particular information that I should know? Will a die grinder with a metal cutting blade be sufficient for this task? Sorry for all the questions guys. I am a bit new to all of this. My expertise at the tractor supply was garden tractors and dog food. Thanks for all the help!

I cut mine to fit with a hacksaw. The instructions will be in your mower operator's manual. Just read that and follow the instructions.

I think by the time the Powermaster's came out the 1-3/8" shaft was standard. If your tractor has the standard 1-3/8" pto shaft that that's the size ORC you'll need. For safety sake, don't mow without it. The ORC will make your pto output shaft several inches longer so don't cut the drive shaft for the mower without installing the ORC on the pto or you'll have to do it again.

As I said before, the ORC and the slip clutch are used for very different reasons so, Yes, you run them together.

barbqranch · May 14, 2012

As I learned here, lower the engine RPM to an idle or just above when engaging or disengaging the PTO with an implement like your mower that has a lot of weight that spins. This will reduce the strain on the clutch. The reason for lowering the rpm when you disengage is even when you aren't mowing, it takes some power to keep the speed up, and it will wear the gears a little more when disengaging the pto. But, if you drop the rpm, the mower will keep spinning at the higher speed and the overrun clutch will be letting it, and there will be no stress on the gears while disengaging it.

knifeman32 · May 16, 2012

Jerry/MT said:
I cut mine to fit with a hacksaw. The instructions will be in your mower operator's manual. Just read that and follow the instructions.

I think by the time the Powermaster's came out the 1-3/8" shaft was standard. If your tractor has the standard 1-3/8" pto shaft that that's the size ORC you'll need. For safety sake, don't mow without it. The ORC will make your pto output shaft several inches longer so don't cut the drive shaft for the mower without installing the ORC on the pto or you'll have to do it again.

As I said before, the ORC and the slip clutch are used for very different reasons so, Yes, you run them together.

Is there an approximate length that I should cut it to? Or should I just take a look to see how far I need to cut the shaft after I hook up the mower? Thanks.

Hokie1984 · May 16, 2012

One thing to add about bush hogging with that machine. Its better to make two passes in thick stuff than to overload it and blow a head gasket. They are very tough but have their limits! Keep the blades sharp too.

knifeman32 · May 16, 2012

Hokie1984 said:
One thing to add about bush hogging with that machine. Its better to make two passes in thick stuff than to overload it and blow a head gasket. They are very tough but have their limits! Keep the blades sharp too.

Thanks for the advice, I do plan on taking my time. Our property is vacant land at the moment so it is sort of my get away. I don't mind spending a little extra time there.