36,243 Hours

[mjarrels]

Yep... checked the hour meter yesterday on my 46 year old ford tractor. 36,243 hours based on 1412 RPM... dang 3 cylinder perkins diesel engine has only been rebuilt once that I know of... keeps going and going! I rarely run above 1000 RPM unless I'm using a PTO implement.

mark

 

[RoyJackson]

Yep... checked the hour meter yesterday on my 46 year old ford tractor. 36,243 hours based on 1412 RPM... dang 3 cylinder perkins diesel engine has only been rebuilt once that I know of... keeps going and going! I rarely run above 1000 RPM unless I'm using a PTO implement.

mark

Wow...that comes out to 4.13 years of operation!

That's a 1961 model...which one is it?

 

[texasjohn]

Wow... that's a LOT of seat time

GREAT post.... now, let's see if anybody can top it... with fewer repairs!

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Yep... checked the hour meter yesterday on my 46 year old ford tractor. 36,243 hours based on 1412 RPM... dang 3 cylinder perkins diesel engine has only been rebuilt once that I know of... keeps going and going! I rarely run above 1000 RPM unless I'm using a PTO implement.

mark

Well, let's see. My Perkins powered Massey has 3285 hours as of this morning. It's 36+ years old. I should expect it to be pluggin' away when it's 115 years old or so..... That'll be about 2090 or 2100 give or take a summer or two. I'll be 135+. Hmmmm. Maybe I can use it just a little bit more'n I have been.

Those Perkins 3-banger diesels are the most reliable, most fuel efficient little buggers, and still they're probably the cheapest engine in the universe to rebuild when that does happen.

They don't build 'em like they used to.

 

[mjarrels]

1961 Fordson Dexta aka English Ford. 35 engine HP and 32 PTO HP.

mark

 

[redlevel]

That's amazing. I've always said the Perk 3 banger was one of the greatest engineering achievements of all time.

I remember several years back reading about a fellow who drove his VW Bug over two million documented miles. He went through several engines and transaxles, though.

That figures, over 46 years, to about 788 hours per year, 65 or 66 hours per month, or nearly 2.25 hours per day, every day, on average, for 46 years.

Truly amazing.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

That's amazing. I've always said the Perk 3 banger was one of the greatest engineering achievements of all time.

I remember several years back reading about a fellow who drove his VW Bug over two million documented miles. He went through several engines and transaxles, though.

That figures, over 46 years, to about 788 hours per year, 65 or 66 hours per month, or nearly 2.25 hours per day, every day, on average, for 46 years.

Truly amazing.

As a matter of fact, gentlemen, that same engine in a Ford 3000 made as a gas engine will also last a very long time as that engine was built as a diesel so all the internals are about 3 times as heavy as a normal gasser...not unusuall for the gas 3 cyls to last 10,000 hrs with a modicum of maintenance. BobG in VA

 

[Farmwithjunk]

As a matter of fact, gentlemen, that same engine in a Ford 3000 made as a gas engine will also last a very long time as that engine was built as a diesel so all the internals are about 3 times as heavy as a normal gasser...not unusuall for the gas 3 cyls to last 10,000 hrs with a modicum of maintenance. BobG in VA

Completely different engine in 3000 vs. Dexta's.

I've got one of each diesel, (MF150/Ford 3000) had the gas 3000 until 2 years ago.

The 3-cylinder FORD diesel in the 3000 that was developed into a gasser isn't the same engine as the Dexta's used. The Dexta used a PERKINS diesel. It was used in those Fords (built in England), Massey FErguson 35/135/150/230/235/240/245/250/ect, and also in Allis Chalmers 160's, plus a LOT more applications. The Ford 3-cylinder was a good engine too, but nothing will ever come close to those Perkins 3's for efficiency of operation.

Perkins 3's were common by the late 1950's. Ford 3's were introduced in mid-to-late 1960's.

(I'm not POSITIVE that the Perkins used in the Dexta's had the same model designation as the rest, (AD3-152) but it WAS the same basic design concept)

 

[BobG_in_VA]

"The 3-cylinder FORD diesel in the 3000 that was developed into a gasser isn't the same engine as the Dexta's used. The Dexta used a PERKINS diesel. It was used in those Fords (built in England), Massey FErguson 35/135/150/230/235/240/245/250/ect, and also in Allis Chalmers 160's, plus a LOT more applications. The Ford 3-cylinder was a good engine too, but nothing will ever come close to those Perkins 3's for efficiency of operation."

Not really worried about the distinction....It was one of the smoothest running, long lasting gas engines ever divised for it application. BobG in VA

 

[D7E]

It's possible but check it again ,some older tractors used the last digit as 1/10 of an hour .
Funny i was just reading about a guy who claims to have 48'000 on a jd at YESTERDAYS TRACTORS . COM in the tractor talk catagory .

 

[tree farmer]

I am the third owner of a 1958 IH 3414 industrial loader tractor. For the first 10 years, it was a rental machine with a backhoe attached. For the next 25 years it belonged to a building contractor, who installed a 3ph and pto on it also. I bought it 15 years ago to clear about 35 acres of logged over brush land. The steering axle, hydraulics, and brakes have been rebuilt, but the engine, transmission, clutch, etc. have all never been opened. It is a 4 cyl. BC 144 gas engine, made by Perkins. No idea of engine hours, as the hour meter shows 800, the same as it showed in 1968 according to the previous owner. Still starts and runs great and burns no oil between changes. Maybe I'll have to buy it new tires for its 50th birthday next year, as one rear is the original, I think. Too bad they don't make "old iron like this anymore". ...Dan.

 

[redlevel]

The steering

I owned a Super Dexta with the Perkins for about 5 years in the mid-late 70's. It was a heck of a tractor, and I wish I had never gotten rid of it.

I have no idea how many hours it had, but I would guess I put 1000-plus hours on it. The main reason I got rid of it was that the steering box was worn out. My first thought when I read the original post was that the poster's tractor must have been through at least a half-dozen steering boxes. I have never seen an original Ford 100-series, N-series, MF 100-series, Dexta, etc., with 4000+hours or 40+ years, and I have driven a lot of them, that didn't have a worn out steering box.

I would guess that other systems, such as hydraulic and clutch would be similar.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I owned a Super Dexta with the Perkins for about 5 years in the mid-late 70's. It was a heck of a tractor, and I wish I had never gotten rid of it.

I have no idea how many hours it had, but I would guess I put 1000-plus hours on it. The main reason I got rid of it was that the steering box was worn out. My first thought when I read the original post was that the poster's tractor must have been through at least a half-dozen steering boxes. I have never seen an original Ford 100-series, N-series, MF 100-series, Dexta, etc., with 4000+hours or 40+ years, and I have driven a lot of them, that didn't have a worn out steering box.

I would guess that other systems, such as hydraulic and clutch would be similar.

36 years and 3285 hours and my MF150's steering is still tight as new. But that didn't come about by accident. Trick is to stay on top of them. Every 5 or 6 years or so, I change oil and adjust backlash in the steering column. I replaced all the tie-rod components last year. Just a tad bit of wear.

The Ford 3000 gasser I sold 2 years ago however... You could turn the wheel 1/2 a turn in either direction before the wheels started moving. That was with over 5500 hours and a loader most of its life.