Ferguson TO30 project

bluefx4 · Oct 14, 2012

Hey yall

I pulled my great grandfathers Ferguson TO30 out of the woods a few months ago. I had a freind of the family helping me get it running. He did so but there are some projects that were a little beyond his health. He did a great job and got her running for me. New starter, repaired radiator problems, rebuilt carb, and so on. Now shes in my hands. He want me to take the head off and take it to get a valve job at a local machine shop. The tractor is also overheating. He wants me to replace the head gasket and the water pump while im in there. My question is... Is there anything else I should do while the head is off and the tractor is all to peices. It is in running order now. Also where is the termastat? I want to learn how to do all this stuff my self and this should be a good learning experience. Thanks

BobG_in_VA · Oct 14, 2012

Overheating could possibly be a stuck thermostat (not "termastat")...water not getting back to the radiator from the top of the engine...thermostat housing is the area that the top rad. hose connection goes to....BobG in VA

bluefx4 · Oct 14, 2012

Thanks bob I'll see if I can find it tonight. And no I never learned how to spell. I don't even try anymore.

fortyseven2n · Oct 14, 2012

The engine is a Continental Z129. It s a wet sleeve engine and is apt to crack between the cylinders. I am going to assume that you changed the oil. Check the oil and while you have the head off, check for cracks. If the oil is milky, you may have a crack.If there are cracks, they can sometimes be fixed. Not all TO30s crack so you may have gotten lucky ( I did with mine ). Whatever you do, don't let it overheat any more. I second the thermostat as well as a water pump as possible problems.

The Fergie 30 is a good tractor and a lot of fun. A lot of parts ( old and new ) can be found on Ebay.

I bought my tractor from a long time family friend so it is special but not nearly as special as yours.

Good luck on your restoration.

There is a lot of info available at ytmag.com

Be sure to post some pics here.

Fortyseven2n

bluefx4 · Oct 15, 2012

Got the head off last night. Not too much trouble. I did need a second person to help me lift it off straight. Glad I started spraying the bolts w/ pb blaster a few days ago! I found a cloged water jacket coming from the water pump to the head. No water at all could have been geting though. I dont see any cracks in between the cylinders. The valves dont look that bad but I am still going to take the head to a machine shop. I did not find a thermostat. Still unclear on where it should be.

Soundguy · Oct 16, 2012

i would have done a wet / dry compression test before pullingthe head.

was there andy water inthe oil or oil in the water?

wow.. no flow at all? block hated that and head surely did!

BKBrown · Jul 30, 2014

I did some work on an 88 year old neighbors 51 TO30 - replaced the radiator as one of the fixes - the thermostat goes inside the top radiator hose.