Ford 1210 tear down and repair

[bspeedy]

Out with the old in with the new. Finally got around to replacing the voltage regulator. No more voltage drop when I turn on the lights. The new one is a solid state unit too, no points and solenoid in this one.

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Not to be a killjoy about your voltage regulator, but I will relate my experience. I installed two or three of those solid state regulators in my Ford 1700. All of them would go kaput after 5-20 hours of use. I'm no expert at herding electrons, but after I ordered an original mechanical voltage regulator from NH (for 120 bucks!!!), all was well. Just some info in case you have issues.

 

[skills4lou]

Nice rebuild! From one vet to another: I completely understand the therapeutic value in this sort of endeavor. Thankfully my 1520 is in good shape, but I also have an older IH464 that I'll be working on this spring.

I will second the others that adding weight is a great option. I'll be getting beet juice installed in mine sometime this coming year. A little more costly than CaCl, but non-corrosive and non-toxic means that it won't rot the rims out. My IH is gonna need a $200 rim because of the CaCl in there now.
GH

 

[Asymair95]

After using the tractor for a few months I just wanted to pass along some issues I discovered, and some observations.





I have four 60lb weights on the rear tires and still have traction issues. The tractor has power for days, and never bogs down. The few times it did really hook up and "bite" I smoked the clutch...so I obviously want to avoid that. I'm going to add one more set which will be a good balance of traction and wheel spin. I definitely want to avoid damaging the clutch.



I believe I have an adjustment issue with the hydro stat linkage. The tractor only has half speed in reverse, it is painfully slow. As you can see by the speed pointer, it is only about half way on the scale. I took off the covers and inspection plate, but don't see any way to adjust it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Asymair95]

View attachment 506180

I turned the exhaust from horizontal to a vertical position. The soot from the exhaust was being sucked through the radiator from the cooling fan suction, over the engine, and on to me. I was actually being exphixiated I think because I always had a headache after running the tractor for any length of time. Turning the exhaust vertical solved all these problems. I would like to add a short piece of pipe to get it up higher though.

Another issue I discovered was a rear main seal leak. It drips pretty good after any use. The front main seal is bad too, but doesn't leak nearly as bad as the rear.

I've also discovered in high range I can't pull any weight. I have to be in low range to do any ground engaging work. It's kind of frustrating because it really slows you down. You can actually hear the hydro pump bypassing when this is happening.

So this is about it, overall I'm pleased with the tractor. Once I get past the growing pains I'm sure I will like it even more.

 

[smokinmad]

ASYMAIR.....Fantastic Post....Great Job.....

Glad I caught you before you "Split" her apart....Need to tell you about your hydrostat drive rod...

Was mowing with my 1210, hit a log with deck and it lifted the deck up. Backed up and Did it again....lol.....Any ways, when I tried to go forwards, it was slow. backed up ok, forward slow again. When I backed the 2nd time, tractor went full speed onto some steel roofing I had stacked and hung up. I have NO IDEA why it reversed full speed, but it no longer would move with the pedal. Mine is hydrostat, 4wd.

Here is what happens, when your tractor will not move, 1210 Owners listen up......the tie rod end stripped out and the drive rod is loose now. If you remove the inspection cover, that You had to buy new and look up inside you will see the rod. If you grab it and it does not move you are good, for now. When they built these tractors, they threaded the rod, all the way on, on one end, which left only a few threads to fasten the other tie rod on with. Over time the tie rod (aluminum) strips out and now your hydrostat pedal wont work. You have to split it to repair it. If you got a 1210, you WILL end up doing this, BUT, it's not that bad of a job. If I can do it, ANYBODY can do it.

remove your cover under the tractor, see if that rod is loose.

the rod, notice the direction of tie rods.One end goes left, other goes right. I took the good end, loosened and rotated the rod 1 1/2 turns to give more threads on bad end. Then JB Welded the BAD tie rod on, DONT JB WELD both ends.And put welded end in front, so you can Adjust rod if need be. 10.9" is what the tie rods have to be apart from each other.

Here she is split, yea outside..Before the rod was fixed.

This little baby hides under the tractor, stick a screwdriver in those slots and it will screw out. Tractor WILL NOT split, if its still in, so DON'T FORCE it apart.

 

[smokinmad]

By the way....Early on in this Rebuild Book, I thought I read a Question about, What is this Spring hanging down Inside? That would be the spring that holds tension, on your Throwout Bearing. You can fix that when you Split it apart....It's a biotch...best way is to put spring on bearing, Then tie a STRING to other end and feed string up threw that big hole where the filter goes. Then you can pull string, so you can slip that end of SPRING, on the hole, on the thingamajig....lol...you will know where it goes....there is only one place it can go...that's shade tree mechanic talk....Don't care What you call me, just Don't call me Late for Dinner.....That makes me mad....lmao

Smokin'

 

[Asymair95]

Thank you for the tips/ideas. I will pull the inspection cover again and take a look. Hopefully it isn't the push rod stripped out like you say. That would be a real downer...

 

[DMoneyAllstar]

Kudos for all the info and pics on your 1210 project, sir!! I just picked up a clean '84 4wd with 768B loader with low hours for $2.8k. Prev owner had head rebuilt and water pump replaced already (place of out PA did the head work). Only one very small drip out of the trans pan (gasket), so I think I got lucky on a bargain.

These little Fords are tough as nails at a FRACTION of the cost of the newer compact & sub-compact tractors. I don't know how anyone can afford one of those tiny Kubota/JD/Kioti units at $16k-$25k. Ridiculous. They don't build equipment like this like they used to. Everything is dumbed down, full of plastic and cheap. A lot of the 1980's japanese power equipment set the bar pretty high, and is why so much of it is still on the road/trail/field today. That was when quality was #1, not cost-cutting.

Your pics of the 3-valve and the drum brake eased my mind a ton before I dove in for adjustments -- a real hi-res color pic is much better than a schematic. Thank you!

I chased down electrical issues, mainly lights on the fenders, but all turned out to be bad grounds (I ran dedicated ground). I also added a water temp gage and will be adding an oil temp gage to "keep an eye on things" while tearing up turf with the pto-tiller.

Also...the headlight bulbs...the 2-contact ones work juuuust fine as long as you join the bulb's 2-contacts with solder. I used the "Eiko 6235J-BP A7027 Halogen Bulb, 12V/35W" from Amazon at $6.12/ea.

 

[Asymair95]

Sounds like a nice tractor you have there. Wish mine was four wheel drive. One thing I have found with this Ford is it is long on power, but short on traction. I think I have enough weight on it now to help with that, but 4 wheel drive would be a game changer.

 

[BarnStangz]

Great build, really enjoyed all your hard work and attention to detail. I want to thank you for your service as well. Question, do you think now that you would ever sell this tractor for something a bit larger and with 4wd? I only ask since it sounds like weight was a problem. I had the same issues with a little Kubota that I would use, I think it was a 7800 if memory serves.