Ford 250C Shift Problems

[bgadow]

Hello, all! I'm trying to help my father out with a persistent problem. He has a Ford 250c from about 1989, a compact (I'd call it compact) construction tractor with a loader. Dad is retired, basically, and has set up a little business of tearing down old buildings for people. He's having a ball, but boy is he rough on equipment! This Ford has been a real trouper but he's finally getting the best of it. This uses a lever on the column to chose forward/reverse and to lock/unlock the converter. The lever itself appears to be just simple switches, running into a "black box" under the dash which in turn feeds a harness running into the transmission. The problem occurs when the rig has warmed up-it will "jump out" of gear (not the manual shifter, and not the column lever-something in the internals) or will not go into gear. Tonight I went over and did some prodding. He had a devil of a time getting it to act up but under heavy use it finally did. He has swapped the lever and black box with no luck. The really frustrating thing to me is that he can't seem to find anybody who knows what to do with it. Several independent mechanics have fiddled with it, and the New Holland dealer (where he bought it last year) took a lot of his money but didn't fix it, either. Anybody know the root cause? He's at the point of just selling it as-is which seems ashame since it's such a strong tractor, and I think he'd have a hard time finding a replacement that was this tough. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[milkman636]

I've driven one of those years ago. Isn't there also a foot activated electric switch down by the left foot like a clutch that lets you shift gears (up and down) on the fly? It seems like I remember those switches being a source for trouble.

Those are awesome tractors BTW. I'd have a hard time selling one if I owned it.

 

[bgadow]

Milkman, I didn't notice a switch like that, but I'll be sure to ask Dad. There is some less-than-stellar wiring on this rig, though everything in that circuit appeared to be okay. He keeps asking me about a device located on top of the transmission just in front of the shift levers, with two wires connected to it. Looks like a sender to me, or a switch for brake or reverse lights? (one of the wires running from it goes off to the back of the tractor)

Another problem, probably unrelated, but I'm going to mention it: the engine will start to miss really bad. If he turns off the ignition switch then turns it right back on again (engine never even stops) the miss will go away. I kept asking him if he knew what type of mechanism shuts the engine down but he didn't know and wouldn't let the tractor sit still long enough for me to look

 

[RickB]

IF the tractor has an electric fuel shutoff and IF the engine stumble/shutdown is related to the solenoids' power supply, then an intermittent loss of drive after shuttle lever and module replacement is very likely to be related. System voltage drop sufficient to close the fuel shutoff is sure to effect the shuttle control circuit.

If he won't give it up long enough for a proper diagnosis & repair, let him suffer until he figures out it can't be fixed by a couple passing glances.
I have zero sympathy for folks that refuse to allow sufficient time for a complete repair. He's not running an ambulance service.

 

[TractorTech]

Similar to what Rick B is saying, is the battery in top shape? The injection pump does have a fuel pump solenoid, which could be causing the miss if it runs low on voltage. Likewise, the forward/reverse solenoids could be disengaging for the same reason. Ask him if he is jump starting the tractor, if so, get him a new battery (F150DS from a New Holland dealer or 4DLT is the battery number from another tractor dealer or auto parts store).
To answer your question about the item in front of the shifters, it is a neutral safety switch. The wire runs back to the PTO lever to another safety switch.
Milkman is right about the clutch switch and is a source of the neutralizing problem. It is a round button on the left side of the transmission. The switch is under the floorboard and the springs falls out causing the switch to flop on and off. You can bypass this if he doesn't use it.