Ford 400 Selectospeed with loader

[urded]

I am new to the country (as opposed to the city) and would like to buy a tractor with a FEL. I have 17 acres with horses, chickens, soon to be a few pigs and a couple steer.
I am looking at a
Ford 4000
Here is a link to the pictures I have so far and below is what i know about it.
Ford 4000 Tractor olddodgetrucks.com
Diesel
No smoke
Power Steering
Automatic Transmission 10 Forward 2 reverse
2 sets of hyd connections under seat.
6' bucket
2 levers under seat control bucket. How hard are those to use? Can you change this out to joystick type? How much would that cost?
PTO will not disengage. Any idea how expensive that might be to fix? Can you bush hog, use a post hole digger, etc if it is like this?
6' king cutter bush hog (needs some welding)

 

[whodat526]

the selcto speed transmission was a major problem with the fords and cost lots to fix i would touch it if i was u and the pto on these size tractor or also high to fix

 

[crankshaft21]

I myself, have never heard anything good about these tractors. Most people stay away from these.

 

[Soundguy]

it's a 3 cyl ford.. their sos problems were mostly worked out by then.. though if it wasn't maintained.. it CAN have problems.

ont he pto spinning issue.. I know int he 64 and down models there was no pto brake so they freewheeled. ont he 65+ models, I know the larger models like the 5000 had a brake. not sure if the 4000 did. and even if it did.. brake might have thrown it's lining.

standard test is to start machine.. disengage pto, then lay a 2x4 against the pto to see if it is freewheeling or powered.. if freewheeling, it will slow to a stop.. if it stays powered either the pto cbale is out of adjustment.. or it could have valve issues.. or the hyd clutch plates may be warped leaving the pto engaged.

also.. the 10spd/2 r sos is NOT an automatic as the seller claims. it's a powershift gear tranny.

in most places sos trans machines command as much as 50% less value than a similar plain gear machine.. like an 8spd.

if it has remotes on the hyd cover running the loader it is using the onboard pump to do so.. hyds will be a lil slow but plenty powerfull. guess you could use one port to run to a joystick valve.. the oem remotes are likely not detent so you would have to use a bunji cord to start the flow then joystick it from there. not the end of the world.. etc.

i'd be concerned if the machine had problems in gear like some ranges missing.. or slipping when hot..e tc. as someone else said.. parts for the sos are hit or miss.. and some of the hits are extremly pricey.. plus the techs that work on sos trans are few and far between ( but many DO exist ).. I know guys in cali that run grape harvesters built on 3000 fords with sos trnas that have a fleet of them and a spare sos ont he shelf.. when one dies they swap it out then ship the shelled one out to get it fixed..e tc. repair on an sos can be anywhere from a 25 cent part to a 2500$ mess... or a swap to an 8spd

i'd take a chance on a good running sos if the price was right. if it was a brake only issue on the pto and it did power down with a 2x4, and otherwise engaged and mowed fine and ran in all gears... i'd look at it .. again.. if the price was right..

soundguy

 

[nwbearcat]

I have a '66 4000 SOS, and much like Soundguy says, there CAN be some issues with the trans, but it is not a guarantee. The one I have has close to 9K hrs and has been split 2x, once to replace a rear main seal and the front of the trans seal when I drug it out of the shed after sitting for 10 years, and the 2nd when it chewed the splines out of the torque limiting clutch. Just have to have the clutch pressures adjusted to spec once in a great while, and keep it full of oil, and it works. You should be a little careful in where you shift it, it changes ranges between 4th and 5th, and again between 8th and 9th. I tend to try and clutch it for that shift or at least not do it under a hard pull, it jerks pretty bad if you don't.

With the SOS, the 4000's of this series did not have a PTO brake, so it will spin all the time. Even with my flail mower attached, it actually has enough drag to turn the flail over slowly, it won't cut, but it gets it to spinning pretty good, something to be careful with no doubt.

Looking at the pic's its not a new one, but looks like it would be usable. It has been used and cobbled up, I see some welds on the loader and some odd modifications on the lift arms, but not bad.

Soundguy may know better than I, but something doesn't seem right, I thought when they switched to the plastic grill like that, they they also switched to a counter-clockwise tack also, but I don't remember the timing of each of those changes, and I see a plastic grill with a clockwise tach. Maybe doesn't matter.

there are far worse tractors to have around than this one in my opinion

 

[Soundguy]

i chalk the grill up to replacement parts.. might even have had a new nose clip put on it at one time. I know I change dthe nose clip on my 3000 and had to modify the grill.. etc.

impossible to say without seeing it in person.. does look like an early unit though.

 

[bigbull338]

its sad to see so meny people scared of the SOS trannies.they are good if treated right an taken care of.but they can jump into gear sometimes.but every1 needs tobe safe round tractors anyway.ive ran 6000s with the SOS an i love them.but id never leave it running an get off for anything.if i had to get off id kill it everytime.most SOS have been treated rough an abused.

 

[jinman]

its sad to see so meny people scared of the SOS trannies.they are good if treated right an taken care of.

In my estimation, it's like having a nuclear bomb in your living room. It's a great conversation piece, but you're in trouble if it ever blows up.

The SOS I had worked okay as long as I kept plenty of fluid in it. I called it my "Select-o-Leak" transmission. If I were looking for a tractor and didn't have a lot of experience with them, I'd suggest staying away from an SOS.

 

[Soundguy]

its sad to see so meny people scared of the SOS trannies.they are good if treated right an taken care of.but they can jump into gear sometimes.but every1 needs tobe safe round tractors anyway.ive ran 6000s with the SOS an i love them.but id never leave it running an get off for anything.if i had to get off id kill it everytime.most SOS have been treated rough an abused.

i agree with jinman. it's not that we are scared of them.. it's that we know their story and game. kinda like owning a pet rattle snake. BE CAREFULL...

i also agree a sos is not an ideal tractor for a newb looking to get into one... for someone familiar with them.. going in eyes open.. not a big deal.

soundguy

 

[gregsons]

I would walk away from a SOS as well. if you do go and look at it see how well it operates while the transmission is cold and after about 30-45 minutes when its hot. Mine would work great in the winter when it was cold. ( i never really used it much more then 30 minutes at a time in the winter ). but when its warm out thats when the SOS really acts up. They are great Trannys when the operate as the were made too but when buying used you really never know how the were treated. This one shows signs of possinble abuse Grill may have been replaced the lower arms replaced looks like it has been repainted twice i see yellow paint under the blue. All these may be explained away but the may be signs of a hard worked machine.

Also if the tranny is bad i found it hard to find anyone that would even look at it. Ford wanted nothing to do with it as well as to old time equipment shops.

Ford made good tractors i like the 3000 and 4000 used then alot. Parts were easy to get and well priced in my mind.
Good luck