My grandfather has a ford 3000 with a ford loader. It is a late 60's early 70's model tractor. The loader has the front mounted pump. He has had the loader on the tractor since the early 80's. I just helped him replace the splined shaft and both ends (That connect to the pump and the crankshaft) a couple weeks ago. He showed me a pile of shafts in his barn that he has replaced over the last 25 years. I know there were 6 or 7 in the pile.
One thing to consider. It now takes several hours to change a fan belt. I know, because I'm usually the one that ends up helping do it. You have to remove the front end of the tractor and the pump.
If I were going to put a front mounted pump on a tractor I would go ahead and replace the water pump and all belts while doing this. It will save you several hours of frustration in the future.
Also, the front suspension on the ford tractors of this era were not built as strong as tractors today. If yours has the same front suspension as the 3000 and you plan to do much dirt work, get ready to replace spindles and steering linkages. He also has a pile of broken spindles.
The steering linkages we reinforced with 3/4" steel rod. Looks kind of redneck, but we placed the rod along the length of the linkage and used clamps to hold them in place. The linkages and the rods are bent.
BTW, we did use the tractor to skid logs and load them onto a tandem axle c60 log truck. The tractor has pretty much been abused and still runs fine. Too bad Ford quite making tractors.
Chris
