48 Ford 8n 3point attachments

I recently bought my first tractor and love it. I"m learning as I go and have already replaced the battery wiring, the solenoid , the starter and finally the coil. It now starts like a charm, however the attachments do not seem to lift as I would think they should. I have a five foot bush hog that only cuts when the PTO is engaged and it never lifts off the ground to move from one spot to another. I also bought a carry all to move hay bales and such but can"t figure out how to use it since it does not have a PTO attachment. It just drags on the ground. Is that simply an attachment that is not appropriate for the 8n since there is no way to attach the shaft?

Sounds like you did a good job on the front end of your tractor but now the rear end is giving you fits. The 5' bush hog should only cut when the PTO is engaged so that's OK. Now, is it properly attached to the three point hitch? That would include two lower lift arm attach points and one upper arm (aka center link) attach point. No more, no less. It has to be attached at 3 points or it will not lift. It sounds like you have it attached at only the two lower lift arms. Same thing with your carry all. There is no need to use the PTO shaft on your carry all. Just the two lower lift arms and the upper center link. Which it sounds like maybe you don't have?

But his PTO has to be running for the hydraulic pump to pump

No it is ok. you have to have the pto on the tractor tuning for the lift to work. It will only work when the clutch is out and the pto on the tractor is spinning. The little lever under the seat should be in the up position. The bigger lever on the right runs the lift. If it doesn't lift, there could be a number of issues, from no oil in the transmission to problems with the pump. Good luck.

Make sure you have the over running coupler hooked up to that cutter. It is dangerous without it.

Hi Bill, thanks for your reply. When I use the bush have I have the center lift bar, the two side arms plus two stabilizer bars along with the pto shaft all connected. The pto doesn't engage unless I'm in gear with the clutch out which I thought was normal for the 8n. The carry all only has connection options for the center lift bar and the two side arms, no way to attach the shaft in order to get lift. I tried using the pto lever with no shaft connected and it just drags.
:shock:

Her

here is a picture that partially shows what's already been mentioned. there are more pictures in the link below.

paul

Untitled URL Link

Hmm, dare I say I don't know what that is??

Yes, exactly how mine is hooked up, so it does sound like I have problems with the hydraulics then...

Sorry, learning how these threads post also, the comment about not knowing what it is was for frankmn and the bush hog safety

sound like it. i would check the hyd oil(do this
first), cycle the position/draft control lever, and
cycle the 3pt control lever. (all of this while
the clutch is out and the PTO is engaged) and see
if your 3 point lift arms move.

-paul

Not sure we're all "on the same page".

You need to test whether the 3 point arms (the two lower arms) are lifting.

With nothing attached to the arms, start the tractor; put in clutch and engage the PTO lever so the tractor PTO shaft will run when you let the clutch out ( same as you did to make the mower work). Now raise the lever with the larger round knob that is sitting by your right hip, in a quadrant- the 3 point arms should lift. If they don't, you're low on oil, or it could be a more serious problem.

Many 3 point implements don't utilize the PTO- the PTO just has to be "on", on the tractor, and the clutch "out", for the 3 point arms to lift.

Thanks, will go test as you describe after work. Thanks all..

I just look some photos. Hopefully they will post to the thread.

Julie,

Many of the implements we use with the 8N do not have or need a PTO shaft. Your carry-all is one of those implements, a rear scraper blade is another. Any implement made to the ASAE 3 point Cat 1 specs will work with your 8N. (But some implements like your brush hog work better on a tractor that has independent PTO). The key to understanding this issue is to remember that with the 8N, The PTO shaft sticking out of the back of the tractor MUST be turning for either the hydraulic lift to work, or for the PTO on the implement to work. When you put your foot down on the clutch pedal, the PTO and hydraulic system within the tractor STOP working. If you need to lift your carry-all before you move the tractor (recommended!), then put the transmission stick in Neutral, and lift your foot off the clutch pedal. When your load is at the height you want to transport it at, then push in the clutch pedal, and put the tractor in the gear you want to use and slowly let your foot off the clutch pedal. As long as that short PTO stub shaft is turning, your hydraulic lift should work. But one added piece of confusion may be that very short lever near your right hand, kind of behind the main hydraulic control lever. The short lever is in "position control" when it sits straight up, and is in "draft control" when set horizontally forward. On one of my 8N's this lever is not adjusted correctly (or maybe worn linkage internally) and the hydraulic lift will occasionally NOT work. It needs to be in the vertical position for almost everything you are going to do with your tractor. So when it is not working correctly, I just push it forward and let it snap back into the vertical position while the PTO stub shaft is turning. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 snaps to get the lift to work correctly, but no big deal... I have lived with it that way for the last 45 years I have owned this tractor.

Check the tranny and rear end oil for water by loosening up the drain plug under the rear end housing. Do not take it out unless you want to drain the nearly 5 gallons of stinky gear oil. Just loosen it enough so that it is mostly out and you can tip it just a bit. Let a cup of oil out into a clean coffee can and look for beads of water. If the oil has absorbed water (common) then the oil looks milky, the lighter the color, the more water it has. There is a drain plug in the bottom of the transmission (underside from where the transmission shifter stick is). Do the same thing with this drain plug. I have found as much as a full gallon of water in a normal tranny/rear end. It needs to get out before it becomes a big block of ice (can do serious damage to the transmission or rear end or hydraulic pump).

There is much debate about what type of oil to use in the tranny/ rear end. On the 8N, the same oil is used by all 3 systems and it easily moves from one compartment to another (about 4 to 5 gallons for a full change). Ford originally specified a stinky gear lube, somewhat like automotive rear end oil. But later, they changed the specs to a much thinner oil that is used in all tractors (universal tractor hydraulic and transmission oil). Do not use auto ATF! The choice of which oil to use is often debated on this site. The heavier gear oil works great when the tractor lives in temperatures of 30 F and above. And the lighter universal oil is preferred for real cold weather use. But as my tractor is worn, I do not get good hydraulic lift response with the lighter oil in summer use. So I use the 85w-90 gear oil all year and put up with it being quite stiff in cold sub freezing weather. I just let the tractor sit and idle for a minute or 2 while it stirs up the tranny oil. Do not use the hydraulic lift during this warm up time. Other owners have their own preferences often depending on their climate.

Hope this helps!

Paul in MN