Posted by Doug L on February 17, 1998 at 19:51:23:
Norm,
The Fordson Major has been a good tractor for me. Things you will want to look for are:
the swing cables for the rear boom have a tendency to wear out on break. This will cause the boom to swing violently to one side---Ask my Uncle, this happened to us one day, he has inspecting a water line that was just dug, when one of the cables broke and thus ended up pinning him between a pickup truck and the bucket of the hoe. It is not often they break, but considering 40+ years of use, someday they might.
As you may know the large Ford battery for the Major can't be obtained anymore, so you'll have to buy two batterys and hook them up + to + and - to - to obtain enough cranking amps. especially in winter.
The fan, generator, and power steering belts are a sun of a gun to replace. You can get them through any auto parts place such as NAPA or tractor dealer, but.....
To replace the belts, you have to remove the bouble hinged hood, brush guard, if equipted, and radiator shell to gain workable access to the belt area. I forget weather you have to remove the radiator core or not, but anyway, when ever to have the tractor tore down for repairs this far, ALWAYS replace the old belts with new ones even if they don't look bad, it will save you time in the future!
The electrical box where the iginition key, horn button, amp and oil gauges are is complex inside. Don't tear it apart unless you have a manual or a very good memory.
The rear boom usually has a tendancy to sag down when the tractor is not in use, if you wish, install a valve to cut off hydrolic flow to the lever that raises and lowes the entire boom.
Remember, when installing lights or hooking up a new starter, or generator, etc. the Fordson is a POSITIVE GROUND ONLY. The + goes to the frame. --Completely backwards of modern machenery.
These are things that I can think of off hand. Parts for the Major are getting hard to get, ie. cylender sleves when overhauling the motor, (I know !) If you can find swing cables for you hoe, get them, even if you don't need them right away. They were few and far between about 15 years ago when i located a pair.
Please e-mail me direct, via dxl191@psu.edu and I can get you more info on the Major.