1942 Ford 2N

[Amber Gold]

I'm getting a '42 Ford 2N from a friend of mine. One of it's uses will be as a splitter. I was looking at splitters and found they require remote hydraulics, which the 2N doesn't have. Does anyone know how to add remote hydraulics to a tractor? Easy/cheap? Do they make kits for the 2N? Or is there a splitter that doesn't require remote hydraulics?

Thanks

[caseyssugarshack93]

Amber gold, does that tractor have a pto because the wood splitter i seen that go on tractors have the pto run the hydralic pump which that runs the splitter.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

AG,
Casey is on the right track. I think the easiest solution would be a PTO powered hydraulic pump to run the remotes. Of course the old fords had that small PTO shaft that might have to be adapted too....

[maplecrest]

do your self a real favor and buy a splitter all set with a motor and ready to go. by the time you buy the splitter with the prince pto pump and get the adapter to run the pto. and the TIME you will spend keeping that tractor running. let alone the gas that those hogs use. i use one to rake hay and it is 5 gallons an hour to run it.lets see at 2.60 a gallon thats 13 dollors an hour. a 5hp splitter will maybe use a gallon.you are saving $10.40 an hour there. not counting the rest of the b.s. that goes with those tractors. i threaten to give mine away every day. i have converted it to 12 volt,you name it. if i had to make a living farming with n series tractors i would find a different life style.

[Amber Gold]

90% positive it has a PTO...should seeing as how it's a ferguson setup.

The one's I've been seeing use the tractor's hydraulics. Can you point me in the right direction for a PTO powered splitter?


AG,
Casey is on the right track. I think the easiest solution would be a PTO powered hydraulic pump to run the remotes. Of course the old fords had that small PTO shaft that might have to be adapted too....

[Amber Gold]

tractor is essentialy free, minus whatever it takes to get the electrical figured out...not getting spark. It's old so it's simple so it can only be so many things. I can't argue with that.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Try Northern Tools. That used to be their specilty in the old days. Most of the 3 point PTO powerd splitters I have seen seam to be slow due to the slow RPMs and the single stage design they use. Maybe things have changed. I built a PTO, 3 point splitter for a smaller Yanmar and I kept adding and welding and adding and welding and sure as hell the front wheels came off the ground. Put wheels on it and a 10HP and it still is going 20 years later.

[Fred Henderson]

The guys are right buy a self contained wood splitter and use the 2N for a boat anchor.

[DS Maple]

The main problem you are going to run into is that the price of a PTO pump is about the same as that of a nice small engine. Companies such as Timber Wolf and Ramsplitter both make PTO models, but I'm sure you're looking at around $3000 or more for these machines. The other thing is that these machines are heavy, and compared to other tractors a 2N isn't. We have a PTO splitter (homemade though) that will pop the front wheels on a Ford 4600 right off the ground if you take your foot off the clutch too quickly when driving around. Then of course you have the operating costs and reliability issues that others have mentioned.

My advice would be to put a york rake on the 2N and use it for driveway grading and just buy a regular splitter to do your wood. I did about 10 cords last year on a tow-behind model with an 8hp Honda on it and it handled it fine with very little fuel compared to that of a tractor. Look into the prices on PTO machines though. Maybe I'm wrong. Also, if you can build one yourself you might be OK. Good luck!

[Fred Henderson]

Another thing to consider is that for the PTO to run at 540 RPM's the tractor will have to be at almost 2/3's throttle. Will the 2N stand up to this? Also wood splitter pumps are designed to run at 3600 RPMs. max to give faster cycle times. PTO's at 540 RPM's is a very long ways from 3K or 3600 RPM's. Therfore you will have a very long cycle time.
It the electrical problem on the 2N turns out to be a Magneto problem and if you have to even buy used you will think that you bought the whole tractor.

[maplecrest]

freds advise is what i ran into with my 53 naa. i converted it to 12 volt. got sick of pulling it to start it. i put a pile of money in the 6 volt and never worked out. after the 12 volt change over it starts and runs and sucks up gas.i would donate it to an antique display at the fair if i could find a diesel to replace it. let me see free?

[KenWP]

Even up here I can buy a 27 ton splitter for under 1500 bucks and you guys are in the land of the big PX. We had a log splitter gizmo made many years ago that worked off the pto of a tractor that worked well but was heavy. It had rope wraped around a drum on the PTO and when you put tension on the rope it pulled the splitter up and when you let off the tension the splitter dropped. Unfortunatly it took two people to run the gizmo.

[brookledge]

I'd agree with the others that you will be unhappy with the slow speed that the tractor will provide. Unless you can find a pto 2 stage pump. I have a older 5 HP 24" splitter and it uses about a gallon of gas per cord. The 2 stage pump really makes the cycle time fast. I have used a horizontal splitter on the back of a tractor that plugs into the remotes and it is slow as can be cause it only goes one speed.
Do your home work and I think you will find it is cheaper to by a self contained splitter
Keith

[Fred Henderson]

A self contained splitter uses a 2 stage pump. If you have a 13 GPM pump the 1st stage produces 500 psi at 11GPM,when the resistance(pressure) exceeds 501 PSI the pump shifts internally to 2nd stage @2GPM at 2500 PSI. If you have a 4" diameter cyl that is about 20 ton of force. The larger the cyl dia the more force that is porduced.
I am not selling anything but I have built 5 woodsplitters, the last one I kept.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Northern Tools makes a really nice splitters with Honda Engines on them for reasonable prices. The neat thing is that they have the bolt on 4 way wedge, so it would make the splitting go a lot faster and when you didn't want it on, unbolt it off.

[vermaple]

I'm quite happy with the Split-Fire wood splitter that I have. It is a two way splitter and will really split a lot of wood in a short time. Mine is a 3-point hitch splitter and as stated above is on the slow side, but i'm building a power unit with a two stage pump to speed things up a little. (My cost for the power unit is going to cost about what a pto pump would cost.)
Mine is a 36" splitter, but I extended it to 48" for sugarwood.

http://split-fire.com

[3rdgen.maple]

Man you guys are harsh. Way to kill his excitement. Something is better than nothing and there are times when things cost more money over the long haul but when you can only hand out so much at a time it is easier to swallow. Enjoy the tractor and get what you can out of it then sell it when better oportunities arise. As far as not having any spark I would bet it is the mag that is bad. I had a 49 case that was 6 volts and had mag problems every few years. I sent it down the road to a guy who repairs them and still does for next to nothing. Now I have a JD and wish I never traded the case in for it. What a piece of junk, use it, fix it, use it, fix it and don't ask how much money parts for these things cost. If you have any weight in the bucket and bump something with the front tires in 4 wheel drive expect to dish out some more money. If you don't like any green in your wallet buy a green tractor.

[KenWP]

2Ns make good chore tractors. They are not so high to climb on and off of and small enough to fit places. I would take one in a minute if offered one as it woulf fit my place to a T. On the farm we had pen after pen of purebred cattle and horses that got fed twice a day and the 2N fit down the alley way with a small wagon to feed them. Only tractor I ever used that was as handy was JD that had front wheel assist that sure worked good when it snowed as even thou it was little with the front tires working could plow through a lot of snow.

[Amber Gold]

What a buzz kill, but I'm not going to argue with something when it's essentially free. Splitting will not be it's primary use, but it will be one of them.

Also will hopefully be using it as a skidder. Going to talk to the property owners and hopefully they'll let me thin the sugarbush out.

[maplecrest]

i am sorry about the reality check of an N series tractor. now for using it as a skidder. a short but too the point story. i tried to use that naa in the woods. and my dad warned me that the smallest stick would jump out and break the valve stem on one of the rear LOADED tires. well if that did not happen. i drive over a small branch and the other side cleaned that stem off clean cloride spraying every where and a flat in the middle of the woods. thus a fun long fight of a fix. one thing i learned out of that mess was how to fix my own large 'loaded' tractor tires for no tire repair co is going in the woods to fix it.

[brookledge]

Josh
I wasn't trying to discourage you, just wanted to point out some issues that you will encounter. You stated it will be used as a splitter as one of its uses. All I was saying is to do your homework and you may find that it is cheaper to buy and operate a self contained splitter and it will outperform a 3 point splitter to boot.
As for the tractor if you are getting it for free than go for it. It can be used for other things
Good luck
Keith

[325abn]

I dont know about using it to run a wood splitter but they do make good sap haulers. Although mine is a few years newer.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y26/reagantrooper/Evaporator/testboil013.jpg

[Amber Gold]

Keith, don't sweat it, just thought I was onto something. I didn't think it was going to cost so much to run it as a splitter.

325an-that looks like 8n.

[KenWP]

The 2N was made in the war years to circumvent some of the rationing problems. Be glad its got rubber tires some were made with steel wheels as rubber wasn't allowed. They had magnetos due to not being allowed a battery also. They are worth more now 67 years later then they were worth brand new almost. I have bought new tractors that didn't stand up to that much use.

[325abn]

Yes it is an 8n.

[Flat47]

Amber Gold - If you haven't already, check out www.tractorshed.com (it's just like here, but for antique tractors). Very, very helpful discussion forums.

[Cardigan99]

8n has the dish type rear wheels.
Josh, I use my 8n for a pretty decent amount of skidding. In fact I spend 90% of my time on it in the woods. As far as your no spark problem: 6 volt system get really fussy. Check your coil. make sure all your connections are bright and shiney. Check you ignition. If all that checks out there is a fuseable link on the firewall behind your gauges (the later 8s do not have this, but all the earlier N models do). Make sure that is in one piece. If so, check your key switch.. Pulled my hair out for a few days one time when mine cut out on me.. $12 on line or at TSC.

Get it running and you'll love it. they're alot of fun.

Then change it over to a 12 volt. You wont have any problems with it in the winter (I keep telling myself to do this but still haven't).

Todd

[TapME]

Bought a 50 8n for 500 last year with a bucket on the front powered by a pump up front. It was worth more in scrap than I paid for it. Been working slowly at it and the wiring harness is next. hope to have it for the upcoming season. Time will tell.
Josh, It will more handy around the house than you think. Good luck with the project.

[timbers]

We have a 8n we use for everything hauling sap pulling trees over etc also this year we picked up a splitter for it with a prince pto pump. The splitter has a 4" cyclinder and a 36" ram and is very heavy duty, we were using it for some white oak no problems at all, anyways it does use lots of gas, is a pain to take on and off. I would have perfered something self contained put but $ is always a factor and i am getting a new front pan made. Enjoy the 2n.
Ian

[Amber Gold]

Thanks guys...I'm planning on it. I'll check the key. A friend of mine who converted an old dozer from 6V to 12V told me to double check the points becuase they fry real easy and to see if a ballast resistor (I think) is installed. The points could be overloaded with the conversion kit. I guess it's another $12 part from TSC. I'll have it at my house either this weekend or next.

[maplecrest]

the point are not what you are going to fry it is the coil. make sure that you have a 12 volt coil. and ceramic ballest resister. you also want to change the key. or you will have to pull the positive off battery or will run down during non use.

[lpakiz]

On 12 volts, the points WILL fry!! I know-I had one and had to pull the front-mounted distributer about every 6 hours of use and file or change the points. I did have a ballest resister in the circuit, too. The coil that's in there is 6 volt positive ground, which does something to the points when changing to 12 volts negative ground. It may have something to do with changing polarity and the condenser wouldn't accept that.
I finally had an old-time mechanic look at it. He drilled out the four long rivets that hold the coil together, removed the lid, heated the plastic case until the coil guts fell out and re-routed a new lead from a 12 volt coil (mounted on the side of the block) thru the old (now hollow) coil case and connected this lead to the rotor. This lead was a piece of spark-plug wire--or could be called a coil wire.
Worked great after that--started like a champ, too.

[ibby458]

The 2N was a great tractor, but prone to some problems. That front mounted ignition was the worst idea ever. Also be VERY CAREFUL of skidding with this tractor, and even hauling a heavy trailer up a hill can flip it over. Consider weighting the front end HEAVILY.

To directly answer your question, yes, you can tap into the tractor hydraulics on a 2N. On the right side of the bottom of the bottom cover on the transmission, there's a plug. A Ford dealer (if you can find one carrying Ford parts) can sell you an adapter to hook into it. Your lift arms will go to the top, then the oil will go to the port. You'll need another valve on the splitter, and a return line to the transmission housing. I just pulled off the fill cap and stuck the hose in there.

I've had 6 of the N series tractors, and the best thing for you to do is what I did. Tear them apart and sell the parts on eBay. I averaged $3500 for each tractor, depending on condition of the various parts. (Clean and sell the bolts, too. Restorers want authentic bolts) That's enough to buy the splitter you want, PLUS a better tractor.

[Amber Gold]

The 2N, which was supposed to be free, is no longer free. I picked it up the end of July and by the end of August my friend decided to change his mind and will sell it to me for $2000. It's a nice tractor, but with it needing clutch and internal hydraulic seals, is too much money. Also where I want external hydraulics and a loader it isn't worth it so he'll be getting it back. Bummer.

He has let me borrow his splitter for a few weeks and I used it to split 7 chord of wood so I'm going to get it running for him first.

The new coil that he put in there smelled burnt so I pulled it out and put the old coil back in. There's 12V going to the starter, but there's a resistor to drop the voltage going to the ignition system to 6V. I think this was installed after burning out the new coil. There is a new alternator and with the new position of the belt, the spark plug wires need to get rerouted so they're not rubbing on the belt.

I've tinkered with it a bit, but haven't tried starting it yet. It doesn't have a battery and I'm not sure if I should run it without one. Also got sidetracked with finding out I needed more wood split for this season. The wood should be about done either this weekend or next so I'll be able to get back on the tractor.