8n/9n Guys

[slehrmann]

I'm in the market for a used tractor and after a lot of looking the only ones in my price range (about $1500) are 8n/9n's. I have 5 acres, about half of that gets mowed the other half is brush and woods. I really need a front loader and a backhoe attachment would be nice. My question is can these tractors handle a front end loader and be effective with it. I have to be able to mow (would like a 5' brush hog). grade a gravel driveway, grade the land around the house and clear some brush. To those who have owned or currently own these tractors, do you think this would be a good choice for me?

Thanks,

Steve


PS

Glad to be a member!

 

[jinman]

I'm in the market for a used tractor and after a lot of looking the only ones in my price range (about $1500) are 8n/9n's. I have 5 acres, about half of that gets mowed the other half is brush and woods. I really need a front loader and a backhoe attachment would be nice. My question is can these tractors handle a front end loader and be effective with it. I have to be able to mow (would like a 5' brush hog). grade a gravel driveway, grade the land around the house and clear some brush. To those who have owned or currently own these tractors, do you think this would be a good choice for me?

Steve, did you leave a zero off your estimation? Even at $15,000, you have a list of attachments that would be a challenge to find. A tractor, loader, backhoe, rotary cutter, and boxblade are gonna cost much more than $1500. You may find an acceptable tractor for that price, but unless you inherit it, that's all your $1500 will buy.

Oh yes...almost forgot...welcome to the forum and TBN.

 

[JC-jetro]

Steve,


Welcome to TBN Blue.

1500$ for an 8n in my area is pretty good price depending on the condition. 8n is very well built machine but lacks a lot of hydraulic features to make it a good candidate for addition of front loader and backhoe. There is front loader for 8n that is pretty hard to come buy and they are not very sophisticated to be a good and efficient tool, although beats picking up a load of manure with wheel barrow and shovel . I have not seen backhoe install on 8n, but not ruling out of matching something up, if you do then you probably need to have a PTO driven Hyd pump to do any good. Making it all work efficiently and productively is going to be very difficult and many times more expensive than the 1500$. We got many old ford tractor expert that hopefully will chime in with more solid information before too long. If I were you, I'd stick a 5 foot brush hog in the back , made sure I had Overrunning clutch and just brush hogged your acreage with it. Adding blade , plow, carry all to it to get some more functionality.


JC,

 

[ToadHill]

Dearborn made a loader for the N series tractor. It operates by chaining down the 3pt hitch and piping a line from the bottom of the rear end housing to the loader cylinders. It operates the hydralics only to lift the load, the weight of the loader displaces the fluid to let the unit down. The bucket does not have any cylinders attached and operates with a manual pin for the dump. You refix the pin by setting the loader down and the spring loaded pin inserts itself back in the release mechanism.

I have one for my 8N but I've never hooked it up and now have a larger tractor with a loader. If anyone wants it the first $150 takes it.

 

[deereguy]

The N's are great little tractors, one will do almost everything you want, maybe not as efficently as a $15,000 machine, but it will beat using a shovel/rake/wheelbarrow. We have two of these tractors, they usually get passed up for the newer JD with the loader. My parents used one on a 52 acre farm for setting posts, moving gravel, mowing pastures, hauling wood, you name it, it was a true time saver back in the 70's thru 2000, when I bought the JD. The N's are easy to work on, usually because you will need to adjust or tinker with something every once in awhile. I wouldn't be afraid of getting any N tractor for what your purpose is, not sure about putting a backhoe on it tho (maybe a Woods 650 ?)

Good Luck!!

 

[slehrmann]

Thanks for the replies. Jinman, I wasn't very clear on what i was trying to say. in my area (St. Louis) you can find 8/9ns for about $1500. I wasn't expecting to find one with every attachment out there for that price (would be nice though!). I was planning on just buying the tractor and brush hog first, then either buying or fabricating the front end loader and back hoe. I have read that the hydraulics are the weak point on these models. I don't have any first hand experience w/ tractors, but i'm the kind of person that thinks you can modify anything to work. My main concern would be if the actual tractor could handle my future mods. I'm hoping the old phrase "they don't build them lilke they used to" is true!

 

[jinman]

. . .I was planning on just buying the tractor and brush hog first, then either buying or fabricating the front end loader and back hoe. I have read that the hydraulics are the weak point on these models. I don't have any first hand experience w/ tractors, but i'm the kind of person that thinks you can modify anything to work. My main concern would be if the actual tractor could handle my future mods. I'm hoping the old phrase "they don't build them lilke they used to" is true!

Steve, the N-model tractors make great mower tractors, but I would not consider them as acceptable for a loader or backhoe. Not even the guys with lots of money to make modifications would do that to an N-model and expect to get regular work done with it. Look around. How many of those tractors do you see with a loader and a backhoe doing work? There's a reason for that. The tractor probably would not hold up and you surely would not as the operator. You would be "beat to death" by those kinds of implements on an 8N.

I'd do like JC-jetro and other folks suggested and use the tractor with a rotary cutter. It's also a good tractor for a boxblade or other 3PH implements. I'd buy that tractor and save my money for a future loader-tractor purchase or rent a loader-backhoe when needed.

 

[mikim]

I had a loader on an 8n I owned ... it had two valves on it, 1 for lift and 1 for dump, and it was frame heavy. It mounted to the rear axles, had a frame that came over and around the seat and across the hood in front of the operator, and was hydraulically(ms) self enclosed. It had a pump that ran off the front of the crankshaft under the radiator. What a beast.... the only thing I ever did with that 8n was mow and move a little dirt. Like Jim said -- 8n s are OK for mowing grass ---- but I could easily kill the motor in heavy brush. I think your $$ limit is going to cripple what you want to do.

 

[Harold_J]

If you can find a good 8N for that price I would say go for it. It will handle the 5ft brush hog OK. The loader should be OK also, except no power steering. I have loaded thousands of tons of manure with an 8N and it stood up to it, still has the same clutch. Your best bet would be to find one with a loader on it driven by a front pump. There were Wagner loaders and other brands with hydraulic bucket cylinder that were strong and worked well. If you find one to use with a loader, check out the front axle pivot bushing. I would forget about the backhoe on this tractor.

 

[schmism]

This is my equipment

5' used ford brush hog - craigs list $250
6' Ford rear blade (landpride RB3572) - criagslist $75
5' never used but been sitting out for a while, light weight no name box blade - bought it off the front yard of a guy down the road. - $200

It can be done, all my equipment is perfectly useable, and while not absloulty brand new, is very servicable and have yet to have probs with any of it.

ive seen a few single arm loaders on 8/9n's but they are rare. usually fetch round 3K on criagslist (tractor with loader)

my bare bones budget would be $5K

for 7-8 you can step into a used Kubota BX with hoe.... (but who wants a glorified rideing lawn mower anyway)