Ford 5600 advice

[Ozarkfrontier86]

I have 46 acres that I am looking to buy a tractor to work with. 10 acres are planted with hay and the rest is wooded. I will be using the tractor to skids downed logs and box blade road and brush hog. Not sure if I will mess with hay as it was already planted when I moved here. I looked at a ford 5600 today and the hour gauge does not work. They put a new gauge on that shows 112 hours. The ignition does not turn the tractor off and none of the lights work. Other then that mechanically if feels good. Shifting each gear worked. I'm nervous about buying a tractor that the hour gauge is broke and don't know any history. It has a oil leak too. This will be my first tractor. The tires look newer and they are asking 6900 for it. Here are some pics of oil leak. Seeking any advice anyone can offer.

 

[Roadworthy]

The price sounds appealing to me for a tractor that size but it's a forty to forty five year old tractor. You're right to be leery not knowing the hours. You need to consider how much work you'll be able to do if necessary and how much you can afford to pay for repairs if needed. My major concerns would be engine condition (will it need an overhaul anytime soon) and clutch condition. If the clutch needs replaced the tractor must be split in half front to back to access it. Does it have a loader? Do any implements come with it? You can get a little more information: TractorData.com Ford 5600 tractor information

 

[RickB]

Probably not one in ten tractors of that age show accurate hours of use. Learn how to evaluate tractors by condition or hire someone to do it for you. A well kept Ford 5600 could be a great choice for your uses. FYI all Ford x600 models have a manual shutoff cable like many diesels built before the mid 1990's.

 

[dieselscout80]

I got a IH 424 back in 2009 with unknown hours and a non working hour meter and I am still using it.

I have replaced the water pump, hydraulic pump, leveling box, alternator and had radiator recored along with services.

The clutch is the one thing that is really a thing to watch for as splitting a tractor to replace it is costly unless you can do it yourself.

 

[Ozarkfrontier86]

I'm new to tractors. I'm mechanical inclined. My work is hvac and I do all my own work on my personal vehicles. That said I have never tore a tractor apart. I test drove it and the clutch felt good and strong. I locked one wheel with brake and let the clutch out and it was dragging it In circles. The oil leak is what worry me. If it's a rear main seal then how long before it leaks into clutch housing and tears that area up.

 

[Farmer495]

I'm not sure if I'd even care too much about that leak, it's an old tractor, they all leak.

Ignition key does not turn off most diesel tractors built before 1995 or so.

Hours are anyone's guess. I rather a 10,000 hour tractor with rebuilt engine, new clutch and new tires in good cosmetic shape than a beat up 5000 hour one that has never had any work done on bald tires and slipping clutch.

Price seems good.

 

[Texasmark]

I guess it's gas per your comment. Hours and condition will show up on the steering arm(s) ball joints....if loose and you can rock the shaft easily with your hand.
Pedals show hours easily. If the buttons are all worn off and if sheetmetal pedal surface like my 3000 is worn through it speaks of 5000+ hrs.
How fast will it light off when you hit the starter? Good compression and it'll light right off. If you have to crank on it, especially a diesel, worn rings, or if you need ether to get it started the first of April in Texas, rings are shot.
If you hear knocking sounds from the lower engine it means mains and inserts...overhaul,
If you have a lot of blowby from the crankcase ventilating tube, worn rings. Diesels will usually black smoke a little especially if you ram the throttle to max from idle. White smoke is water of some sort in the combustion chamber and blue is burning oil. On a cold day a diesel will slobber some with the white smoke until everything gets hot enough to burn off the internal condensation.
Brakes aren't that big of a deal if worn.
Check radiator for corrosion in the tubes and color of coolant.
I answered how to check the clutch earlier this evening...check for a post entered a few minutes ago about a guy wanting to test clutch at a dealer.
Most Fords aren't synchronized shift, but at idle you should be able to go through all the gears with ease. If RPMs are up when you try to shift, expect grinding to occur until the drive and new driven gear get in sync and mesh. Once in gear, it should stay there, not pop out.
PTO should follow the lever. Would be nice to have an implement to drive and test functionality.
Hydraulic 3 pt should come up smoothly and speed is RPM dependent. At 1800 rpm it should make the full range in about 5ish seconds. Having a load on it would really help to test it. It would be nice to be able to have that load so you can raise the lift and shut off the tractor to see if the seal in the lift cylinder is adequate...a pain to lift the top off the hyd-diff section to get at the lift piston.
Power assisted steering should be smooth and easy to turn.
Front end should be solid if taken out on the road and run through highest gear. Any shimmy means bad alignment, no biggie, or worn members.
Jacking up the front end at the axle and watching the king pins for movement when the weight comes off the tire....shouldn't be any slop....usually have problems getting them apart if in need of repair as the pin develops ridges and doesn't want to come out of the retainer.

Expect to have some minor leaks.

I guess that about does it.

 

[Dclerici1]

I’m going to assume that is the 4 cyl diesel engine. Those old Ford 3 & 4 cyl engines were bullet proof in my opinion. But, they are sleeveless engines.
If you have a cyl pit thru, you have the choice of going to a machine shop or a crate replacement engine. We used to op for the crate engine ($1000 per cyl back when we had Fords).
in regards to your leak, if it might be coolant, there is a freeze plug behind the flywheel that all the sludge in the block will pack up against and rust out. Either way, freeze plug or rear main, put a new clutch in then.
Those diesels never had ign shutdown, it’s the pull cable to the injection pump.
if you are really interested in it, pull the trans and rear drain plugs to get just a little out. look for metal, water, or sludge.
Good luck.