Ford 860 not lifting

[Saskboy1950]

I bought a 1955 Ford 860 and think the 3PTH is not lifting high enough.
Could someone please tell me how high the arms should lift when measured at the end with the with the lever at the top. (Mine lifts only 22 inches ) It is NOT lack of pressure it puts up 2500 psi on the remotes. and lifts any attachment easily BUT not high enough.
Will it not lift high enough if the pin that run against the cam under the top cover is worn?
I have had a TE 20 and a 135 Massey and they lifted these attachments much higher.
I do not think this tractor has ever had the top cover lifted.

 

[Saskboy1950]

It seems nobody has had this sort of thing happen. Or very few people have ford 860 or 650 tractors.

 

[John0829]

I'll measure mine later today if I get a chance to see how high it goes.

Yes the cam follower pin can influence lift if severely worn, I usually replace it with a piece of 5/16 drill bit shank. If the cam is worn it is easy to build up with a welder then smooth back, I prefer using a belt sander, seem to get a better shape, but a grinding disc will work.

One other thing you can check is to see if the lift arms have been off the rock shaft and are not indexed correctly. They should not be, but I cannot remember for sure at the moment, I am almost positive they are clocked with a wide splines.

 

[Saskboy1950]

I'll measure mine later today if I get a chance to see how high it goes.

Yes the cam follower pin can influence lift if severely worn, I usually replace it with a piece of 5/16 drill bit shank. If the cam is worn it is easy to build up with a welder then smooth back, I prefer using a belt sander, seem to get a better shape, but a grinding disc will work.

One other thing you can check is to see if the lift arms have been off the rock shaft and are not indexed correctly. They should not be, but I cannot remember for sure at the moment, I am almost positive they are clocked with a wide splines.

Thank you for your reply.
I posted the question here because there are so few of the 6 and 8 hundred series tractors in Saskatchewan that the techs. at New Holland dealers have never worked on one. And could not find the answers for me.

 

[John0829]

OK, I remembered to check the height of the lift arms today, mine is 36" to the center of the ball socket. How close to the ground does your get? Does it seem exceptionally low? If it does I would check to make sure the arms were clocked correctly on the rock shaft. Otherwise it may be time to pop the top and take a look at the linkages, cam and follower.

 

[Saskboy1950]

OK, I remembered to check the height of the lift arms today, mine is 36" to the center of the ball socket. How close to the ground does your get? Does it seem exceptionally low? If it does I would check to make sure the arms were clocked correctly on the rock shaft. Otherwise it may be time to pop the top and take a look at the linkages, cam and follower.

Thank you, That is about what I thought they should be.
I very much doubt the top cover has ever been lifted. So that will be next to do.
After reading on several of these forums and watching videos I was thinking lifting the top was needed so I bought the gasket kit. Just never found anywhere saying how high they should go.
Mine don't go lower then I would expect, so it is a matter of stopping to soon at the top not going to low at the bottom,

 

[John0829]

Good luck with it, let us know what you find.

 

[Saskboy1950]

Good luck with it, let us know what you find.

I will let you know. But it will likely be a while I am sort of retired and the tractor is 45 minute drive. this is sort of a project to keep me active. After farming for most of my 72 years. I also have a 650 that is doing much the same . So I sort of expect the same wear in the same place on both.

 

[Mike1955]

I will let you know. But it will likely be a while I am sort of retied and the tractor is 45 minute drive. this is sort of a project to keep me active. After farming for most of my 72 years. I also have a 650 that is doing much the same . So I sort of expect the same wear in the same place on both.

I have a 600 ford. That’s about like mine. I think it’s normal

 

[Saskboy1950]

Got it fixed. What I found was a worn cam follower pin .
And I checked the adjustments. As told to do in the I&T shop manual. Not real sure if they were off. Because I don't have the special NU DAY tools so I had to make tools to do the job. Once made I did a bit of adjusting. And now everything works as it should. Or at least the 3PTH lifts as it should.
I don't need draft control so might never know for sure if it works. Everything seems good. After fixing it I left the cultivator up for about 2 hours with engine shut off and only MAYBE 1 inch of creep down.
I think it is possible I have a fairly low hour tractor for its age. ( 1955 ) the tach still works and shows only 3343 hours.
Around here soon after those tractors came out a lot of farmers went to bigger ones. No row cropping here so these tended to be kept mostly for around the yard.