Ya got a decent looking later 8n.
It's got the late steering box, and is of course, a side mount distribuitor.
normally first thing i suggest is to get the owners manual, the I&T fo4 service manual, and master parts catalog.. but in your case.. I'll make that my 2nd recomendation. my first is to clean up that mess of spark plug wires and get them off the exhaust manifold.
You can buy metal core cut-to-fit sets at tractor supply for under 20 bucks.
I will use champ H10 or al 216 plugs in the manual.. but most of us like to run al 437s or champ h12 as they are a heat range hotter.
Engine holds 5.5 qts oil.. I like sae 30w.. but base oil type on oil pressure.. if yer oil pressure is a bit low.. go to a higher weight... I know many guys running straight 50 or 60wt oil just to keep a few# psi up.. and they will run like that for years. By the way.. at hot idle.. if you can keep about 6psi.. you are safe.. and anything double digits at throttle is acceptable. ideally you will have 30-40 cold and 10-20 hot
trans , diffy, and hyds are a common sump and holds about 5g of oil. best way to fill it without overfilling is to remove the bottom bolt inthe dipstick cover and add oil till it drips there, then repalce.. probably hold 4.5 to 4.75 g.. unless the oil sump is real clean.. in which cae it'l take all 5.
Hyds are non live... pto must be engage and spinning for belly hyd pump to work. On right sid eunder seet is a big handle, and a little handle. big handle is the 3pt lift.. little handle is the draft control.. up is for position control.. down is draft... unless you are using a moldboard plow.. leave the little handle up.
By your left heal is the pto shifter.. depress clutch then sift aft to engage pto, release clutch to get it spinning.
pto is non live.. if you run a rotary mower ( most N will run a 5' rough cut mower just fine ).. make sure yuo get and install an over-running couple so the mower does not back-transmit power thru the pto to the wheels.
OEM pto shaft was 1 1/8" and short.. new style is 1 3/8" .. measure before you buy your ORC.
Steering backlash can be adjusted by loosening the 2 locknuts on the sector studs and turning int he studs.. you can try this if you have backlash / play inthe steering.
I can tell you that your sector shaft seals leak. If you are not going to tear the box down to repalce them, then pull one o fthe 7/16 bolts on the upper right sid eo fthe box.. may go theru the battery box.. etc.. it is the fill hole... drill/tap the bolt for a grease zerk and pump in 1.8 tubes of JD cornhead grease.. or other 0# grease... that keeps the top thrust bearing lubed, and prevents you from having to tear the tractor down to rebuild the steering box...
looks like your left rear axle hub lekas a little.. looks kinda oily around the lugnuts.. that's a common problem.. leaky axle seals... the late 8n has an inner and outter seal. best way to prevent seals from leaking is to not overfill the common sump.
common sump has 3 drains.. one under tranny 2" plug.. one under hyd pump inlet, 2" plug, and one under diffy.. pipe plug..
crankcase has a 2" bung with a wire scree on it to prevent the pump from sucking anything large up.. if it's bad. DO repalce it.
brakes have star adjusters
oil for common sump oem was 90wt gl-1. A 5g pail at napa is part # 65-205.. or you can get 90wt gl3? oil at TSC made for fords.
alternately you can use any 75thru 90wt non synthetic gear oil in the gl4/5 range that states that it is yellow metal safe.
You can also use a UTF type oil conforming to ford spec m2c134d.. ( TSC.. walmart.. etc. ) If yer axle seals and tranny input shaft leak now.. gear oil is a better choice than the utf..
Card , if still the MS 241a/b/c it came with, and not a zenith replacement has 2 needles, idel and main. main needle is downpointing and towards the front of the tractor.. in to lean, out to enrich. idle needle is ont he side.. and is an air needle.. in to enrich.. out to lean.
A healthy 3pt lift should pick up about 800# befor ethe front wheels fly up of fthe ground.. if you weight the front end down.. you can pick up as much as 1100 - 1200# unreliably, depending on the condition of your relief valve and the lift cyl / piston.. etc.. The scotch yoke belly hyd pump will knock a bit.. an dthe more you lift.. the more it will knock... it will probably keep knocking for 50 year, untill it just plain stops pumping. pump capacity at full throttle is 2.85 gpm @ 1500-1700 psi. there is a straight threaded port under your right heal.. it is for a pressure test gauge using an orb fitting or a copepr crush washer / banjo type fitting... chain down lift arms to axle and operate lift with 3000 psi gauge plumbed in to see what you relieve at if you suspect a problem.
Toplink rocker has 3 holes.. bottom hole is for most applications.. top holes are for light draft implements.. like spring tooth cultivators... DO NOT put heavy draft / heavy implements int he top holes.. the mechanical advantage will turn al the delicate linkage under the lift cover into pretzles..
Tractor has no diffy lock.. that's why you hve R & L brake pedals.. also good for steering... IE.. when you come to the end of the row, stomp yer left brake and then speing the wheel hard to the left. If your brakes are good, the tractor will turn ont he left rear wheel as it pivots in place and you spin around at 2x speed.
538 rpm pto speed is at about 1500 engine rpm.. idle speed on that tractor is a slow 400-600 rpm..
The rings ont he tach read in mph for the gear listed.
oil filter ont he left side of the engine takes a napa 1010 gold cartridge, or a fram c3, or fram c3p.. or anything that crosses to those.
Oil system is a partial filter... only about 25% of the oil flow makes it thru the fitler each pass.. also.. filter is 'post' bearings.. so ya don't have to 'charge' the oil filter when you do a service...
Air cleaner is an oil bath unit.
remove it and look up in there.. if the metal 'floss' media is dirty.. clean it out hole with mineral spirits, diesel, kerosene or gasolene.. slosh around.. dump out.. air dry, dribble some oil onto the floss, and then reinstall, and then refill the oil cup and repalce the cup.
gas tank came with a shutoff valve.. I suggest you use it.. the tank on these tractors sets higher than the engine.. if you don't use the valve, then the carb float valve can leak as it is brass to brass and 50'ys old.. and gas can fill up the carb, and then fill up the manifold, untill it finds an open valve and then fills a cyl. this leads to bent rods and hyd lock or gas thinned over full crankcase oil sump.
Here is the napa points, rotor, cap, and coil part numbers:
8N Side-Mount Distributor)
Points: NAPA HEAVY DUTY PIERCED (ventilated) #CS753 Standard Ignition #FD-8081 Standard Ignition Blue Streak #FD-8081X (Premium)
Condensor:
NAPA #FA66 Standard Ignition #FD-75 Standard Ignition Blue Streak #FD75X (Premium)
Rotor:
NAPA #FA67 Standard Ignition #FD-108
Distributor Cap:
NAPA #FA352 Standard Ignition #FD-128
Coil (6-Volt)
Coil (TRUE 12-Volt... No resistor needed)
NAPA #IC14SB
Fire order is 1-2-4-3 with #1 being at the radiator.
Tractor was originally equipped with a tranny starter interlock preventing you from energizing the starter with the big 'thumb' button ont he tranny shifter plate when the tranny was in gear... if ya got it.. keep using it.. it's a safety feature.
While you don't have to depress the clutch to start in neutral..do so.. it takes the load of fthe engine to not have to spin that tranny around in all that oil...
This gear transmission is not menat to shift ont he fly like a car. You start out in whatever gear you want and then go... you don't upshift / downshift.. etc.
Top radiator hose should have a thermostat in it.. if ya don't got one.. get one.. it's good for the engine.. make sure you install it correctly oriented.
Crank case oil fill is that tube with a 'hat' breather cover ont he sid eof the engine near that ugly non-oem alternator.
that's about all I can think of of fthe top of my head.
post back if ya need help.
soundguy