It May NEVER Run Again! Is Their Ferguson TO-30 Tractor A LOST CAUSE? 

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I restored one those old tractors for a Family friend that pulled Parade Floats with it . Block was cracked identical to this one . We acid dipped the block , installed the liners , assembled the engine . Then we poured low viscosity epoxy in the block and pressurized it into the cracks. That was 25 years ago .That tractor had 300 hrs on it when i saw it in 2023, when it was pulling the old gentleman's casket, in his funeral procession . His son , said they used the tractor regularly on the farm , for light duty tasks , and never has leaked.

My father in law had a two cylinder John Deere M that he tended his garden with for years. He pulled a hay wagon at my wedding with the bridal party on it and it barely made it. He always said it was worn out and after some family restructuring, it ended up sitting in my back yard for 6-7 years. He finally decided to sell it and asked me to try to start it. After a new battery and a carb rebuild, it ran like it did before. I decided to pull the valve cover to check for oiling and adjust the valves. Something didn’t look right so I investigated further and found a bent push rod with considerable wear at the bend. I straightened it out, adjusted the lash and she fired up and ran like a champ. Poor thing limped on one cylinder for 15 years.

I am of the mind that the flywheel ring gear was repaired with everything together through the starter hole rather than going through all the effort of splitting the tractor. A true farm repair.

That bolt in the water neck is actually stock! Mine had one until I installed a water temp gauge in 2000. Water temp gauge was an optional add for the Ferguson TO-30's. Even had to pop out the steel cut-out plate in the "dash" for the gauge. To a teenager at the time, giving my Ferggie an actual "optional" item nearly 50 years later was such a sense of accomplishment.

Good to see how a lifetime’s worth of experience factors into the quality of work done by a mechanic. Your son is the lucky beneficiary of all of your hard work in more ways than one. Thanks for documenting this basic engine teardown and diagnosis.

Thank you for this content. We are all aware that craftsmen like you are not easy to find nowadays. Your customers are lucky to have you!

Not only are the details of what they are doing and the discussions of what they see exceptional, the chemistry between Jim and Nicholas is fun to watch. Jim is so humble, yet his knowledge and experience are amazing while Nicholas is shaping up to be just like Dad. I never imagined I'd find the teardown of a 1950s tractor engine so interesting.

As my grandpa used to like to say, "Poor People Have Poor Ways". That saying is proven true when this engine is being torn down. My brother in law who was a young farmer in the early 50's told how he sometimes wasn't sure if he had drained the water out of the tractor and after he was already in bed, he would have to get up and get dressed and go out and make sure. A couple times it saved him from disaster. I think alcohol was used early on but it was never ideal.

The floating oil pickup was designed for constant oil collection when plowing on steep gradients, if the oil was low it would always pick oil up and not be drawing air.

The "Wackie Weed" in the ditches is probably industrial grade hemp used to make rope. I grew up in North Central Indiana, and my grandfather grew it during the war years. It still can be seen popping up in corn fields.

I love a good engine autopsy. Especially a mystery engine that's been sitting. I hope you do more of these. It's was very enjoyable to watch. :)

I don't think its cracked from heat. Two reasons. It's just not that hot at the bottom, and, when coolant is low that's the last place it disappears from. Not saying it never got hot, but farmers have a bad habit of doing bad things in a pinch, like pouring water in and forgetting at the end of season that their coolant had been compromised. Here in Michigan wintertime is an unforgiving enemy of engine blocks.

It amazing to see a father and son who can work together like this and enjoy each other's company. I wasn't lucky enough to experience that, but I aim to create that with my children. It's very inspiring.

The early antifreeze was alcohol. It slowly evaporated away with the heating cycles, so you had to add more alcohol as routine maintenance, especially in the winter. The "permanent type antifreeze" , ethylene glycol ,was a vast improvement!

I used to smell things. One day I found concentrated ammonia and took a whiff.

It is impressive to see an engine from the 50s with more rust than oil leakage on the outside. Just a heads up from someone that has been working on rusty sht for many decades. When using an impact to remove rusty nuts and they get stuck in the socket. Keep the socket on the gun but press the side of the socket against a solid, heavy object. Hold your other hand under the socket and run the gun. Unless the nut is smashed into the socket it will shoot out into your hand.

One of your best videos yet. Love the discussion back and forth. Really provides tons of information and give excellent insight as to what you guys are thinking and looking for as you conduct a forensic tear down of the engine.

Hi boys, have you ever made a video on the history of Jim, how it all came to be, from cleaning guy to a successful engine builder. Would make a terrific video, regards Jim

I purchased a 1953 f-500 in 1973 with the 239 ohv. No .010 bearings available or gaskets for the heads. Turned bearings 180 and reused head gaskets but did find rings with cylinders at .004 taper . Farmer here, hauled farm equipment from Spokane to Seattle and sold in 1979 with over 10k miles on the truck. Farmers make do with what’s is at hand. Like your videos 😊

What a pity that you're not able to complete this rebuild. That year, thereabouts, but the English version with the Standard Vanguard engine was the first vehicle I learned to drive as about a 14 year old in Northern Rhodesia. I was at boarding school and a school friend invited me back to his parent's farm near Lusaka for an extended weekend when I couldn't go home. One short lesson on what to do and what not, and I spent almost every waking hour driving the wheels off that tractor. What fun. Learned all sorts of bad habits that bit me in the butt when it came time to get my drivers licence a few years later. Looking forward to the next rescue. Regards from Canada's banana belt. 🤞🇨🇦🍌🥋🕊🇺🇦🕊🇺🇲🦃💩👆 p.s. in Africa, I don't recall anything like antifreeze in our engines until I purchased my first new car, a Fiat 125, which was delivered with antifreeze in the engine. However, we seldom got to freezing, let alone below, and I never purchased antifreeze until I came to Canada in 1979.

That Gerber Life ad took me for a loop, I thought that company didn't exist anymore😂 Some of my earliest memories were of seeing their TV ads "You can start a Gerber Life plan for just Pennies a day!"😂😂

You got to love those farmer repairs. I spent 15 years working in a Chrysler Plymouth Dodge dealer in a small farming community. Some of the vehicles that came in were cobbled up to the point that I had to repair the cobble job before I could diagnose the original problem.

Do a search for "cross bolting a cracked ferguson block" (there is some videos on youtube showing it), cross bolting was a very common fix for these engines (some will say they were cracked when new).

The family stories and banter is excellent.

I enjoy seeing the mechanical aspects of your videos but I cherish the interaction between father and son. May God bless y'all for many years to come.

Thanks for an excellent video that was informative and interesting and enjoyable. I am new to your channel and this video is one of several of yours I have watched recently. I am an 80 year old car enthusiast and the machine shop work was always my passion. In my younger years I went through a fair share of hot rods, so to speak, and what makes an engine tick. So I thought your channel would be most interesting and help me relive those hot rod engine days. The old ford tractor engine you have taken apart in this video is most definitely interesting. Appreciate your voice over as to what you both see in the parts for wear and tear and the history behind them. Looking forward to your channel and reassembling this engine step by step. Thanks for everything. You both take care and be safe. The retired Air Force veteran.

Those crank shims are important. A friend of mine had a 259 Studebaker V8 "Professionally rebuilt" He put it back in the car and it would break a flex plate right quick! After a couple of times if changing that flex plate, he brought it to me. The only thing I knew to do was pull the engine and look it over. I discovered the crank had .200 - .250 end play! It turns out Studebaker had no thrust main bearing. You had to adjust the end play with shims, behind timing gear. Like this engine. Also there is also a hard metal piece that fits in there surface ground to precision, not just shims. He went back to the professional to recover the pieces, but he had already thrown them out! Be careful of some shops! You guys do a good job. Even the clean up guy!

It's nice to watch the two of you work together, as my father and I did in the late 60s and through the 70s! It's also refreshing to see the PROPER tip being used on the torch for heating... drives me crazy to see cutting tips being used where a rosebud is called for! LOL!

Thanks, Grandpa guy. I appreciate the looks into the past for the younger set. Things were done differently then. Money was tight. Parts weren't cheap. A lot of these tractors were re-ringed in chassis. Low compression, high clearances. Go to a heavier weight oil. Small farms with low prices for what you grew. My dad had a Farmall Super H overhauled and the guy talked him into high compression pistons for the gasoline tractor. The engine ran almost as well with the ignition switch turned off afterwards. We converted the tractor to Propane and it was fine.

I think you should make a "make it work" video. Make a spreder that opens up the cracks and cleen them well and put red high temp silicon in them, then bore a through hole in the middle of the crack and through bolt to hold it thight, then make a bigger to smaller key in the crank. I know about Toyota picup that drived for many years with crack in the head that had a filled up crack with red silicon that was put in the crack with rubber hammer. It never gave up. The red silicon can stand over 600°c

Shame that is such a common problem on those old Ferguson tractors. Problem is that so many of them cracked blocks over the years. My dad had one that the block cracked on it and it was only about 10 years old when that happened. Being it was NW PA, you never run just water in them. So it cracked with coolant vs being straight water. We'll see what happens but that would probably be the end of the road for that Ferguson for most folks.

I knew a guy about 40 years ago to that rebuilt engines . A guy he knew brought his car in because the soft plugs blew out or worse .it was 40 years ago and I dont recall if he cracked the block . It had straight wster in it. He asked why he only had water in his car snd he was told " It's from the spring behind my house and it never freezes" . The mechanic wasnt a BSer and I know people that would probably do the same

Love the ad "wouldn't that be nice". Cleaning grandpa stood his ground

Wow! I am 66 years young and learn something new every episode! Great channel.

It's a pleasure to watch Jim. The wealth of knowledge from decades of experience. What too look for. Old tricks of the trade not taught today. The history of engines. These videos are so instructive and enjoyable to watch.

Racers use engine block fillers to strengthen their blocks. Since the crack is at the bottom of the bore where there is less heat, after installing new sleeves, wouldn't it be possible to fill the bottom couple inches of the block with that compound to eliminate the leak? Coolant circulation at the bottom of a cylinder is not that critical.

Those bolts that come from the inside on the rear main are a joy. Man there were a ton of working words when I realized I had to pull the pan to get that retainer out.

Have you guys ever used locknstitch? Its a way to repair cast iron amd aliminum. Jay leno has used it several times to repair really old destroyed engines. Lock n stitch. You can fix that block. Its repairable.

You two guys are entertaining but most of all very informative and true professionals. I truly wish I had a machine shop of your caliber near me. Thanks for a great video machine head dude's

Greetings from Germany: Always interesting to watch how to tear it down and see what's inside then the fixes and machining process. I rebuilt my VW air cooled engine that had sucked a valve. I followed the mail order book pretty much to the 'T' except for the crank line bore... I was trying to save money but at the end I sold the old bus before the leak got too bad for a reasonable price. (I did inform the buyer of the slight leak at the rear main.) After watching your RU-vid channel now for a while along with some others, I realized that there were a few steps I missed and or was not aware of. If I were to do it again, I would do my best to do it better. 😉 Like some of your viewers comment on agree. Experience over time is the best teacher. Keep up the Good work and looking forward to your next job.

These engines were built to be stationary power sources, Ferguson and other tractor manufacturers adapted them to the tractors and used the block as part of the chassis. I think the strain of driving on rough terrain resulted in flexing and cracking the block. Continental later refused to sell parts for any engine used for tractor application.

Love your guys videos and energy :) 😂 shame about the cracks as I wanted to see that block come out of the washer all shiny looking new!

I have a ‘53. It’s doing a great job holding the floor down. Went through the head and replaced a valve and very slightly bent pushrod. The engine ran perfect for 30 minutes then oil fouled every plug and puked out of the rear seal.

I had a TO-20. Loved that tractor!!

Like, I said. The cleaning grand pa, is the soul of this channel.

Oh Yeah, knurling pistons and guides, cutting O/S ring grooves, honing for O/S wrist pins. We did a lot to squeeze additional life out of worn out stuff! Not certain how long it lasted but...

If tractor engines could talk they could tell you some stories ! Early "rebuilds" were so common. I've done my share but only if wear was minimal. Parts and kits are now very affordable to the restorers for old iron. I just did a IH F12 and F 20 Farmall engine. Amazing how easy and simple they are.

I like this format when you just work on an engine with minimal cuts, discussing things as you go.

the machine shop i worked in in the 70's-90's we had that Perfect Circle Manulathe, all the different sizes of spacer. also had a piston knurlier and used a Van Norman Rotary Broach, mid 80's got Winona Van Norman seat and guide machine and Neway seat cutters, before that used a Sioux seat cutter for replacement seats and Sioux seat grinder and valve reface machine. really enjoyed working and running that shop.

Furnace brazing and enough time can fix almost anything, that block can be furnace brazed and have the crack fixed. ALSO if you put in new sleeves you can use epoxy on the bottom of block, like hardblock just epoxy instead. That will basically grout the sleeves in and seal it up. I have had to do this with rare euro stuff that's simply no supply.

I mean the cleaning guy had kind of a ring to it, the cleaning Grandpa that sounds more dignified, but I'm going to miss the cleaning guy because well cleaning guy just had such an authority. Can't stay a cleaning guy forever I guess, I really appreciate your guys's videos I've learned quite a bit from you. I apply it to all the classic cars I work on will every car even the brand new ones. It's rare to find a channel like you guys. This is why I'm thankful for your channel and the education that you have provided me, for free

I've never seen one of those cylinder head stud pullers for an impact gun. I'm going to need to find myself one of those.

I personally love seeing the old stuff torn down. I learn so much about the old ways of doing stuff.

I've dealt with several Ferguson Continental engines and the cracks at the bottom cylinder bore seem to be common, I also believe like you that this is the result of freezing. My own TO-30 had this problem and the machine shop used what they called racers epoxy in the bottom of thr coolant jacket. I have between 400-500 hours on that engine now with no overheating or coolant leaks. Enjoy your videos, keep them coming.

I had an old FarmAll and it also had water in the crank but most came from sitting with the exhaust broke off and water filling up the cylinders. Amazingly it all worked out.

I love your show,I was bought up on old tractors,worked for tractor companies in the 70,s ,we must remember those blocks were part of the chassis, if the machine took a thump on the front axle,,,who knows where the forces went,,just a thought from an old timer who used to own one.Cheers,your son is so fortunate to have your vast knowledge to draw on.

I am from Norway. We had a 1947 Ferguson TA-20. When we sold the small farm we donated the tractor to a Ferguson entusiast to ensure it's future. I didn't want it to end up at the scrapper by the new property owner. It's not always about the sale value as a restoration isn't cheap and it will live on for several decades with TLC.

I have a TE-20 1952 with the Standard Motor company wet sleeve engine that has never been rebuilt or even had the head off. It still starts and runs but is a bit sick these days so I think it's untouched status may be about to end. It spent most of its life at an air strip mowing grass and towing planes and parked indoors.

Never a good time when you tear into a project, then have to call the customer and say it's dickered beyond repair. Then you get to ask them "will that be cash or invoice?" before hanging up.

Back in the Pleistocene, I owned a Ferguson TEA 20 kerosine model (motor based on the English Standard/Vanguard) I never had the luxury of a workshop, I did everything in the paddock including clutch replacement, rings and bearings and differential carrier bearings. I'd run a mile if faced with doing it again :-)

We’re learning about a lot of old engines on the channel. I like how on these old industrial engines, primitive features are mixed with advanced. For example, when did one-piece rear main seals become pretty much standard on car engines? On the other hand, this one requires that you mess around with all the shims to get end play tolerance.

I enjoy these videos. Not a fan of BEING an engine mechanic, but can sit and watch others work on engines.

Shame about the block , I used a ring spacer 8 years ago on an in-place ring and bearing job on a Nissan patrol , brand new pistons but from memory we did it only to bring the top ring down more in the bore due to some damage at the top of the bore . I still see it driving around .

I have a Massey to35 myself. I love the little tractor. I bought it used in rough shape. It actually has green paint on it under the gray paint. Was told by Yesterday Tractor that it could have been a military unit. Truly enjoyed the tear down video, very informative. Keep up the good work.

Great tear down boys with good commentary and analysis. I am continually amazed by frieze damage to engines, living in the sunshine of Queensland, Australia I am not familiar with it even though I run anti freeze fluids in all my engines to save on electrolysis. Can’t wait to see what the customer decides to do going forward, buy another block and youll need to be sure it’s not suffering the same or similar conditions. I think the short block would be the ideal way out. Thank you for posting

You nailed the regroover. Been there and done that. Spot on. We did this in a barn and the parts were not available to the farm.

“Financialy secure” has a great ring to it. Along with sacrifices and going w/o in them younger years …… been there and done that; as many have !

That piston ring re-groover is just one of many weird tools that came out over the last 100 years of IC engines. Another was in-vehicle crankshaft grinders. I think they were only for rod journals. We had such a machine in my high-school auto mechanic class. Even as a teen I was dubious of the value of the thing. No-one used it but it was there. Inventions with questionable necessity....like that piston ring-land tool. Funny, but neat to see what people were thinking as things evolved.

I have a TO-30 that was rebuilt before I got it. The block was cracked and it had bolts across the block from one side to the other to hold the cracks closed. It does not leak.

Even though it wasn’t a great end to this motor….thanks for taking us alongside….

Great video, despite the decision not to continue forth. I really liked the floating oil pick up with reasoning for it, and seeing your piston ring cutter and sleeve puller. Great work team.

The sound that he makes at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="3128">52:08</a> is so funny. Great video guys.

Thanks Jim for the awesome history lesson, I've worked on a couple old ones but not that deep, what a great lesson. I hope you have a follow up video on the replacement.

This is a very nice video. It shows your good works, both of you. Thanks!

Hey Junior, next time, use a putty knife or heavy scraper to pry the tag off. Less damage that way.

I used to have a car where getting the manifold off required two 9/16" ring spanners with the points offset - 1/24 of a turn, swap spanner, rinse, repeat. That was also the last time I saw a stud extractor in use! I used to work for a Gardner-Denver / Apex distributor.

I must have missed something. It looked like you found #1 TDC when the cam was at #1 overlap. Doesn't that mean the distributor was 180 off?

Appreciate what You Two do. Keep ti going. Thanks.

Given that the engine is junk, it'd be a fun project to do the absolute minimum "shade tree" rebuild on the thing and see if it would run again. Maybe find some used oversized pistons, bore out the sleeves and polish up the crank and throw it back together. For the cracks, try some blue devil or epoxy and let it cure and see if it will hold pressure. Its clearly been cobbled together many times over the decades, it needs one final go.

loved the banter between son and dad,great vid guys.

Ive restored several fergusons over the years. In definatley saving this one for future reference. The cracks are fairly common, but that ring gear is a first for me 😆. Thank you for this! I wish you were closer to the west coast, I would send you all kinds of business. CHEERS!

The comment about cross Bolts got me thinking. I believe way back when there was a couple of engines that people were doing this to and that one was one of them. Maybe one of the experts on these engines will comment and tell you how to spot face the sides and where and how many bolts to put in. If I recall correctly they were on either side of the center main. And between the cylinders

If I remember the floating oil pick up was to optimize the oil pick up in unlevel terrain. Getting back a lot of old memories from helping my uncle on his farm.

Always interesting to watch you guys and learn a little about the things you work on and make good

Always educational and fun videos. Ya'll make a great team

Great Work Guys!!

Hi Guys, Greetings from New Zealand. I own an Oliver HG, the tags are still on her, she is 1943 vintage with a Hercules IX - 3 - according to the engine block stampings. I'm currently looking at getting her running as soon as I finish the work on my Bristol 25 - with the Perkins 3.152, 3 cylinder diesel motor, - she runs very well, but does have blow-by. Loving your channel. Yep I did see the video of the Hercules, and re-sleeving the 3 Cylinder Perkins.

Williams cylinder head in Nevada Iowa specialize in welding cast iron . They are now part of Arnold's Motor Supply.

the b allis chalmers blocks were also good for this same type of cracking.

Bummer on the cracks . It was interesting seeing the inspection process.

On the crank, could you machine the key wider, then put a wider key in, and machine the key to fit the gear? It's all money at this point, but if a person wanted to pay the extra, would it work? Kind of like cutting and brazing the block, it's a bunch of money. Eventually blocks and cranks will not be available, so repairs are going to be needed, even if they are ugly.

Another absolutely amazing teardown

Congratulations you two! The Cleaning Granda promotion is well deserved😂😂❤

Dad had a old forklift that had a 4-cylinder Continental engine in it. Low compression, always hard to start. Probably needed a complete engine rebuild. They are also used in just about every portable Lincoln welder out there. At least with the older ones.

My Father fixed one like that, (late 90s) with heating the block over a grill, and V-Cut the cracks, and welded with nickel rod (stick welder) I honed the holes and put sleeves into it, and its still running today.

Braze up was where I was thinking, but its a $2000, maybe 3k in perfect trim and paint tractor. basically the same thing as a ford 8n, not a ton of room unless its a sentimental thing.

we were poor farmers in southern Minnesota and my dad always had a long sheep skin overcoat that was put on the radiator of our H Farmall and we had water and drained it at the end of the day, we did not have extra money to purchase anti-freeze, so in the day as our country was coming out of WWII, we got by with much less.

Our old forklift had a six cylinder flathead Continental in it. It was an industrial engine.

Always enjoy the tractor content !