Ford 8N question

We recently bought a 1948 Ford 8N tractor. There is a lever on the left side of the transmission behind the clutch pedal (left side as you are sitting on the seat) and I don't know what it is for. We have a service manual for it, but there is no mention of it at all. My father in law restores tractors as a hobby and has done several Fords and he said he has never seen a lever there before. It is not a Sherman lever, as that would be at the front of the tranny. I guess I could just move the lever and see what happens, but figured I'd check around a bit first and see if I could find out what it is for. Any info would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

Could it have anything to do with the hydraulics? Can you supply us with a pic or two...... we like old tractors

If you don't get an answer here, you might try these folks Ford 9N, 2N, 8N, NAA Tractors Discussion Forum

 

It turns the PTO shaft on and off. You will need to remove the PTO access cap at the rear to verify whether or not the shaft is turning. Engage the clutch when operating the lever.

 

I believe Ken is right

I was thinking the PTO lever was on the right but I doubled checked on my NAA and it's on the left, the draft lever is on the right.

 

And on the 9N the PTO and lift are not live, so it will need engaging prior to lifting the load and the clutch will need to be engaged and the tractor in neutral. Not sure if they changed that in the 8N. At least they got the brake pedals on the right side with the model change.

 

The lever on the left is for the pto and the small one on the right is for the 3 pt hitch. It is supposed to let the implement follow the ground level. I was told that they don't work the way they are supposed to and I guess I have to agree with that. No matter how the lever is moved, the 3 pt hitch works the same. Thanks for the input and info.

 

You are right, the right draft follower doesn't work as it was intended. I leave mine in the down detent position. You don't have "down" pressure anyway.

 

When plowing, additional pressure on the top link in hard ground is supposed to cause the lift to adjust the depth to a more shallow level.

 

Seems like Dad would move that left lever by the clutch when he was hooking up the old 42" buzz saw (with a 20' long belt that was like a strap) similar to this one.

Dunno why dad always used a belt that was so doggone long? Maybe because his wasn't 3 point?

 

That saw looks like it wouldn't take much for it to be dangerous

I've not been around them much but all the pulley driven implements I've seen always used a long belt, more than likely to give you room to work. I'm sure that saw set up was home made. It doesn't look like it would be good for much other than cutting firewood to length.

 

Dad's is just like it except it's farther away and doesn't have such a nice guard over the blade! Definitely dangerous! And you're right that's what it's used for- cutting wood to length. He used to cut down a lot of long stuff, load it on the truck, haul it to the wood pile, let it season, then we'd go out in the fall and cut it to length, do all the stacking and such. Good times.

 

Our cut off saw was rear mounted and had a table on rollers in a track which took the wood into the blade. It was a manufactured saw and, as been said, it was dangerous. It was so dumb it did not know the difference between a piece of wood and a man's arm.

Can you believe this: we sawed chestnut fence rails for wood to use in our kitchen stove.

The belts used on threshing machines and such were long so the belt could be twisted to reverse the direction of rotation on the machine being driven. Most tractor pulleys only rotated in one direction.

How come I can remember this stuff but don't remember what I had for lunch today?