The Classic Machinery Network

Hi there this is my first post here on the forum so thanks for reading.

I have inherited a Ford 3000 tractor which was part of a property sale. She is an old beauty, has been through a bush fire and countless other near misses over the years I am sure.

I know absolutely nothing about machinery but am ready to learn as much as I can so apologies for the non technical descriptions to follow.

On the weekend the steering rod (?) that has a ball and socket join failed. By that I mean that the ball fell out of the socket. I did a bush mechanic fix (see pic below) which allowed the job to get done but I will need to replace this and probably the other side one as well.

My questions are a) what is it called? b) can I get a replacement c) where do i get a replacement from?

Thanks in advance

Hi Rachel and welcome to CMN the ball joint is called a track rod end you will find that one should be a left hand thread and the other a right hand thread, you turn the track rod to wind in or out each track rod end to adjust the tracking; I don't know what tractor parts dealers you have in that part of the world but I would guess that new or pattern parts are available. Hope that helps you somewhat.

Jeremy

Awesome thanks Jeremy. I will do some research and see what I can find locally here in Australia. Cheers

I think you have the adjustable axle there and the rod part will be unthreaded bar with notches on it to lock off. The axles were adjustable track for different applications. Are you certain the tractor is 3000 and not a 4000?

Hi essexpete well it may be a 4000! I noticed a very faded decal on the side that looked like it could have been a 4000.The photos that I looked at online looked more like the 3000 as whats left of the headlights are attached to the side of the tractor (that probably doesn't mean much I know) So it was only my thought that it was a 3000 based on pics. So do you think that I will need the unthreaded bar?

After Jeremy's post I found a lot of track rod ends online. Is it fair to say that I can retro fit a non genuine rod end providing that the dimension is correct?

https://www.bareco.com.au/files-ford2001-frd10
B2929 and B2930 I think are the ones...That's a 4000 front axle.

Thanks agrimax greatly appreciated! cheers

Hi all,
Certainly within the UK market the 4000 had the straight inverted U axle, one radius arm from the steering box to a single drag link and the track rod to the left of the engine as pictured. I'm sure the 3000 had a swept axle, two drag links/radius arms and no track rod identical to a Fergie.
Looking at the state of the rod you may gain by replacing the rod as well as the ends as it may not come apart easily. The right side looks like the king pins may need work too.
More photos please!

Hi agrimax thanks for the reply. Apologies as I have only just seen it today otherwise I would have replied a lot sooner.

You were right about the rod! Definitely needs replacing as the effort to get one bolt undone was enough to know I should have ordered a rod as well. Wish I had read your post 6 weeks ago!

Happy to take some more pics if you want a bit more of a look. Just let me know. Thanks again for your help.

Sorry hair bear just realised you posted. Cheers