Beth, I have a friend that has a '67 3000 with SOS. He LOVES it!! I have an 8-speed 3000. I have driven my buddies. The shift on the "fly" is really nice. I now have a 2110 LCG with SOS. It was "rode hard and put away wet" - I see some yellow paint so I supect it was a right-of-way mower, you know how much care the guys that drive those things take of the equipment (since they don't own it!) - so I have been fixing things on it more than I have used it. The brake pedals will not move independentaly. The high pressure line from the pump had a crack in it which I managed to cause to blow out! :-( BUT the SOS has seemed fine so far. I would lean toward repairing the SOS. To swap it out means, among other things that you will need a new two stage clutch. It could get as expensive as the repair job. When you say you have the shop manual, is it the Ford shop manual? If it is the I&T, then "run do not walk" to the nearest NH dealer and get the "REAL" shop manual. The part number is 40200050 (still good as of last week - I just checked) , and is for 1965-1975 thousand series tractors. BIG section in it on the SOS - a must have for you. Being that you have a later 4000, not the 4 cylinder version that was really just an 800, there should be parts still available for your SOS. You should ask at the NH dealer if he has, or knows of, a mechnic that was trained to work on the SOS. Even if the mechanic is retired, he may be willing to help - with his knowledge, not the actual physical labor. I assume that you know about the drive line clutch that you MUST disengage before you tow the tractor. Keep us posted on your progress. Regards, Larry
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