Stupid blankety-blank tractor.It needs the engine rebuilt. That's the long and the short of it. I should never have pulled the head a few months ago to decarbon it and examine things. It probably would have continued to run for years that way. But since it knows that I know just how incredibly worn the cylinder sleeves are, it's simply given up running. I've never seen a set of bores worn like this and an engine still running. God only knows what the crankshaft and such look like. I'll hope for the best, but expect the worst. That still leaves me a lousy lift, a really worn front end, and quite a bit of rust to fix. But my tires are very good, and the rusty sheet metal is straight. I can afford to put the tractor up this summer and do the job. All the bull work around the place has been done, so I can go a year without a tractor. And if I do need one, I've got three neighbors I can cajol into helping me. So I've got to fix the tractor. Add that to the list of projects this summer that need to be done. Dang but that's become a long list. Largely my own fault. I've got this thing for buying broken down treasures, and having to spend more time and money limping them along then buying something decent in the first place. And that's a large portion of the straw that broke the camels back on this one for me. When it's all said and done, even when the 8N is running, I'm still fighting its limitations for working. Size isn't the issue, the hydraulics and pto are though. Gearing isn't fun, and the lack of a differential lock bites. A nice 2000 series tractor would sure work a lot better. 4wd would also be sweet, but that sure gets expensive fast. So the N is for sale, but I doubt it's going to be going anywhere any time soon. Check back with me in a year or two, and I'll probably still have it. And even when I do sell it, I'll hang around this board. I really like it hear. It's a lot of fun. Believe me, being a part of this sort of fraternity has been the major reason for me keeping the N so far.
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