# Ford 1500 several problems



## Johnny W (Aug 25, 2019)

Hello new member here, 1st post.
I recently bought a Ford 1500 Compact tractor. It was equipped with a Bush Hog FEL and also came with a 4 ft Rotary cutter and a box blade. I will being using it to keep shooting lanes and roads clear, and to help plant food plots at a deer hunting lease. Here are some things I am working on:

1. Not sure what name it goes by other than the front frame assembly. Basically the whole front end bolts to the engine block on both sides using 6 bolts on each side. I noticed that all of these bolts appeared loose, but when I tried to tighten them about 8-10 out of the 12 were stripped(little to no threads left in the engine block). After further investigation it looks like a previous owner had tried to drill these out and thread to a bigger size bolt(the bolts were 1/2"-13, and all other bolts on this tractor seem to be metric.) So I removed the front frame assembly and am in the process or drilling out to 5/8"-11 holes. It also appears that one of the previous owners went a little too far with the drill bit on some of the holes. The block is definitely cast iron or cast steel not sure, but it drills good and the first hole tapped good and seems to have good threads. My question is, has anyone seen this before, it seems like maybe this tractor is a little bit small for a FEL. Is this a common problem with these small tractors and should I just consider selling the FEL.

2. Has anyone had any luck with a radiator shop being able to repair the radiator or possibly replacing the core itself in the radiator. It's in pretty bad shape, and just looking online it looks like a new radiator goes for around $450-500.

3. Key switch seems to be bad, but I still have some more troubleshooting to do on this. Right now I have to start it with a screwdriver across the starter solenoid. Are the aftermarket key switch assemblies pretty reliable that seem to be readily available for these tractors?

4. Hard starting-When starting it almost always has to have ether starting fluid sprayed over the breather. How do you troubleshoot the glow plugs? Do they get 12V straight from the battery? How many amps would they typically pull? Possible that this problem could stem from the bad key switch. Of the three lights on dash above the key, the far left light comes on with the key on

I guess I will stop right there as this post is getting very long. Thanks for any help you all can provide. Thanks for a great looking Forum and page.

John Welch


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## Johnny W (Aug 25, 2019)

Ok well the 5/8-11 holes worked out good. The front frame is back on and very sturdy. Right now I am planning on keeping my FEL. I have used it several times and really like having it on my tractor. Right now the key switch is working properly as i was able to spray WD-40 in it and clean it up. This also fixed the problem with the glow plugs. I found out that the key turned to the left puts power to the glow plugs for cold starting. It has been taking about 10 seconds then it starts right up. As far as my radiator is concerned, I just flushed it out good and replaced the antifreeze and found that it had no leaks. I replaced the radiator cap and it seems to be doing well at the moment. 

The only thing left that I really want to find out about is my neutral safety switch. Right now the tractor will start in gear and I really want to fix it where it will only start in neutral.

John


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Hello Johnny W, a belated welcome to the site! Looks like you have things well in hand. I would however, spring for an operator/owners manual. That will give you all kinds of operating tips and procedures, as well as service intervals and how t go about it.
As far as the neutral safety switch, it is important. Make sure that you are in the seat and in neutral when you go to start it. Many folks hurt or killed starting a tractor in gear.


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## Fedup (Feb 25, 2014)

partstore.agriculture.newholland.com/us/ValleyImplementNL/parts-search.html#epc::mr65672ar397201bi437122-41

Based on what I see it appears the safety switch is clutch pedal related.


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