# Ford 3000 oil change intervals



## bpark8824 (Apr 6, 2012)

Hey everyone, I'm new here. We have a Ford 3000 and have owned it since it was only a couple years old. My great grandfather bought it and now me and my father use it to split wood and mow about 10 acres. It doesn't get used a ton so I was wondering what you guys think a proper interval to change the oil on it is? It probably only sees about 50 hours a year. Should it just be changed once a year or can I go the full recommended interval regardless of how long it takes to get there?

Also, I know the manual says SAE20 for above freezing to about 90 degrees. It just has 15w40 in it now since we have a 275 gal tank of it at work we just take it when we need it. I don't think anyone even sells SAE20 any more, at least not that I've seen. So will the 15w40 be fine and will it be alright in the winter? Or should I change the oil before winter to help those hard starts. I know she doesn't like starting when it's 10-15 degrees out, maybe a thinner oil will help that?

As of right now it has a NAPA Gold filter on it and will probably continue to use them since NAPA is right down the road and I've never had a problem with them.

Just a little background on the tractor.
The tractor used to get used a ton when my great grandfather owned it, splitting about 30 cords of wood a year and mowing all of our fields (about 60 acres) now a farmer leases those fields from us for hay and we only mow the 10 acres we that isn't used for hay. 

I'm not sure what year the tractor is either. Any way to tell? I know it was bought in '71 but it was used at the time. So it must be somewhere between '65 and '70.


I know it's a lot of stuff, but thank you in advance for any advice. I did search for some information on oil, but didn't come up with a whole lot.



Here's a couple pictures of the last time it was used... pulling a 1969 F-250 out after 23 years of sitting.



























Kind of funny a Ford pulling out by a Ford and then being towed away by a '95 F-250...


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## Big_T (Dec 1, 2011)

Most low-hour Ford tractor owners change oil & filter annually. I use 15W-40 oil. I also clean the oil bath air filter every year.

I change the hydraulic and fuel filters every 2 years. 

I changed the transmission and rear differential fluids last year. Two separate reservoirs. Your hydraulic pump draws fluid from the rear differential reservoir. Many people aren't aware of that. I change trans & diff fluids if they start looking "milky" from condensation in the oil.

If you want to track down the year your tractor was manufactured, There is a flat spot on the bell housing above and behind the starter that has 3 sets of numbers. They are stamped into the metal. The loader frame will be in your way, but see if you can spot these numbers. They may be obscured by dirt, grease, paint, or other debris. May need to wire brush.


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## bpark8824 (Apr 6, 2012)

So the pump for the bucket draws fluid from the rear diff reservoir? I thought the fluid was in the towers for the bucket?

Also, the 3 pt won't stay at certain point when set. Usually when we use the brush hog to mow our field we can set it to the desired height and a few minutes later it just starts dropping. We changed the fluid in the fall and it still does it. Could it be a filter or air getting into the system?


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## Big_T (Dec 1, 2011)

Front-mounted loader pumps for the bucket usually draw fluid from an upright in the loader frame. However, many people use the tractor's hydraulic system to run their loader (usually low volume / slow operating).

I used to have the same problem holding cutting height with a brush hog. You can use a chain on your 3-point system to hold cutting height when the mower is lowered for cutting. Or switch over to a mower with gauge wheels to hold cutting height. Chain would look something like this:

.........O..........
.......o..o.......
.....o......o......
...o..........o.....
.O.............O...

I've also had some luck using the draft control, but it's not perfect.


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## bpark8824 (Apr 6, 2012)

Our definitely has fluid in the upright. 

I wonder why the 3pt won't stay at a certain height. It will stay if we have it all the way up but nothing in between. It stays for a few minutes then just starts to drop. I wish we could get it to stay. I assume that at one point it worked properly so I would like to get it to work that way again. It would make mowing the field a lot easier since you don't have to sit there with one hand on the lever and keep looking back at the mower every 30 seconds...


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