Welcome to TribeCreek

TribeCreek is a small homestead blog from New Hampshire. I write up the repairs I do on my own equipment, like replacing the water pump on a CAT 931 track loader, along with the history of classic Ford and John Deere tractors and what we've learned keeping backyard chickens. Read our story or start with the tractor history guide.

Battery Tenders for Tractors: Junior vs. Plus vs. 10 A Selectable

Battery Tender Junior, Plus and 10 A Selectable compared for keeping a tractor battery healthy through off-season storage: output, warranty, and which one to pick. Continue Reading →

John Deere Model D (1923–1953): Thirty Years of the Two-Cylinder D

The Model D was the first tractor John Deere designed and built itself after buying the Waterloo Boy . It stayed in production for 30 years, from 1923 to 1953, longer than any other John Deere model. The design Like… Continue Reading →

<a href="." rel="bookmark">How an Unsynchronized Transmission Works in a Tractor</a>

The unsynchronized transmission, also known as a “crash gearbox,” is a fundamental component in many tractors, particularly those built during the mid-20th century and earlier. Its rugged simplicity made it a staple in agricultural machinery, providing a reliable means of… Continue Reading →

John Deere Waterloo Boy (1914–1924): How Deere Got Into Tractors

John Deere didn't design its first successful tractor; it bought it. The Waterloo Boy, built in Waterloo, Iowa, was the tractor that got Deere into the business. Its two-cylinder engine layout stayed in John Deere tractors for another four decades.… Continue Reading →

Ford 600 Series (1955–1957): The NAA's Successor

The 600 Series is the entry point to Ford's Hundred Series, the lineup Ford introduced in late 1954 as 1955 models to replace the NAA . If you've seen a red-and-gray Ford utility tractor with a 640 or 660 badge… Continue Reading →

Ford NAA Golden Jubilee (1953–1954): The Red Tiger Engine and Live Hydraulics

The NAA looks a lot like an 8N that's been stretched a little, but underneath it was a new tractor. It was Ford's answer to both the Ferguson lawsuit and the 8N's biggest shortcomings, and it set the pattern for… Continue Reading →

Ford 900 Series (1955–1957): The Big Ford Row-Crop

The 900 Series pairs the 800's 172 cu in engine with the high-clearance row-crop layout of the 700 . It was the most powerful tractor in Ford's Hundred Series lineup aimed at row-crop farmers, and Ford's answer to the mid-size… Continue Reading →

Ford 800 Series (1955–1957): The 172 Cubic Inch Ford Utility Tractor

The 800 Series looks almost exactly like the 600 . The difference is under the hood: a 172 cu in four-cylinder instead of the 134, which gives it about a third more power. That extra power is why the 800,… Continue Reading →

Ford 8630 (1990–1993): Ford New Holland's 8030 Series

The 8630 comes from the last years of Ford-branded farm tractors. By 1990, Ford's tractor business had merged with New Holland, and the 8030 series (the 8530, 8630, 8730 and 8830) replaced the long-running TW tractors. The 8630 sits second… Continue Reading →

Ford TW-35 (1983–1986): The Top of Ford's TW Line

The TW-35 was the biggest tractor in Ford's second-generation TW lineup, introduced in 1983 alongside the TW-15 and TW-25. It replaced the TW-30 as Ford's flagship two-wheel-drive and front-wheel-assist tractor. Specifications Engine Ford 6.6 L (401 cu in) 6-cylinder diesel… Continue Reading →

Ford TW Series: TW-10, TW-20 and TW-30 (1979–1983)

In 1979 Ford replaced its top-of-the-line 8700 and 9700 with a new family of big two-wheel and front-wheel-assist tractors: the TW-10, TW-20 and TW-30. These were serious row-crop tractors aimed squarely at John Deere's and International Harvester's big machines. The… Continue Reading →

Ford 7000 (1971–1975): The Turbocharged 5000

The Ford 7000 took the proven Ford 5000 and added a turbocharger. The result was a tractor with the size and weight of a mid-range utility and the power of something bigger. It's still one of the most admired tractors… Continue Reading →

Ford 5000 (1964–1975): Ford's First Worldwide Tractor

The Ford 5000 was the flagship of the first tractor lineup Ford designed to be sold around the world. Before it, Ford's American tractors and its British Fordsons were separate designs. The 5000 and its smaller siblings replaced both, and… Continue Reading →

Ford 6000 and Commander 6000 (1961–1967): Ford's Big Six-Cylinder Gamble

The Ford 6000 was supposed to be the tractor that took on John Deere and International Harvester in the big row-crop market. It had a six-cylinder engine and a ten-speed powershift transmission, both advanced for 1961. It also had enough… Continue Reading →

Ford 700 Series (1955–1957): Ford's Small Row-Crop Tractor

The 700 Series is the least familiar of Ford's Hundred Series tractors. Mechanically it's a 600 , with the same 134 cu in engine and the same transmission choices. It's built as a high-clearance row-crop tractor instead of a low… Continue Reading →

Ford 8N (1947–1952): History, Specs, and What to Check Before You Buy

More 8Ns were built than any other farm tractor sold in North America, and it shows: seventy-odd years later you still see them at every farm auction, mowing roadside fields, and parked behind barns waiting for someone to get them… Continue Reading →

Ford 2N (1942–1947): The Wartime N-Series Ford

The 2N is essentially a 9N built under wartime conditions. The name change had as much to do with government price rules as with engineering, and some of the 2Ns built during the war were stripped-down tractors that most people… Continue Reading →

Ford 9N (1939–1942): The First Tractor With the Ferguson System

The Ford 9N is the tractor that brought the three-point hitch to American farms. That hitch is on nearly every tractor made today, which makes the little gray 9N one of the most influential machines ever built. The handshake deal… Continue Reading →

Fordson Model N (1929–1945): Ireland, Dagenham and the War Years

When Ford stopped building the Fordson Model F in the US in 1928, the Fordson didn't die. It moved to Europe, got a bigger engine and some long-overdue improvements, and as the Model N it became one of the most… Continue Reading →

Fordson Model F (1917–1928): The Tractor That Put Farms on Engines

The Fordson Model F did for the farm roughly what the Model T did for the road. It wasn't the first tractor, and in a lot of ways it wasn't a very good one. But it was cheap, it was… Continue Reading →

Decoding Ford Hundred Series Tractor Model Numbers (600, 700, 800, 900)

Ford's 1955–1957 tractors are known as the Hundred Series: the 600, 700, 800 and 900. The model numbers look confusing at first, since there are dozens of them (620, 640, 650, 660, 820, 860, 960 and so on). But the… Continue Reading →

<a href="." rel="bookmark">CAT 931 Water Pump Replacement Part 2</a>

In this article “CAT 931 Water Pump Replacement Part 2”, I will explain what I decided to do about the leaky seal on the CAT 931 Traxcavator water pump that I recently installed. After Some Research In this video, I… Continue Reading →

<a href="." rel="bookmark">CAT 931 Water Pump Replacement</a>

In this article “CAT 931 Water Pump Replacement”, I will describe the process of replacing a water pump, belt and the reassembly of a CAT traxcavator crawler. I will talk about the steps I took and some of the issues… Continue Reading →

<a href="." rel="bookmark">Chicken Coop Winter: Managing heat, air circulation, water, predators and cleaning</a>

Introduction In this article, “Chicken Coop Winter,” we will discuss some practical strategies for protecting your poultry and chicken coop during the winter months. This is geared toward people who live in the northern parts of America where the temperatures… Continue Reading →

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