1962 David Brown

Hello all, I'm looking at possibly bying a 1962 DB 990. The present owner is the third owner of this tractor. Other than a few pictures, I
haven't seen it yet. The owner tells me he bought it 7 years ago in Ontario and shipped it home to Nova Scotia. The engine wad rebuilt in
Ontario and has about a 100 hours on it by the previous and present owners. The owner is a long haul driver and hasn't used the tractor the past
6 years. The tractor is stored outside but covered. The price is $2000. It has a set of forks and tire chains. I'm told the tires are good. So,
does the price sound reasonable. What problems am I looking at, Stuck clutch, engine stuck. Is there a process to go through for starting an
engine that hasn't run for so long. Obviously new fuel and filters. Any advise or suggestions would be welcome. Thank you

The price sounds a little high not running. Might want to work a deal to get it running first, at least let you do some investigating, or ask them to drop the price.

It may very well be stuck. Will it break loose? That's the big question

Storing under a tarp is very conducive to condensation, and rodents love them!

If you get it...

Crack loose every drain plug, check for water. If there is water, let it drain until you get oil. If it does run, be prepared to change all the fluids.

Check the wiring for chewing, check the air intake for nests, check everywhere else they could chew hoses or build nests.

Before trying to turn it through with the starter, try turning it by hand. Even if it will turn, best to get some oil in the cylinders. If it has glow plugs you can pull them, or pull the injectors, give each cylinder a few shots of ATF. Might want to open the valve cover, turn it through and watch the valves, be sure none are stuck open or any bent pushrods.

Once it is turning by hand, service the fuel system, turn it through with the starter before putting the injectors or glow plugs in. Crank until you get fuel to the injector lines. If you can't get fuel to the injectors, there may be problems in the injector pump.

Six years is not really a long time, unless something unusual was happening, like open exhaust stack, or no antifreeze.

Let us know how it goes...

That tractor's been up for sale for a long time. He's just about got to where the price is right if it was running and working. If the clutch is stuck that may not be too bad, I've had good luck freeing others. If the engine is stuck that could be a problem. New, tight engines tend to stick much worse than those with more hours. Good luck, Sam

David Browns are good on fuel and are quite reliable ------ BUT they will eventually break down and are INSANE to work on . If you were buying from a dealer with some kind of warranty (given he has some body that can fix them) then may be buy it . Buying one of those privetly unless you are a experienced heavy duty mechanic and have prior dealings with PITA David Browns -----RUN --- AS FAR AND FAST AS YOU CAN --- and dont ever look back

I took a chance on a 1974 David Brown 885 thirty years ago. I bought it at auction for $1400, and it took very little money to set it right. It was good little tractor, no problems, very economical to run, but I sold it for $3,400 two years late because I needed more power. The 990 that you are looking at, since it is not running, you have to assume the PTO, hydraulics, clutch, transmission etc. all have problems. It is priced way to high at this point.

A 990 was one of DB 'S better tractors. If the tires are decent and you can get it to run and drive to your satisfaction, yep, sounds like a fair deal. Ben

On a 1962,I'd make sure it has standard size bolts and nuts. I've got a 61 850 disguised as an Oliver 500. That one has British Standard Fine thread bolts in everything. They're standard diameter,but the thread count isn't standard coarse or fine and they're not metric.

Goodday all, thanks for all your replys. Once I've seen the tractor I'll decide what I'm going to do. If I buy it, there will no doubt be more questions. Thanks again for your thoughts.

The DB tractors were indeed "insane to work on" If your tool box only has a hammer, crescent wrench, and vice grips in it.
We sold a lot of 990s and they are like the ever ready bunny.
Loren

I bought a 995 DB nine years ago that was running for $650, I had to supply the battery for it when I went to pick it up, done some repairs on it and sold it about 4 months later for $1500, was glad to see it go, parts were hard to come by in South Alabama, I've seen some good ones and bad ones in the DB brand, be careful and don't buy on quick impulse...

Check and see what shape the fenders are in. The batteries sit right down by the fenders and the acid eats them up. The only place to get them is out of England and the shipping will be a deal killer.