The wife inherited her dad's Golden Jubilee. He was 89 and slipping mentally and let a lot of things go bad and made some incorrect repairs. He was a wiz at this stuff in his younger years but was getting senile. We did a lot to get it running, new wiring harness, alternator, coil etc. Even once we got it running it was always difficult to change gears. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. If the tractor was not running it was easy to go through the gears. When running it was very hard to shift, sometimes it would let you try to shift and you could feel it starting to grind and sometimes it just would not let the shifter budge at all. If you were running and pushed in the clutch the tractor would come to a stop like it should. I'm kind of a newbie and have split the tractor and the old parts look pretty good. Nothing jumps out as being the obvious cause of the problem. I've adjusted the clutch many times, increasing the distance until you feel pressure and going the opposite way where there is almost no slack. The other thing is that it was leaking transmission oil and got to where it was really bad and would loose most of the oil in a couple of weeks. I am about to start putting it back together with new clutch kit including pilot and throw out bearings and a new input shaft seal. Any suggestions or ideas? If it would help I can post some pictures of the old parts. Thanks in advance.
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I had similar experience about 50 years ago on the '51 8N that I had been driving since 1953 (still have it). I bought all new clutch parts, broke the tractor in half and installed. Bolted up and adjusted the clutch. Problem still existed. Broke tractor apart again, checked everything, reassembled...problem still there. Adjusted and adjusted clutch linkage, no help.
I finally talked with a mechanic at my local Ford Tractor Dealership. WA LA! He had the answer! It was NOT an internal problem! It was the external linkage, 8N7511B Years:1948-58 Arm (Clutch Release Shaft) (Available at Just 8Ns)
I call it a "dog bone" link. One end attaches to the adjustable clutch link. The other end connects to the clutch shaft with a cold roll pin. That was the location of the problem.
Try this: ENGINE OFF!: block the tractor wheels; either clamp down the clutch pedal or have someone depress it and hold it down. LOOK at the bottom side of the "dog bone" and clutch shaft. Look for an open crack in the dog bone between the cold roll pin and the transmission case. Release the clutch and watch the crack close.
Good luck. Let us know what you find.
PS The exact same part is used 1948 to 1958.

Thank you for your input. I will do what you said. The project is on hold until after beach trip.

Does the 9N suffer from the same part failure?

No. The part I referenced is not used on the 9N.