Product Description
The Ford 8N is one of the most-produced tractors in American history, built from 1947 through 1952 in Highland Park, Michigan and Dearborn, and still in widespread use on small farms decades after the last unit rolled off the line. According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, the 8N’s independent left/right brake shoe linings and its single-stage dry clutch friction disc allegedly contained chrysotile asbestos in a phenolic binder. Both are routinely serviced wear items, and replacement friction parts allegedly continued to contain chrysotile through much of the aftermarket supply chain.
Workers Exposed
Farmers and hobby-farm owners who serviced their own 8N brakes and clutches allegedly disturbed chrysotile-containing friction material — an especially common DIY task because the 8N is small, simple, and mechanic-friendly. Farm-equipment mechanics at Ford tractor dealers and independent shops handled 8N clutch splits as a regular job. Tractor-restoration hobbyists, a large community, continue to allegedly encounter original-era friction material during restoration teardowns.