Noisy Farmall Super A Transmission

Back to the noise..... I bush hog with the tractor, about 2 acres, and it is noisy enough that I wear foam earplugs. My ears tend to ring rather easily so I know this too is subjective. A friend of mine who used to operate Farmalls back in his youth, 50+ years ago, seems to think the noise MAY be excessive but not necessarily. Its been a long time since hes been on one. I realize noises are difficult to impossible to diagnose by email. Having never before operated a Farmall SA myself I cannot know what it should sound like. The noise is not a squeal. It sounds to me more like a 2 lb. coffee can with a half dozen ball bearings in it being moved in a circular motion causing the bearings to roll around the inside of the can. Not shaking but rolling. I know from the IT manual that the differential gears and the transmission gears are straight cut making them inherently more noisy than helical cut gears. I will get someone to listen to it before I go further with disassembly. If anyone can imagine the noise I describe, please take a crack at it.. Thanks again!

Nope. That"s not what I had in mind by normal gear noise.

Quote: "A. Bohemian: You ask,"An I missing something." I must concur, you usually do."

Did this time. Sorry.

The problem is I don't know how to describe the sound, or how loud that it is, and I can't hear your tractor over the internet.

I suggest that you find somebody locally who has some experience with Farmall A's, & B's and have them run it and listen to it. It would be a far more informed opinion than anything you can get here.

Get out my old broom stick idea, break down get your wife a new broom. Jack up tractor rear wheels, anchor drawbar to a tree or other vehicle, so it can't fall off jack. Start the tractor and let it run in gear. Cut off the old broom handle, place one end to your ear and the other end on various parts of tractor casting until you zero in on the noise. This will pinpoint within 4" of where the noise is coming from. Now, if you want to get sophisticated, auto parts stores do sell stethiscopes for this purpose.

But my Super C makes a little gear noise, too. So did our MT, which was was only twenty years old at the time and which my granfather (a professional mechanic who rebuilt all kinds of equipment, including farm tractors) signed off on. That MT was sold to a family friend who, last I heard, was still using it and had no trouble with the rear end.

In fact, a Jeep or Scout in low transfer case will make lots of gear noise, too. So will my 1977 Bronco.

But my Ford 2600 makes NO gear noise. Nor did my father's little Ford garden tractor, which was a Japanese deal of some kind but was big enough to pull two-row equipment. I wonder they don't make gear noise?

You are getting excellent advice here, Bob. Everyone is right about the need for a manual and your ability to do the job.

(Unfortunately, they are also right about the expense!)

But again, a low-pitched, rumbling whine that decreases in volume when going downhill or not under load, and increases in pitch as you speed up can be a NORMAL noise! It certainly seems to me that this is what you are describing.

On the other hand, high-pitched squealing, chattering, and loud, rhythmic clunking are BAD noises that need diagnosis.

PLEASE have someone with experience listen to the noise before you begin dismantling things!

I gave my advice to Bob, based on the excellent description he gave. And yes, offset Farmalls do have bull gears.

If what you hear is a very low-pitched (NOT quiet - low pitched) whine, which gets higher in pitch as you go faster, it may be normal gear noise.

On the other hand, high-pitched squealing, chattering, and clunking are all BAD transaxle noises.

If you don't have much experience with old tractors, let someone who does listen to it. You may be pleasantly surprised by their opinion.

Then remove wheels, followed by final drives and platform. PTO and differential may as well come out first to lighten the transmission case. It would be best to have either IT manual or IH Blue Ribbon Service Manual as there are some crucial settings when you put this all back together.

I've been monitoring this site close to 8 years now. One of the items that amaze me is the number of the same folks rebuilding the same component every two years, components that run 40 years with a professional rebuild. I farmed for many years, when rebuild time came, we separated the components, shipped each component off to the best rebuilder we knew.

I don't know, some of these guys must like mucking around in grease. There is one guy on here, I swear he's had the TA out of his 300 5 times in 8 years. I had the TA out of my 300 once in 35 years, and that was when it was 5 years old.

I, too, always farm out such work. It's not rocket science, but you rarely get the first one right. It takes experience, and experience is best accumulated on other's tractors! (Just kidding.)

And, I've noticed at least one thread on the Ford 8N boards that started out something like, "Tractor hard to start and won't pull a load. I've checked the gas flow, carb, and spark and they're all good. It can't be the compression because I just rebuilt this engine..."