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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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Farmall H and M transmissions questions

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Rick in MD

10-21-2003 12:34:47




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I was told these tractors had week transmissions that realy didn't last too long becouse of the use of ball bearings and was wondering if that was true? How long and how well did they hold up?




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Dr.EVIL

10-22-2003 07:48:26




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 Re: Farmall H and M transmissions questions in reply to Rick in MD, 10-21-2003 12:34:47  
Reason Farmall's get this reputation of having weak rearends/transmissions is because they have such AWESOME ENGINES! Too easy to double the factory HP. Back in the early 60's M&W had stroker crankshafts & over-size pistons You could make M's into 70 HP tractors instead of the 36 HP they were designed at. Look at the updates done to make the same design rearend last in 686's! Same thing holds true on the bigger FARMALLS, like 966's, 1206's, 10, 12 & 1456's. Real easy to make a 90-125 HP tractor turn out 200.

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Ed

10-24-2003 06:36:45




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 Re: Re: Farmall H and M transmissions questions in reply to Dr.EVIL, 10-22-2003 07:48:26  
I agree putting 70hp through a transmission only designed for 36hp is going to cause trouble.

In stock condition my dad's M's lasted 30-40 years and were still going strong when he sold they.



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dave s.

10-22-2003 06:58:47




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 Re: Farmall H and M transmissions questions in reply to Rick in MD, 10-21-2003 12:34:47  
I have an h, super h , and 3 m's an we have only replaced one bull gear in the h. However I know of some of these tractors that have had a bearing go out and they have cracked the rear end case because there is no clearance between the gears and the housing so when a piece of the bearing gets wedged between the gear and the housing you can crack it or even put a hole through it.My neighbor's m had this happen so he had it welded back together, put new bearings in it, and uses it daily on a loader with no problems.The problem with ALL older tractors is they always seem to get a certain amount of water in the gear lube.

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john d

10-21-2003 21:36:54




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 Re: Farmall H and M transmissions questions in reply to Rick in MD, 10-21-2003 12:34:47  
I've got a '49 M that still has lots of the original parts in the transmission and rear end. The engine has been rebuilt and tweaked to far beyond original power output. It was dyno tested after the last re-build at 52hp. We pulled a Moline 4-14 trailing plow with it in 2nd and 3rd gear for years. It's been on the farm since 1952, and I think the only parts in the transmission and final drive that have been replaced were the pilot bearing at the front of the transmission (after lots of years pulling a 3-14 plow in 4th gear!) and the carrier bearings in the final drive, which were upgraded to 560 bearings. If you tear up an M transmission, it's because you ran it out of oil, shifted without the clutch, re-powered it with a huge engine, or didn't fix something when you first heard a strange noise.

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Michael Soldan

10-21-2003 19:59:43




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 Re: Farmall H and M transmissions questions in reply to Rick in MD, 10-21-2003 12:34:47  
The tractor pullers must know something as M rear ends are a favourite for building a tractor to pull with, they apparently stand up well. Also as I-H built tractors beyond the H and M years the basic design of the M was incorporated in the rear end and drives...I'd say that H and M rear ends were quite durable and time has born that out.....Mike in Exeter Ontario



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FarmallH42

10-21-2003 15:08:13




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 Re: Farmall H and M transmissions questions in reply to Rick in MD, 10-21-2003 12:34:47  
Mine is a 42 that had a worn out engine when I got it (already rebuilt at least once). So the tranny and rearend have lasted through at least 2 engines and it's still going!

What about the pullers putting 100 hp through an M rearend?

Only IH that had tranny trouble was early 560 and 660 - and 99% of those were fixed by IH. Later 560 and 660 didn't have trouble - no one in my area has ever heard of trouble with them.

Any tractor that is abused will have problems.

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Chris

10-21-2003 14:05:47




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 Re: Farmall H and M transmissions questions in reply to Rick in MD, 10-21-2003 12:34:47  
I restored a 1945 H in 2001 that was all original and all that was really bad was the seals and the oil. Dependability depends on the care it received during its life regardless of brand.
By the way the old cockshutt/oliver tractors were considered to have bulletproof transmissions and were used heavily for tractor pulling when that sport first became popular because of their durability. As far as the farmalls, if your breaking transmissions your probably doing something you knew you shouldn't be doing with it!

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Mike

10-21-2003 13:44:11




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 Re: Farmall H and M transmissions questions in reply to Rick in MD, 10-21-2003 12:34:47  
How good can thay bee thay only lasted 50 pluse years!!!!



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49 Cubber!

10-21-2003 12:56:26




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 Re: Farmall H and M transmissions questions in reply to Rick in MD, 10-21-2003 12:34:47  
My M had some IH bearing in it when I rebuilt the tranny 15 yrs ago!Its a 41!May not have been used much before I got it,but has gotten its share of use since I got it and have yet to repalce a bearing in it in 15 yrs



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Steve from MO

10-21-2003 12:41:46




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 Re: Farmall H and M transmissions questions in reply to Rick in MD, 10-21-2003 12:34:47  
Considering how many of them there are still around, I would have to say they were at least as good as the other brands. Each brand had strong and weak points.



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