Re: IH Failure - tractor building business in gene

Posted by Hugh MacKay on November 02, 2003 at 05:07:50 from (209.226.247.140):

In Reply to: IH Failure - tractor building business in general posted by Steve - IN on November 01, 2003 at 11:03:58:

Steve: It matters very little who was at the head of the various companies. The key to all of this is are your excutives in touch with the end consumer of the product.

In my opinion the problems at IH started with fast hitch and that was the single biggest factor in their down fall. I know there are those amoung you who think fast hitch was and is great. However, no one else was using it. Harry Ferguson had won the hitch war before IH sold it's first fast hitch. IH flogged the fast hitch for close to 10 years, while everyone else had gone 3 point. Right away, a factor such as this eliminates all those customers who don't buy every piece of equipment from one source. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, many many customers left IH never to return, and it was all to do with fast hitch. The fast hitches on the 300-400, 350-450 and 460-560, being used as a drawbar for pull type equipment as well were crap. Big pull type implements beat the pins and pin hole to a point you may as well been pulling that pto forage harvester or baler with a 2 foot long chain. I cut the fast hitches on my 300 and 560 up for scrap before they were 10 years old and bought standard H-M type drawbars. This whole issue was never a big factor in my operation as I really never used mounted equipment. I was definately not the norm, mounted equipment came on market fast and furious during the 50s and 60s. No question in my mind that was the beginning of the end.

Other factors also happened along with this that sickened a lot of farmers. The 560 rear end problems. TA and IPTO were great but weren't perfected until 06 and 56 series tractors, much too long. Cavitation of the sleeves in the 66 series tractors, another boondogle IH knew of in advance and knew how to cure it. At 8,000 hours the performance of my 1066 was such if figured I was headed for 15,000 hours to first engine rebuild. Then one day on heavy tillage heat gauge started rising, too late, crank ruined from anti freeze. Just weeks before this tractor had been dynoed at 160hp, and that was as it came from factory. At same time I had a 100 hp Deere with power shift, that did go 14,000 hours before engine or power shift were touched. You can easily see where I would have been going had I been in the market for another tractor.

Then IH topped it all with those 88 series and the foreward air flow cooling. Didn't take an engineer to see that was junk.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Re: IH Failure - tractor building business in Steve - IN 11:08:59 11/02/03 (1)
  • Re: Re: Re: IH Failure - tractor building business Hugh MacKay 15:06:47 11/02/03 (0)

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