need a little help

[keith44]

Anyone familiar with old tractor hydraulics??  My '51 Farmall Super C is doing something weird.  I put an aftermarket 3 point hitch kit on it.  This kit has two rods that connect to the cultivator lifts to operate the 3 point unit.  I was using a box blade to straighten up my gravel driveway when the hydraulics just dropped the blade and would not pick it up again.  I'd been running the tractor and using the blade for about an hour.  I shut the tractor down, and checked the fluid level, but the fluid was boiling.  Seriously lots of entrained air and extremely hot!!  Once the tractor (and hydraulics) cooled off for a few minutes I was able to pick up the blade and drive to the barn.  What should I look at?? and why?? The why is so I can learn, not trying to be a smart A_ _


Thanks Guys

[blind ear]

With an M Farmall there is a fluid level dipstick in the floor by the shifter, if the depth stick hasn't lost out of it. It will allow you to fill to the correct level w/o overfill which in some cases can wet the breaks or spill into parts unwanted. There are separate chambers on an M that hold fluid that fill by spill over. If the fluid level isn't high enough the fluid in one section is all that is used and it won't cool enough. This can cause heating and thinning and foaming and the pump can't build pressure. There should be a filter box with an element on one side of the belly of the tractor.
If you don't have the dipstick contact an IH dealer and get the fluid amount and fill the case with HIGH QUALITY fluid and make your own if the dealer can't get one. (There are two or three plugs to drain the fluid.) The dealer got my last one but that was 30 years ago. All this is based on an M and may be useless on a c. We never had a C but had a B and it was quite different. Hope you find a better source.
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IF you aren't using HyTran in the tractor it is worth the money for the problems that it avoids. It will keep water suspended and the heat of operation will help dry it out, there is no vent so dry out is minimal. ear
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Farmall C questions:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Farmall+C+hydraulic+fluid+change&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
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Farmall C fluid change:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=C+Farmall+hydraulic+fluid+change&oq=C+Farmall+hydraulic+fluid+change&gs_l=youtube.12...45516.51759.0.57190.14.14.0.0.0.0.264.2457.0j13j1.14.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.T_5yV1Nsnvc

[keith44]

Thanks ear, the M and H are similar, the C and B and the A are similar and the Cub is like a miniature A  as far as the Hydraulic units go.  We had a couple M's when I was a kid, and an older C.  The M's were sold over 20 years ago, the C still rakes hay every summer, we have also bought an H (about 10 years ago) that dad likes to rake hay with and do some of the lighter jobs around the farm...anyway thanks for the effort, I'll try cleaning the screens and flushing with Hytran, then filling with hytran. I don't know what is in there, I just bought it last year.

[Ranger99]

i never did any farmalls, just the
old john deeres. most every older
tractor i've ever messed with was
full of moisture inside either from neglect,
or sitting for years, or from being
constantly outside in the weather.
most older ones aren't sealed very good
anymore, and mostly the old rotten seal
or boot for the shifter lets rain and moisture
fill up the hydraulics and trans.
as b.e. said, complete flushing would be
where to start. you'll want to get the thing
under some kind of roof for storage also.
we used to run into a lot of rusted exhaust
that bypassed a muffler weather cap.
i don't depend on those. i usually set a deep
juice can or similar over mine when storing.


good luck-hope it works out.

[keith44]

thanks Ranger99, I'm thinking that condensation is the problem since everything worked fine for an hour or so

[Ranger99]

likely so.
after one sits for a while, the moisture
can make little rust flecks inside the
case and when somebody comes along
and gets it good and hot and shook up
moving around, all the little flecks break loose
and get stuck in the screen or filter, plus
sometimes any springs or plungers or valves
get a little rusty. i got really lucky on this
last one, i just summarily pulled the plug and
started draining the hydraulic fluid without
looking at the stick, and i'd almost completely
drained it and noticed the fluid was good as
new. not milky or dirty. well, i'd already bought
a five gallon bucket anyway, but then i knew for
sure it had good fluid. win some - lose some.


it sure won't hurt to flush and change fluid on yours.
it's already broke, so it can't do anything but help and
eliminate one possible cause.


hope it works out for you

[Ranger99]

also, i've used this online guide
i believe it's tractorspecs.com to
find capacities for different units.
it might help find how much oil you need.
i'm not sure of the year model coverages.

[blind ear]

also, i've used this online guide
i believe it's tractorspecs.com to
find capacities for different units.
it might help find how much oil you need.
i'm not sure of the year model coverages.

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In newer model IH tractors if the HyTran gets a little milkey the operating temperature will cook the moisture out of the oil, those tractors have vented cases. If the case isn't vented you might be able to add a vent in some way. If the tractor is worked hard enough to cook out the moisture is a different matter. On 1066 and 1466 models a little milk would disappear after we got to real field work. A time or two we had to change out the oil if we used other than HyTran. ear