Adam - NC

I got the carb back on and everything back together enough to run it this afternoon. Switching the lines to the steering cylinder fixed the steering issue. Now I just need to fix the clutch, transmission, water pump, alternator, steering wheel / steering shaft, fuel leak, water leaks..... This has not been my best purchase so far....

Mine has the cylinder on the front axle, and the valve on the steering column looks like the drawing I posted. But I’ve got the violent oscillation you are describing. I appreciate the help!

I'm not seeing the 'notch in the valley' part that needs to be timed - I did see a picture of that in the I&T manual, but I'm not sure I have the same steering motor.

One more thing - the auxilliary hydraulic valves were removed from the tractor when I got it. I purchased the end plate that goes on the valves and bolted that to the tractor without any valves. Just wanted to make sure this arrangement would work on a 404.

I got far enough into it last night to be able to disconnect 4 lines and remove the steering motor, but I chickened out. I can't see any evidence that it has been touched in recent history. I'm also moderately terrified to take the steering motor apart. How difficult is it to get to the pieces that need to be timed?

So much for that plan. All the sheet metal is already off, so I popped the steering wheel and dash off after work. I don’t see any evidence that the steering motor has been touched lately, but the previous owner did change the steering wheel. The new one was not install tightly, so it came off easily. Any chance he could have damaged something getting the old steering wheel off? There are grinder gouges in the shaft, so it didn’t come off easily. Time to go find the manual and see home to get into the steering motor.

Thanks for the info guys - It will be a bit before I get into the steering, I have to split it to fix the clutch. It went from slipping with the throw out bearing fork installed wrong to not releasing with it installed right. I'm thinking I need to split it and fix the clutch correctly next.

So, which part do you (ya'll?) think is not timed correctly?

As best I can tell, the previous owner at some point was able to drive and use the tractor, and says he didn’t do anything to the steering, so I’m doubting it’s hooked up backwards. Could it be air in the cylinder? Or a stuck pressure relief? My fix it and flip it project is looking more like a tear down and rebuild, and never see my money again.

The 404 utility uses a steering motor (?) under the dash and a cylinder on the front axle. I haven't had it apart, but there is no telling what the previous owner has done. So far I've found a new distributor with no insulator on the terminal for the power to the points, and the throw out bearing fork in the wrong place.

The power steering on my project tractor isn't acting right. Once the hydraulics primed and the lift started working, the steering would spin the sheel pretty violently when I attempted to steer the tractor. I figured out I could put very light pressure on the steering wheel in one direction, and the front wheels would turn in the opposite direction. If I try to force the wheel in the direction I want to turn it has enough pressure on it that I can't move it. Reading that probably doesn't make sense, but any help is appreciated. Is it maybe just air in the system and I need to run the tractor for a while and cycle the wheels back and forth? Or maybe a relief valve stuck somewhere?

I was able to get the clutch fork removed and reinstalled correctly last night. Maybe tonight I can get the linkage adjusted and go for another test drive.

Not very well. Wouldn't pull itself up a slight hill to get back to the shop. Always had pressure on the throw out bearing & clutch fingers.

It is possible to remove the fork and get it reinstalled through the inspection hole, but I struggled.

I'm pretty sure my 404 project has the throw out bearing installed wrong, but wanted to make sure it is wrong before I try to fix it. I believe the throw out bearing carrier should be inside the fork instead of in front of it. Is that correct?

It's been a few days, need to give you folks an update. It runs! That was a good step forwards. Make note of the Sun Drop fuel system. Now that it has run a few minutes, the hydraulics have started working. The three point goes up and down, maybe on the slow side but seems to work. The power steering is not working correctly. When I try to steer right, the steering wheel spins pretty violently to the left. I can steer the tractor by steering slightly right when i want the wheels to go left and steering slightly left to make the wheels turn right. Another issue I discovered on my short test drive is that the clutch slips. Investigated further and I think the throw out bearing is installed incorrectly. Right now the To Do List looks like this: 1. Clean carb and fix leak on fuel line 2. Fix throw out bearing & adjust clutch 3. Figure out hydraulics / power steering 4. Figure out why it won't go in 4th gear 5. Flush / fill cooling system 6. Finish wiring and reinstall sheet metal

The three point valve / control is still there, but the previous owner removed the two auxilliary valves when he sold the loader. The valves stack on the side of the rear housing, and without the end cover on those valves I think it will pump hydraulic fluid out the open port. I don't need the auxilliary valves at this time, so I ordered the cover plate to close off the open holes.

I've been tinkering on this a little bit as I have time. The guy I got it from said it wasn't getting spark. Found that the screw through the side of the distributor didn't have an insulator on it, so I made one. I've made enough of a wiring harness to spin the engine over, and it turns freely. I found out that the distributor was 180 degrees out of time, so we fixed that as well. I have the plate to block off the hydraulic valves ordered from Bates, as well as a coil and a distributor cover plate. Hopefully I will be able to hear this little tractor run by the end of the week.

This came with my 404 - the socket is bigger than anything on the current rear wheels, but they may or may not be original. Any idea what its for?

Went by the previous owner's house to pick up some pieces he found. He had the missing front axle pivot bearing (?) and the sway braces. They both need some clean up and welding. Current front axle arrangement: 'Repaired' parts The coolest parts of the visit was that he handed me the original owners manual and the original bill of sale.

The 'General Chat' forum gets WAY more traffic - if you post your question there you might have better luck as well. If it isn't IH, that's probably your best bet. Good luck! Edit - I went and looked at your other thread - I apologize, I didn't realize your truck is an IH.

Wiring harness improvements so far: 4 splices in 8" of wire: Brody and I spent some time cleaning and piddling today. We have a plan to get the fuel line remade correctly and work on battery cables and wiring harness. We also pulled the plugs and confirmed that the engine turns over freely, and verified that the bell housing is free of mouse nests and such. Can anyone identify this wrench? The previous owner has located the missing rear pivot bearing for the front axle, and the sway stabilizer bars. I will pick those up tomorrow. I hope he finds the missing sheet metal from the left side.

I've been looking at an International 404 on marketplace about 10 miles from home for a while. Finally went to look at it and it followed me home. The goal is to rewire it and take care of a couple of mechanical things, then see if it will run and what else is wrong with it. I hope to get it mechanically and electrically solid and sell it for more than I have in it. We shall see. Ultra rare option of yellow wheels on the left side only. It has an eclectic paint scheme going. The owner said it was running until a couple of years ago, now it is not getting spark. The wiring is not ideal.

I guess Brody inherited my love for plowing along with the tractor bug. We would love to find a nice patch of good dark dirt to turn. We have red clay around home.

I need to pay better attention around here. I'm late to the party. This was right after Brody made me buy a torque wrench. We pulled my snap couple harrow around with Brody's 240 for a while. Hooked it up with a clevis and had a ball riding in circles.