DT Fan 1,089 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 While planting beans yesterday, the suspension on my seat went South. This added to an already fun day I was having. I'm going to look at sticking it back together with the welder today but want to get something better. It is not hydraulic. What are the options? New seat and suspension? Aftermarket? Really would like to go with something new if the price isn't through the roof. I did a quick search but didn't find anything. Thought there had been discussion of this before. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
billonthefarm 903 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 8 minutes ago, DT Fan said: While planting beans yesterday, the suspension on my seat went South. This added to an already fun day I was having. I'm going to look at sticking it back together with the welder today but want to get something better. It is not hydraulic. What are the options? New seat and suspension? Aftermarket? Really would like to go with something new if the price isn't through the roof. I did a quick search but didn't find anything. Thought there had been discussion of this before. In my opinion you best option is just to fix what you have. Air seat would be better but as far as spring suspension the factory suspension rehabbed is about as good as it gets. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
farmall_fred 15 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 We went with this seat suspension setup from K & M in our 1066 that we use for planting a number of years ago and it was one of the best things we have done to increase the comfort when driving it. It is pricy but at my age well worth it. The seat has air ride like our Magnums and it rides very good. https://www.tractorseats.com/p-1036-international-harvester-06-66-series-km-441-seat-air-suspension.aspx 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DT Fan 1,089 Posted May 10, 2020 Author Share Posted May 10, 2020 Thanks Bill. Man, it looks a mess! I'll get a pic or two today. Why couldn't it have happened one of the many days when I'm just screwing around and would have had time to fix it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
farmall_fred 15 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 2 minutes ago, billonthefarm said: In my opinion you best option is just to fix what you have. Air seat would be better but as far as spring suspension the factory suspension rehabbed is about as good as it gets. If you could still buy quality parts for the factory spring suspension that would be fine. I rebuilt ours at least twice over the years and the last time the rubber springs only lasted about two years before tearing in two. I even bought them from CIH. So far the K&M seat is holding up fine. JMHO. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DT Fan 1,089 Posted May 10, 2020 Author Share Posted May 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, farmall_fred said: We went with this seat suspension setup from K & M in our 1066 that we use for planting a number of years ago and it was one of the best things we have done to increase the comfort when driving it. It is pricy but at my age well worth it. The seat has air ride like our Magnums and it rides very good. https://www.tractorseats.com/p-1036-international-harvester-06-66-series-km-441-seat-air-suspension.aspx Thanks for the link, didn't really want to spend that much but not going to rule it out either! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
farmall_fred 15 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 1 minute ago, DT Fan said: Thanks for the link, didn't really want to spend that much but not going to rule it out either! It is worth it in my mind. The seat has an adjustable back, arm rest's and lumbar. We went with the cloth version of the seat because of the cab on the tractor. The ol 1066 rides as good as our Magnums. Now if I could only quiet the cab down some more. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
INTERNATIONAL 1466 1,555 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Don't buy one of the factory rebuilt spring ones from the shortline guys. They are a rip off, do it yourself for $150 not $800 for what they do. I'm with bill, what you have is as good as it gets without spending a ton. Or get a hydraulic one from the bone yard, I like those better, but they need rebuild too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DT Fan 1,089 Posted May 10, 2020 Author Share Posted May 10, 2020 Well, here's what I found. Working on getting it back together. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Farmall1066 1,804 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 4 hours ago, DT Fan said: While planting beans yesterday, the suspension on my seat went South. This added to an already fun day I was having. I'm going to look at sticking it back together with the welder today but want to get something better. It is not hydraulic. What are the options? New seat and suspension? Aftermarket? Really would like to go with something new if the price isn't through the roof. I did a quick search but didn't find anything. Thought there had been discussion of this before. Devon’s tractor parts has rebuilt factory suspensions for sale! I purchased one for my 1066 narrow front! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
1480x3 358 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Purchased the compact air suspension, K&M, and used nice original seat on my 1066 about 10 yrs ago. Love it, worth every penny. Have 6 of them from K&M. I used to weigh 330 and they make them old tractor seats float. Some were complete seat, some susp only. Got it on 806, 4020, 3588, 1066, 856, & 1486. Back ach gone ! 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stronger800 836 Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 I have that same KM as shown above, but with a mechanical suspension (looks the same at a glance ...but obviously no pump in it) and-it was $600, but that was two years ago Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Kirsch 880 Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 18 hours ago, DT Fan said: Well, here's what I found. Working on getting it back together. Well, there's your problem! Don't think you can blame that on poor quality springs or aftermarket repair parts. That one was welded on a Friday afternoon. Only lasted 48 years! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IHRedDrive 136 Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 19 hours ago, Farmall1066 said: Devon’s tractor parts has rebuilt factory suspensions for sale! I purchased one for my 1066 narrow front! X2 if you don't want to rebuild yourself. Devon's a great guy to do business with. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Diesel Doctor 2,083 Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Unsure if the combine seats are the same as the tractors. If they are, would have far less hours on them than a tractor. Try the local tractor grave yard? It looks like yours has went up and down more than once? Things seem to go a little bit better in a comfortable seat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DT Fan 1,089 Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 I got the thing put back together, was much nicer planting with the seat intact. When it broke I was on the far part of the farm, had filled the tanks on the planter full. I don't like to drive it on the road like that, it's really squirly. There's a half mile of gravel that is scary with weight in the tanks, If it would have broken at home I would have repaired it before continuing. Made for an interesting day. The problem stemmed from a broken 1/4" bolt that contains the hinge pin. The bushings are shot, pins not a lot better. The seat itself is not so bad, it's the suspension. Not sure how I'm going forward, it works for now. Has a lot of slop, will just have to check my options. Diesel Doctor, I actually have a good seat from the 1460 I salvaged last fall, however there is no suspension. If I rebuild this one I will keep the thread updated with pictures of the process. One last thought, wrestling that thing out of the cab and back in was not fun. Don't look forward to doing it again but probably will. If I can get this thing whipped and get through the range shifter this year I'll feel I'm ahead of the game. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stronger800 836 Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 I’m sure that felt about as good as setting on a milk crate as you finished planting. It looks as if you took it out the door with the top assembly still hinged to the suspension. It’ll go a lot easier with the seat piece separated from the base. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tractorholic 81 Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 I put an air suspension in my 1066 from k and m and used the original seat as it was in good shape. If that suspension is that worn that's what I would do. It rides great. It wasn't that much more than fixing the original one, and most of the new rubber springs absolutely suck! I realize it's not original, but my back is and isn't getting any younger! It has really helped my back. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DT Fan 1,089 Posted May 12, 2020 Author Share Posted May 12, 2020 13 hours ago, stronger800 said: I’m sure that felt about as good as setting on a milk crate as you finished planting. It looks as if you took it out the door with the top assembly still hinged to the suspension. It’ll go a lot easier with the seat piece separated from the base. I actually thought about sitting on something else, (was thinking a bucket but that probably would have been to high) just to get the beans in. Separating the seat from the suspension in the cab would have been the way to go, hind-site you know. Once I get caught up a bit I'll start looking at different options for fixing this thing right. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
randy hall 187 Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 Just put a new mechanical suspension on our 1256 from Hy-Capacity and it is very nice. I am a dealer for Hy-Capacity if you are interested. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DT Fan 1,089 Posted May 12, 2020 Author Share Posted May 12, 2020 On 5/11/2020 at 6:24 AM, Matt Kirsch said: Well, there's your problem! Don't think you can blame that on poor quality springs or aftermarket repair parts. That one was welded on a Friday afternoon. Only lasted 48 years! Matt, it's a 74 so only 46 years old, you would think these things would last a little longer. (Ha-Ha). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DT Fan 1,089 Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 Little update on this; Got some parts from Devon, (and a little time, finally) and got this thing fixed properly. Should easily outlast me at the rate I put hours on this thing. The 'horseshoe' was easy to change, the bushing a bit more complicated. Not bad, just a little daunting figuring out where they all go. I should have counted, there's lots of them! Had to take her for a little ride, what an improvement! Now, on to the range shifter! Think I'm just going to buy some parts and hope I get time to do it. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nepoweshiekfarmalls 2,052 Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 Not a bad job. I rebuilt the 56 series shifters on the 1206 early this spring. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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