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Tips for working on a Farmall H


Derek01

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Hi, I am 13 years old from Michigan. I recently got a Farmall H from my grandpa because he is no longer able to drive it. I've know this tractor my entire life but have never had the chance to work on it till now. I'm just trying to get as much help as I can.

Thanks

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Welcome to the wonderful world of IH. As lightninboy said, read the owners manual begore you do to much,  Also, the parts manual can be very helpful as it has very good pictures of the various assemblies as well as the sizes of the fasteners. farmallcub.com has these as pdf's, there may be other sites on the internet also. And do't be afraid to ask questions. By the way, that's a good looking old girl you've got there, looks like she just needs some TLC!  John

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Cool

Exhaust must of been covered if it's not locked.  Drain a little oil and make sure no water/antifreeze is in there.

Good idea to do that on the trans/diff as well.  No need to change fluids yet as it's not starting.

Check air supply for bug/animal nests.

Plan on clean fuel supply, clean carb, clean points, spin it and see if it hits.

Clutch free?  pull to start if battery/starter is weak.

Are you on your own or do you have tools and a place?

 

 

 

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1 minute ago, nomorejohndeere said:

Are you on your own or do you have tools and a place?

 

 

 

I have tools and a pull barn to work in, there is also a farmer down the road that I am friends with that has a Farmall M so he may be able to help

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Young man that is a good looking old H you have there and it is really special because it belonged to your grandpa. Where are you located,i am sure someone on here would love to help a young IH collector out with this project.

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Don't plan on using that fuel.  Dump it.

If the tank is super rusty bypass with a tank from something else.  Lawn mower, motorcycle, generator.  So you don't fight clogged filters when you are first experimenting.

 

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I've heard of a method of cleaning the tank from rust by shaking it with a metal marble inside to break up the rust and letting it sit in vinegar would that work, I'm still pretty new to working on things I've messed with a couple of old 4 wheelers and a ford thunderbird

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5 minutes ago, from H to 80 said:

Young man that is a good looking old H you have there and it is really special because it belonged to your grandpa. Where are you located,i am sure someone on here would love to help a young IH collector out with this project.

My grandpa got it new with a plow and a disk, I am in eastern Michigan

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Lots of ways to clean a tank.

I prefer electrolysis because of no harsh chemicals.  Strapping a tank with nuts and bolts to a lawn mower tire and mowing the yard.  Acid.  etc.  

Depends on how rusty but all these old ones have been around long enough to need some attention.

Vinegar is useful but I wouldn't count on it if the rust is heavy.

 

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Thankfully he disconnected the fuel line to the carb before letting it sit so there is nothing in the carb or the glass debris collector and the tank is probably about an eighth full

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If your from a cold climate  better check the engine oil for water the block may be cracked takes all the fun out of it then

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You have a great resource on YouTube. There is a girl by the name of Rachel Gingell who has a channel and has posted many videos on how to repair different components on IH tractors. Most of the techniques apply to all of the letter series tractors. 

This is how I start with a new to me tractor. Check the radiator level. Crack the oil pan drain and see if there is water or antifreeze.  Open the upper petcock on the side of the oil pan. If nothing comes out, add oil on the right front side of the motor until it comes out of the petcock.  Crack the transmission plug and drain the water out until oil starts to come. The square plug on yours is under the pto right above the drawbar. Just slowly back out until water or oil comes past the treads. Don’t need to take completely out. 

Drain your gas from the tank. Unless the tank is completely rusted terribly, it will be fine for now. Worry about that later, the sediment bowl will catch the crud for now. Dump out the bowl.

Remove the spark plugs, you said it turns over. Label each plug wire with tape to know which plug it goes to so you keep it in time. The front is #1, back is #4.  Look at each plug and see if any are rusted bad. This might be a sign of water in a cylinder. Squirt a little oil in each cylinder. Leave out the plugs. 

Charge the battery and spin it over. If you have 3 holes on top of the battery, it is 6 volts, 6 holes it 12 volt. Spinning it will blow out any crud in the cylinders. Hold your thumb over each spark plug hole, if air blows out you have compression. No air, you have other problems like a bent pushrod. If all push air, put the plugs back in. 

You can dump gas in and try to start it. If you are really lucky, you might get it to go. But likely you need to check for spark and at least clean the points gap under the distributor cap. I’d remove the carb and clean it out too. You don’t have to rebuild the carb to clean it, just carefully split it and clean the needle valve. That can be figured out from watching Rachel’s videos. 

Get a manual for it, that will tell you lots of good information.  Ask your buddy with the M to come over and walk you through it.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions and we will help you out. There’s many ways to do things and don’t get discouraged!  There will be no better moment for you when she roars to life again and your grandpa will be very proud of you for keeping the tractor in use. Welcome to the Farmall family. Good luck!

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A couple 4 wheelers, a T-Bird, and a H..... I like this young man already!   How many 13yo today will get off their smartphone long enough to even look..... you just gave me hope for the future!

Very nice H by the way.   Family, even better.    Take your time, its not rocket science.   File/adjust the points and check them for spark.  Check/clean the plugs (or replace them).   Clean the tank and bowl, probably disassemble & clean/check the carb.   Get 5 gal of 90+ octane gas for the first start, might get things going a little easier.  (old engines don't like modern 87 octane).

Most importantly, HAVE FUN!   

And I gotta ask....T-bird.....year??   I'm in my 50's, and I'm still kicking myself for NOT buying that '63 T-bird I looked at when I was 20....

 

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Welcome to the forum. Everything they said is good advise.  I’ll add to soak everything with PB blaster or something like it (wd40) as much as possible. Those spark plugs. The carb bolts. Those drain plugs. Next time you're near the tractor, I would spray all that stuff and let it soak. 

 The cracks in the block mentioned earlier they would not be something that you could see from the outside of the motor. That’s why we want you to check the oil and make sure it does not have any antifreeze or water in it. Oil floats on water, that is why checking the drain plugs at the bottom (Bottom of the oil pan, same as that plug in the back of the transmission) at the bottom is where are you look for water. 

Holding your finger over the plug  holes to check for compression, you would need a helper to turn the engine over while you were holding your finger over the hole. You can also take the spark plugs while they are out, and put the wires  back onto them and rest the plugs against the engine, And have a helper try to start it while you look at the plugs and see if they make spark.  Don’t touch the spark plug with your hands while the engine is being turned over, because if there is spark there, you could get a shock off of the plug wire. Not a dangerous shock,  but it still would not feel good.  If  there is no spark there then you definitely need to look at the points as mentioned earlier. 

 

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