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Is the IH 86 series that bad?


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My dad has a 1086. Along with a 1066 It was the big tractor on the farm from 1993-2011 until the 88 series tractors started showing up. Now planting and blowing snow are it's main duty's. Also used it to haul grain to the elevator for quite a few years. I've seen on the internet that people really bad mouth them for the park brake being in the way among other nit picky reasons. I think I'd rather have a 66 series for a loader tractor as the shifter can get temper mental but it's really a nice tractor for what we use it for. How do you guys on here feel about them and where do they rank among other IH series. 

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We had rebuilt the shifter in the 1586 and I preferred that over a 66 series. I can shift with my left hand and run hydraulic with the right hand. I have a 186 with a 2350 and like it 

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I've always wanted one but never been around one to any extent. Cab seems to me it would be more quiet than and nicer than a 66. There are things that probably are not as nice as other models but they are basically a 66 drive train with some minor updates so.....🤷‍♂️

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23 minutes ago, bitty said:

We had rebuilt the shifter in the 1586 and I preferred that over a 66 series. I can shift with my left hand and run hydraulic with the right hand. I have a 186 with a 2350 and like it 

I have to lean over a little to raise and lower the planter which isn't as nice as newer tractors but it's not enough to wreck your day either. 

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23 minutes ago, iowaboy1965 said:

I've always wanted one but never been around one to any extent. Cab seems to me it would be more quiet than and nicer than a 66. There are things that probably are not as nice as other models but they are basically a 66 drive train with some minor updates so.....🤷‍♂️

Yes the cab is a lot nicer. The funny thing is, talk like the cab is so terrible but it's the exact same basic design as a lot of newer utility to lower mid sized tractors. I put my feet on the same cross bar that goes across the windshield mowing at work with the 65hp JD as I do planting with the 1086. They also get put down for ride quality and I think it rides like a car down the road with dry Michelin radials 

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Dad had the first 1086 sold in this area. From there we moved into the 2+2 series. Seems like a lot of complaints about the cab doors pivoting the wrong way but I have never considered it a big deal. The shifter can be temperamental at times, usually when one gets in a hurry shifting has been my experience. The lever on the hi-low shaft on the range transmission will get loose. The original IH design left a lot to be desired. The aftermarket people addressed that issue. There would have been a little more room getting in and out on the left side if the park lever was back, after 40 years I think nothing of it. The ball joints do wear on the shift linkage and that can be a source of play however I am just now replacing them on the 3388 I am working on and it has close to 13k hours so I can live with that. 

Have borrowed the neighbors John Deere tractor a couple of times. It has a sound guard cab. Lets see you have to slide around the counsel to get to the seat and on the way you run into the PTO lever so I do not think those are anything to brag about. Guess who forgot to put a door on the right side. 

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I hear people complaining about cabs, and i also see them removing them for open station configuration. Personally i hate the sun, I would take just about any old cab over none. Earplugs make everything quiet. Spent many many hours on a dozer that the Rops rattled louder than anything else, would make your arms and legs and anything else go numb, but it was some shelter from the sun, so i loved it. 

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(Ignore my earlier post.....) They are junk !!! PM me if you want an address to drop off some 86 series 😁

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  • Haha 9
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This pair of 1486s have served my uncles well for many years. They were relieved of the big horse duties a few years ago by an MX200 but still do a lot of PTO work and other various jobs. Pretty bulletproof in our books , the shifting linkages definitely could use some love, no computers to worry about , that’s for sure. Since they moved the operator forwards to improve the ride on the 86 series , I’ve always found drawbar visibility a little poorer … gotta shift up out of the seat to peer down when trying to line up to whatever. 
 

Every year when it’s time to cut silage one of them gets put on the silage bagger and gets the snot worked out of her. We’ll work into the night and when it’s dark you can see that exhaust manifold glowing red - takes it in stride. 
 

 

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...neat video !!! ..guess that was Grandpa's   Super C    we could see ......parked near the sheds

...didn't see any mouintains.....guess they are about 3000  K     west of you !!!

Thanks for posting

Mike

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1 hour ago, bitty said:

(Ignore my earlier post.....) They are junk !!! PM me if you want an address to drop off some 86 series 😁

...just keep takin' them pills, Bitty...you will be OK .....

Mike

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...our old 886 has been a great old work horse.....and to add insult to injury....it gets to run the irrigation pump...which is unrelenting...I have no idea how many hours it has done...the tacho quit years go..

...second picture is the river we pump out of......

Mike

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My 1086 was my big tractor from 1993 until I got the first 3588 in 2001, and even then, the 1086 got a lot more hours than the 2+2. It has always been a go-to tractor for me; in fact the 1086 full cab that Dad bought new a couple years before I went on my own was a big factor in my wanting one.

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I've been running a 1486 since 1978, also have a 1086 and a 1586 now. I also like the shift on the left and the hydraulics on the right, also much better visibility for a loader.  Great tractors.  Cab doors can bothersome, but the hydraulic openers help that a lot.  I take the doors off in the summer and then they are really easy to get in and out of.  Haven't had shift linkage problems with any the ones I have now, had some with a 1486 I don't have anymore, but it had 15-20000 hours on it 

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I don't feel like the shifter on the left is a big deal and I like the cab on my 1086. My son though thinks the shifters are in the way, it must be a persons preference.  The only bad part about the 86 series to me were the steps.  I put K&M steps on mine and that made it much better.  Mine was well taken care of and while sometimes hard to get out of park is easy to shift otherwise.

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8 minutes ago, IHandJDman said:

I don't feel like the shifter on the left is a big deal and I like the cab on my 1086. My son though thinks the shifters are in the way, it must be a persons preference.  The only bad part about the 86 series to me were the steps.  I put K&M steps on mine and that made it much better.  Mine was well taken care of and while sometimes hard to get out of park is easy to shift otherwise.

I have found the shifters can benefit from spraying loosening oil while moving in and out of park and the gears . Our 1586 would get stiff and a session with the spray lube and it was good for a month or so 

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We like our 1086. A little hard to get in and out of for my dad. We worked the shifters over with some live and he was able to shift them not long after shoulder surgery.8F87231C-C830-4BE3-849B-349530D1F345.thumb.jpeg.b91839bf43540e3663b4af844de4e69d.jpeg

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I was never a big fan of the 86 series until I spent some serious time in one. I still feel that there’s not a lot of leg room, but the 1486 I ran was comfortable quiet and had enough room for Dolly to ride with me. 

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Left handed shifting is no big issue. The doors on the A pillars not so much. Whoever made that decision was living in an alternative universe. If nothing else was changed other than the doors and corresponding forward angled steps like the prototypes they'd have sold more tractors. Doors wouldn't have been contacting tires on a 2 + 2. Windy day cab entry / egress with the B pillar hinge door isn't great but it's way better than that A pillar sail overextending into the hood.

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The 86 series cab was a tremendous improvement over the 66 cabs and it wouldn’t bother me to run one.  But nobody can bash a SGB if they the 86 series was the gold standard.  

Every car, pickup, truck, and semi with manuals that I have ever run had the shifter on the right side.  Tractors in front of you or right side.  There must have been enough people that complained because IH moved the shifters back to the right side.  

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