ComancheStarFarms Posted September 2 Posted September 2 I found a very reasonably priced cast right step for our Hydro 70. While attempting to mount it - - 2 heavy bolts - - I was successful in screwing in the forward bolt into the tranny or rear end housing however the aft bolt attaching hole has no threads. Instead of threads for screwing a bolt into the cast housing it appears that it’s home to a recessed plug. This should be similar to the 656, 666 & H86 and I’ve seen each with a right hand step. Any ideas what I might be up against? Quote
naedlaen Posted September 2 Posted September 2 (edited) I just checked on my '65 F656 gear drive. Casting number on the right side is 388118R1 (upside down on tractor). The extended cast right under the brake pivot is threaded. IH did send out their tractors with cork plugs in many of the threaded holes in the castings. You can even buy those plugs for your restorations. Should be a three quarters course thread hole. Neal Edited September 2 by naedlaen spelling Quote
snoshoe Posted September 2 Posted September 2 Cork was replaced by plastic and have seen metal plugs. Escapes me though where they fit in. Quote
stronger800 Posted September 3 Posted September 3 Neat. I’ve only seen cork, those are there on our 806’s. I’ve never been around anything older Quote
1967806 Posted September 3 Posted September 3 Speaking of cork plugs, pretty much every IH 06-86 I ever worked on has a machined off place under the clutch housing with a dowel hole and 4 plugged holes with corks in them. Never ever seen anything mounted to them threaded holes or in the dowels. Any ideas what they are for? Quote
snoshoe Posted September 3 Posted September 3 4 hours ago, 1967806 said: Speaking of cork plugs, pretty much every IH 06-86 I ever worked on has a machined off place under the clutch housing with a dowel hole and 4 plugged holes with corks in them. Never ever seen anything mounted to them threaded holes or in the dowels. Any ideas what they are for? One picture would let an old man sleep. My mind comes up with the pad where I model and I think hi clear front axle wishbones mounted. But when my mind starts drawing the mount. It only comes up with three bolts. I know I have to be crossing models or something. Quote
FarmerFixEmUp Posted September 3 Posted September 3 Also MFD axle. Number 1 in the picture. https://www.messicks.com/catalogs/case/806-farmall-tractor-01-63-12-76/stee-steering-mechanism/j-21-steering-mechanism-front-axle-and-connections-farmall-tractors-with-all-wheel-drive Quote
snoshoe Posted September 3 Posted September 3 13 minutes ago, FarmerFixEmUp said: Also MFD axle. Number 1 in the picture. https://www.messicks.com/catalogs/case/806-farmall-tractor-01-63-12-76/stee-steering-mechanism/j-21-steering-mechanism-front-axle-and-connections-farmall-tractors-with-all-wheel-drive Yup 4 bolts. Thank you Quote
FarmerFixEmUp Posted September 3 Posted September 3 7 minutes ago, snoshoe said: Yup 4 bolts. Thank you Seems like 3 bolts were mainly on wide front rear support ball pivot. Photo "borrowed" from All States AG Parts which seems to be the only way to have pictures. Now you can sleep. 😊 Quote
stronger800 Posted September 3 Posted September 3 that one there would be the common one up front that bolts to the removable cross piece axle support thing, the one they were thinking of above, is where a Hi Clear would mount, to the rear of the bell housing right? Quote
1967806 Posted September 4 Posted September 4 That makes sense now about that MFD bracket. I suspect the dowel hole could have just been a locating point for machining fixtures. I sure would like to have been able to stand there and watch all the machining process happen on the TA housing and rear end housings when they were being built. On the Deere side, my son in laws grandfather retired from deere in waterloo several years ago. He was a production machinist. I had a pretty good talk with him about that stuff one day. He told me one of the stations he worked at was machining the lifter bores in the 5020 engines. Another one of the places he worked in was where they machined the transfer case/housing/whatever you want to call it on the 7520 articulated 4WD's. He said it was about an 8 hour process to get one all machined properly back in the day. Just thinking just for the housing, then all the hours to cast/forge/cut/machine all the internal parts. Tons of hours in that stuff. Quote
HydroTek Posted September 4 Posted September 4 Made a few trips over to the Louisville plant to see the different machines at work over the years Pretty cool stuff to learn about I think last time was for the '50 series drive train was a new machining setup only 4 guys running it Raw housing on one side of a "U" shape and finished on the other side lots of surface cutting , drilling, and tapping in the big "U" Stamping crankshafts on that huge press in the other building the whole floor shook as the press dies came together 4 big bolts holding the press together -- about 60 feet vertical -- they said just as much in the ground Big flywheel and camshaft at the top that moved the die up and down Quote
snoshoe Posted September 4 Posted September 4 Machining setup sounds like what I saw at Rock Island. Last saw it at Racine machining housings for magnums. Quote
HydroTek Posted September 4 Posted September 4 58 minutes ago, snoshoe said: Machining setup sounds like what I saw at Rock Island. Last saw it at Racine machining housings for magnums. Only went to Rock Island a couple of times Been to Racine several times also -- some cool machining centers there You ever get to goto Burr Ridge ? Quote
snoshoe Posted September 4 Posted September 4 1 hour ago, HydroTek said: You ever get to goto Burr Ridge No Quote
FarmerFixEmUp Posted September 4 Posted September 4 I had to go to Racine several times for tractors I'd never seen before. 94 series. and 4wd. Best thing about it was in the summer the Union Grove raceway was just 10 miles down the road. They were open every night. https://www.greatlakesdragaway.com/ Quote
ComancheStarFarms Posted September 7 Author Posted September 7 On 9/2/2026 at 6:59 PM, snoshoe said: Pull the plug out and behold a threaded hole. You are correct. Any idea why one casting threaded hole out of dozens on the tractor has a plug & none of the others have anything - - other than mud dabbers? Thanks for the help! 1 Quote
Matt Kirsch Posted September 7 Posted September 7 11 hours ago, ComancheStarFarms said: You are correct. Any idea why one casting threaded hole out of dozens on the tractor has a plug & none of the others have anything - - other than mud dabbers? Thanks for the help! All the others fell out/were removed over the last 55 years? 1 Quote
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