# New Tractor Owner IH 656G



## Jonota (Mar 13, 2011)

Hello All! After waiting around for a bit, I finally purchased my first tractor. It's a late 60's IH 656 gasser w/ hydro trans. It came with an IH 2001 loader that has effectively converted to a 2000 (single tilt cylinder was disconnected, dual cylinders added on the outside). It was "supposed" to come with a bale spear setup for the loader, but it appears that the auction house "accidentally" sold it seperately (awaiting resolution on that). It's probably a bit more tractor than I needed, but I'm liking it already.
I had a few questions to pose from my first bit operating it. The first is that most of the gauges do not work. Are these gauges easy to repair (I'm an experience car mechanic), or are parts hard to come by (I prefer OEM style replacement if possible)? 
Second was an interesting steering quirk. The leftward turn works like a charm. Quick to respond, stops where I stop wheel movement, and "locks" on full turnout. The rightward turn is a different story. I can freewheel the steering rightward and it won't reach a stop. If I turn the wheel "slowly" rightward, it will barely respond. If I quickly turn the wheel rightward, it will respond quickly, but if I stop moving the wheel, it will "drift" back to center.
Third was leaks. I'm FULLY aware that old tractors will have leaks, but how much is too much to "live with". I note a valve cover leak on the engine (and somewhere else I believe that appears to be in the column area), and a rear axle leak somewhere.
The last was concerning 3-pt operations. I have previously used a Kubota w/ a rotary tiller, and seemed to get deeper with the tiller than I did w/ the IH. Should I suspect a 3pt issue? Will a normal 3-pt actually put down pressure on an implement? 
All that said, and asked, I'm a newbie, so please go lightly if I'm missing something obvious! I try to be a quick learner!

Jon


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

Welcome to the forum Jon! First bit of business will be to get a manual for it!


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## caseman-d (Nov 29, 2003)

First is check the hydraulic oil, if it's milky get rid if it and also change filter. Do not use anything but hytran. Others oils will foam and cause hydraulic failure along with transmission problems. This maybe a reason for your steering problem. Have had customers complaining they were having pump problems. Told them I would be glade to sell them 1500.00 in pumps or thy could buy 300.00 of oil and a filter. Cured his problems without buying new reman pumps.
caseman-d


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## Jonota (Mar 13, 2011)

Hmm... I had already picked up a big jug of "303" transmission/hydraulic fluid? This is what I got:
Country Tuff Premium "303" Tractor Hydraulic & Transmission Fluid, 5 Gal

If this stuff is no good, then I can still take it back. If so, where's the best place to get the Hytran from? And filters? The manuals? Parts in general: there are several I'm sure I'm going to want to replace.

I used the tractor for about an hour yesterday, to move some manure and dirt. Everything worked the same as before, and my leaks seem to have gotten better (it had been sitting for 6-7months before I purchased).


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## caseman-d (Nov 29, 2003)

If it was my tractor I would use the hytran or if a new holland dealer may carry master tran. Same stuff, when Case and NH got into bed together they couldn't have the same stuff. Hydro transmission is a great trany. High price to repair. Don't skimp on filters and oil. You should have 2 filters. A hydro filter and a hydraulic filter. You can go to cnh.com or caseih.com and get into a parts manual. Most Napa's, carquest, or other auto parts store should be able to get filters. Since you have to go to a CNH dealer to get hytran you may just want to get the filters from them. Hope this helps. I have several stories where people came to the parts counter and wanted to buy hydraulic pumps. First question I ask them is what type of oil? Most times they don't need new pumps.
caseman-d


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

On that steering issue, does the unit have a full hydro steering with a hydraulic cylinder under the front end moving the drag links, or does it have a hydro assist gearbox under the hood? If it is a cylinder, I'd check the o-rings on the plunger inside. I had a garden tractor at work with the exact same issue and it ended up that his o-ring had gotten worn and was passing fluid in one direction but not the other. The Case IH 7220 they had at the Tech college I went to had the same issue, you had to keep slowly turning the wheel right to keep it going straight. That was also bad o-rings in the hydraulic rams up front. If it is a hydro assist gearbox, there could be o-rings or seals leaking internally. Seeing as you mention a leak under the column, I'd bet there is a bad seal under there.

As for the gauges, they should be as simple as unbolting the old ones and bolting in new. You should be able to either pull off the panel they mount to, or remove the hood to get to the back side of the dash panel. Before you replace the gauges, check to be sure that the wiring isn't the fault. Also, for the TEMP gauge, most of the early ones like yours were a thin copper tube connected to the gauge and running to the threaded insert that bolts into the block. If that tube springs a leak, the gauge will be junk. That tube is filled with a gas (ether I think) that operates the gauge. There is no way to fix it if it leaks. You can get the gauges from a dealer, or from a junkyard like this.

The 3-point has no down pressure at all. It does transfer draft from the connected implement to the rear tires for better traction (mainly for plowing), but the arms simply free-fall when you lower them. You can lift the arms up by hand if you have them lowered to the ground. I'd imagine that the Kubota that you used before was closer to the ground than the IH is, and the arms simply don't travel downward as much as they did. Make sure you have the draft control lever down all the way when you are tilling to allow the arms to fall completely. I have to do that on my IH 574 when using the grader blade or bale spear on the 3-point.

I agree with caseman-d about using HyTran only in the hydraulic system. You can get it from a Case IH dealer.

Hope you enjoy using your new tractor!


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