806 vs 856

I am needing another 100+ hp tractor. Kind of thinking of 856.Now the 'question'. How do the two compare in work output? anyone have both?I have an 806 with a stuck engine. If OHed would it be close enough to an 856 to be that "100 horse"?Or should I just look for an 856? BTW,any one of 1206,(another)1256,or 1456 would be satisfactory as well.I need to 'replace'/retire the turbo 706 before it melts down. 75 horse turned up to 95 /100 horse. lots of power,but gets hot real easy,so I cant really utilize the power.The '7' is kind of a 'pet' so it wont leave.Thanks,Steve

haven't owned either one but an overhaul might be cheaper. HP may be a little better on the 856 but I don't know how that translates to putting power on the ground and getting the work done.

Heard the. 806 engines were hard to rebuild but don't know reason. We have 1086 wich has been good and they are not that popular of model so might be cheap horsepower option

(quoted from post at 22:02:25 10/20/15) I am needing another 100+ hp tractor. Kind of thinking of 856.Now the 'question'. How do the two compare in work output? anyone have both?I have an 806 with a stuck engine. If OHed would it be close enough to an 856 to be that "100 horse"?Or should I just look for an 856? BTW,any one of 1206,(another)1256,or 1456 would be satisfactory as well.I need to 'replace'/retire the turbo 706 before it melts down. 75 horse turned up to 95 /100 horse. lots of power,but gets hot real easy,so I cant really utilize the power.The '7' is kind of a 'pet' so it wont leave.Thanks,Steve

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It all comes down to what you really want.
I've had both. I still have my 856. I happen to think that both the 361 & the 407, in their naturally aspirated state were the best IH ever made.Almost bulletproof. Locally there are 856's available for 5k & up. The 806's arent that far behind. If the tractors are in comparable condition, the 856 is noticeably more powerful. Then there's the newer style shifting, which I much prefer. How nice is the rest of your stuck" 806? Maybe the replacement can use your existing tires. rims.weights.3 pt. & pto even. I would expect a shop performed overhaul to run close to 5k. It still boils down to what you want,

By the way, I've followed your posts enough to have seen the models you've been running. If you get a good 856,
you'll love it.

I'd rather have an 856.Had one years ago(so did my brother).Good tractors! I 'found' an average/slightly below average 856 for
5000,and another with a "knocking" motor for 3500. I can make myself a pretty good 806 for that 5000.I'll do all the labor.Not
sure if I want to 'work' that hard! LOL I'm thinking I should just look more closly at the 806....It is stuck because the prior
owner left the muffler off in a rain storm.I bought it for $1000,just for the rims,tires,wheels. the starter and gen were
already gone.Tractor shows 9500 hrs,PO said everything worked as it should,even the TA.Biggest issue is money.I dont have any!

I guess when I think of 100+ hp tractors I think of 100 hp at the drawbar. Neither the 806 or 856 have that. As mentioned below a 1086/1066 or a 986/966 (a little less than 100 hp at the drawbar) would be a better tractor for heavy field work.


An 806 is nearly the equivelent of a 856. An 806 with a fresh OH would probably have (much?) more power than the average or above average 856 with thousands of hours on it.

Well from my stand point the 856 has a bit more then a stock 806 , a better shift with the new style shifter . For me i like my ratty old 806 as there is some sentimental value to them as i got to drive and run the vary first two sold around here back in Sept of 63 . The man i worked for bought the first one two days before it went on display at the fair and the following weekend my uncle bought the second one that hit my county and it was the first tractor able to handle the John Bean 2 row tater harvester by it's self in our humps and bumps . The man i worked for liked the first one so well that he bought a second one and twenty some years ago i bought 806 # 2 off his farm . But like all the tractors i have had that i wanted to keep i fixed it up like new with a super paint job and all new decals and someone just had to have it and i liked the color of there money . same as 706's in 65 my uncle bought a new 706 D and he had it for not quite a year when someone wanted it worse then he did and it was stolen never to be found . I liked that tractor and i spent may hours on it planting taters and cultivating them . Here again i have had i do not know how many 706's that i have bought fixed and sold . Now IF and again i said IF i could afford a 1206 or a 1256 then i would rebuild the 806 and step up to a few more ponys and for your 706 with the hair dryer on it i would turn the wick back to around 80-85 horse and RUN IT . But you are the one that has to live with your choice . I am not a used car salesman and try and push anyone into something that will not work for them as i do not know your operation and your NEEDS.

What do you consider an average or slightly below average? Is it that way cosmetically or mechanically? I think I would shy away from the knocking one.361 and 407 are both expensive to OH but are both good motors, so it wouldn't matter if you rebuilt either one. The only thing is you already have the 806. The one for $5000 could possibly be the winner if you decide for an 856. An overhaul on an 806 done correctly will probably cost that much. Has anything else been done to the 806? Has it been OH'D before or is this the first time? TA and clutch? All adds up to more money once you get inside. Plus it is already missing parts. It's always easier to spend someone else's money though. LOL.

Both are very good tractors so either way you go I think you would be fine. Here an 806 or 856 will pull the same implements comparatively. From what I remember 806 is 94 hp and 856 100 hp.

I have an 856 with a M&W Turbo on it. Just do hay work with it, but I really love the tractor. It was OH'D around 4500 hours or so by the previous owner. It just turned over 9000 hours recently. Does what I want it to do, so it works for me. Best of luck to you in whatever you decide.

Doing a overhaul on a 806 will get into your piggy bank if ya want it done correctly as they can be a bit touchy if you do not build the short block the right way and they can blow as one guy found out the hard way because he did not want o pay someone so he rebuilt it and the first engine lasted like five hours when it blew and the next one lasted him like ten of fifteen hours when it coughed a rod out the side of the block . He blew up not to or three but FIVE engines then he came to me and said he had had enough and said to build him and engine . Last time i saw him was maybe ten years ago and asked him how the old 806 was and he said use it everyday it's just fine . At that time it had about fifteen years on the rebuild and that tractor runs everyday 7 days a week grinding feed mixing feed and hauling Political promises .

Our field tractors were an 856 and a 966. We always thought the 856 had more guts than the 966. It may have been that ours was a wheatland without anything but two remotes. The 966 had a loader so I think the weight and hydraulic needs may have bogged it down. The 856 was purchased new. The 966 was about three years old when we got it.

We eventually traded the 56 for a nearly new 1086. We used the same implements and didn't see that the 10 had any advantage other than duals(and that heavenly cab). Someday I will get an 856 as a cabless chore tractor. It would be great for it due to its small size but power. Hard to believe an 856 is on the small side now.

Get a 1066

Delta what elevation are you at? The 806-856 were tested at maybe 1200 feet elevation and they are non turboed as you already know. How much horsepower loss is there at higher elevations? The combines we ran with 8.3 Cummins in them would smoke like crazy at 5000 feet elevation when we kicked in the separator with the engine throttled down and below the turbo. Back here in Iowa the same combines barely showed smoke. Just thinking out.