Farmall M and H Hours Between Rebuild???

Back in the day when tillage was king, how many hours would the Farmall M and H - 4 cylinder engines go between rebuilds?

I am guessing, but 2500 hours.

Had a 52 Super M LP. It worked 1/2 section but spent majority of the time on a corn sheller, estimated 500/700 hrs a year. Overhauled it in 62 because it was getting weak only to find it was the screen in the oil bath air cleaner was plugged with corn chaff

With recommended oil changes, coolant and lubrication, as well as cleaning the air filtration system. Probably 3000 to 3500 hrs. That tractor today, used in the same way, might go 5000 or more because of unleaded fuel, and way better oils. Jim

Some of the M and Super M's diesel's never been overhauled !

My dad bought a S MD in the fall of 1952, it was overhauled at 6000 hours, engine, trans and diff. It hasn't worked for nearly 40 years and is stored, but the clock now has 18000, it was never opened up again.

And fuel injection.

Rebuilt a S/MTA for a guy that bought it new the year he got out of high school and it was the BIG tractor and it did all the heavy field work on the home farm of a 170 acres and the first time it was opened up was in 88-or89 when we did a rebuild . at the time i had to find ORG. pistons for it as he did not want step heads as it was good enough the way it was . I tried to get him to go 4 1/8th BUY NO . Then ten years later he bought a second S/MTA and a second set of John deer plows like he pulled for all them years so his two boys could plow together . Well the new to him Mta would run circles around the first one and he calls me to come and TUNE the old one up as it must need a TUNE UP . So we TUNED IT up with him hovering over my shoulderand reading the book just to make sure i was doing it correctly , well we found a small problem with the gov. and took care of that rebuilt the carb and did a valve adjustment did the upgrade to the dist. and when done Mta #2 would still out perform Mta#1. When he asked WHY i pulled a spark plug out of both and showed him thru the plug hole WHY the New to them Mta. would run around Mta #1 < and i ge OH , maybe i should have listened to you when we did the rebuild . Now as to hours here i have no clue as MOST do not have Hour meters . They just run YEARS due to the slow turning big bore and LONG stroke , those who did there maintenance on time and ran the good oils of the time got YEARS AND YEARS out of and engine . Now today engine life can go for a long time or they can only live a short life . I have seen 806's go close to 20000hrs. and some not make 4000 hours, My 806 is pushing 10000 hours and has never had the head off that i can tell and with and early D361 you can tell real fast it that head has been off by the head bolts , when i did the valve adjustment and that was back in like god 92 the valve cover gskt was ORG. ( i can't believe i have had that tractor that long) and it has just a slight hint of blow by .

Dad's old '51 M out in the shop has had the engine rebuilt twice. Local IH company Store in East Moline sent a salesman around neighborhoods one fall mid to late 1950's looking for shop work. Tractor got 4 inch bore 5000 ft high altitude pistons. They had a flat topped step on them, not as high as a Fire Crater, but still made 48 hp on the dyno after a tune-up went the SMTA only made 47. Last overhaul in mid to late 1960's was with 4 inch M&W Add Po'wer sleeves/pistons. It was #1 chore tractor, picker tractor, loader tractor, #2 fieldwork tractor, pulled the planter until 1968 when Dad traded the '39 H for the '54 Super H. It ground the whole crib of corn every winter for cattle feed, 8000-10,000 bushel.

Then the '54 Super H has about 2200 hours on it since early May 1969, year after we got it. I suspect it has around 3000-3500 hours, maybe 4000. Neither the head or oil pan has ever been off that engine. Dad and I installed a tach hour meter speedometer off a 300/350 rowcrop on it May of '69 so I know the hours on it since then are accurate. Guy that owned it the longest bought a 300 Rowcrop a year after he got this Super H so he could pull his new loaded IH corn planter that the SH struggled with. So I'm sure it didn't get used a lot, he traded it for a brand new 756 diesel.

Thousands of hours.....I overhauled my SM in 1980. Used it (often pulled the snot of it) every year since.Still uses no oil and pulls like a locomotive...No telling how many thousand(20,000?) hours it has.