IH 966 hydraulic problems

kv1370

New User
Hello all,
I need help with an IH 966 tractor. It belonged to my Dad, who recently passed away. I want to sell the tractor but am concerned it has something wrong with the hydraulics. The tractor has a loader on it and recently I noticed that the bucket seems to move up and down slower than it should. Also, if I push the bucket all the way down, it won't lift the front of the tractor and I'm almost sure it used to. A neighbor is telling me that the hydraulic pump is going out and that the tractor will need to be split to repair it. That sounds like the kind of repair that is much more complicated than I can handle so whatever is wrong with it will need to be repaired by whoever buys it. I am trying to determine how much a repair might cost, so I can price the tractor accordingly. What I need to know is, does my problem sound like the pump going out and does the repair require splitting the tractor? I don't live anywhere near a tractor repair shop, so am unable to take it in and have the flow and pressure tested. Is there some other way to rule out the pump as the problem? The cylinders on the loader leak so I was thinking that might be why it raises and lowers slowly. I hooked a post driver to it the other day and unplugged the remote hydraulic lines that control the tilt on the bucket. I couldn't get any of the hydraulic controls on the post driver to work, so again was wondering if my problem is the pump. The 3 point lifted the post driver just fine, but wouldn't drop it. Thanks in advance for the help
 

Yes, I checked the fluid level and it was fine. I also changed the filter. The oil that came out of the filter housing was darker than what was on the dipstick, but the filter didn't look particularly dirty.
 
Ah NO the tractor DOES NOT have to Split to replace the pump .But before you lay out money on a new pump it would be wise to have it flow rated to see if the GPM is where it should be and just how much pressure it is making . it may be a valve problem . If you do not want to sink money into something your going to sell then knock off 500 from the price and let the new owner deal with the problem . It takes about and hour or so to remove and replace a pump and get the oil back in it .
 
You can replace the hydralic pump with splitting.It's behind a 'plate' under the brake houseing on the left side.Before you
start replaceing parts,do a pressure check.Simple.Get a 3000 pound gauge.Attatch it to a shortlength of hydralic hose with a
coupler on it. Plug in to remote.'Deadhead' hydralics. watch gauge.A 966 should have about 2000 psi.
 
One little thing to check as this has happen to me.

Where is the draft control positioned?

If it all the way forward your hydraulics may be slow or not work at all. May not allow the 3 pt to lower as well.

Pull it back a ways if it is ahead all the way and try your hydraulics.

Gary
 
I'm not sure what you mean by deadhead. On the left side of the tractor, I saw something with several hydraulic lines going into it. From pictures on the internet, it looked like a MCV. Is the pump further toward the back of the tractor than that? Also, since the 3 point doesn't want to go down, would that sound more like a valve sticking? I will go buy a gauge tomorrow and check the pressure.
 
What you are looking at is the MCV and the pump you want is back past the steps down inft. of the rear axle housing , there are no lines on the outside as there are all passages built into the rear main casting . It would be in your best interest to have a person that knows how to test the system to see what is going on and if the pump does need replaced then have them do it .
 
to clarify iagary's comment- check your 3pt levers, there are two of them, the inside lever is the position control lever, and the outside lever is the draft control lever.

if the position control lever is all the way back, the hitch raises. push it forward to the offset in the aluminum quadrant, the hitch lowers all the way. continue pushing the lever forward (the quadrant is labeled "fast" and "slow" in this area, and draft response speed is adjusted. it also affects the remotes.

if the draft control lever is not all the way forward, it will not allow the hitch to drop all the way for above ground implements. that might be why your post pounder wouldn't drop.


to get a better field test for the system: put the draft control lever all the way forward, position control lever all the way back. the hitch should raise all the way. then test the loader hydraulics, both for speed and force.

when you use the pounder, again keep the draft control all the way forward, and only lower the position control as far as the offset. it should drop all the way.

if you do need to change the pump, it is not a big job. hardest part is finding enough clean buckets to drain all that oil. but keep in mind pumps do not wear all at once. so if this is a sudden change and there is no catastrophic failure, it is probably not the pump.
 

OK, I finally got back to the tractor today. The draft control lever was almost all the way back, so it is now all the way forward. When I pull the position control lever all the way back, the 3 point raises all the way. When I push it to the offset, it won't lower at all. If I get out of the tractor and push down on it with the lever at the offset, it will lower. It's almost like it's catching on something and once you get it started moving, then it will go down. I don't see anything it's hitting though. With the draft control lever still all the way forward, I worked through all my loader positions (tip all the way up, tip all the way down, raise up and lower down). It would do what I asked, but it seemed slow. I then removed each hose one at a time and replaced it with a pressure gauge. Each port registered 2,000 psi. After I had all 4 hoses back in their respective ports, I tried all the loader positions again and now the bucket tips up and down at the right speed but still raises slowly. The cylinders on the loader leak pretty badly. I don't know if my problem could have to do with the leaks or maybe the hose fittings are not fitting into the remotes properly.
 

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