Farmall H Rear Axle Disassembly

When I initially faced this procedure, I did a minimal search and didn't turn anything up. I shot the general steps of disassembly and am posting the pictures here in the hopes this will be helpful for those facing this relatively simple procedure in the future.

I would add that the size of the bolt that needs to be removed from the inside of the axle, if I remember correctly, is 1".

I was lucky in that I was able to get the first axle out with a few strong tugs. The second had to be started out with an 8" tower jack placed between the opposite enclosure wall and the inner end of the axle. Once it was nudged a little bit, I was able to use a block of wood (to protect the end of the axle) and a hammer to tap it the rest of the way out. If I'd had to press the first axle out, I would not have had very much room to fit any kind of jack in there. I know there are specialty hydraulic tools designed for this type of application that are about 2" high but the whole rig to drive those appears to be pretty expensive. If anyone has any less expensive tricks for getting a tight first-axle removal going, I'm all ears.

Obviously I removed the wheels before I even began this procedure. To anyone facing that job for the first time, I would strongly recommend having an engine hoist to help balance and lower the rims and the centers down to the ground, where you can roll them away. My tires were (surprisingly) not fluid filled so, they did not weigh the anticipated 400 (or whatever) pounds. The centers felt like they were over 100 pounds so, it's a good idea to have the hoist manage those to the ground.

I don't know how all the search characteristics of this website work but, in case someone is searching on other phrases, I'll include some alternatives here:

Farmall H rear seal replacement
Farmall H rear bearing replacement
Farmall H rear axle cap removal
Farmall H bull gear removal

Hope this helps.

Still learning how to upload multiple images with this website so, I'll put them as replies here.

Removal of the cap with a 9/16"

The axle and outer bearing coming out of the housing.

The axle and outer race, just before the axle is pulled.

Removing the innner race 'keeper' plate with a 5/8"

The bull gear off the axle, resting on the bottom of the enclosure.

The bolt on the inner end of the axle - I believe it is 1".

The bull gears.

The cap pulled back, revealing the seal and the outer race.

Using a crank and extensions to quickly remove the 9/16" bolts of the cap.

Breaking loose the 9/16" bolts of the cap.

The axle with the wheel removed, ready for disassembly.

Why did you do it the hard way?

You aren't the first one to be in there, see that welded brake pinion housing on the left.

Thanks for the pictures and the information. What were you going after when you started the tear down?

This was a very useful post, thanks for your hard work for our benefit.

I'm getting ready to do the same thing as part of a total rebuild. One of the members here has some nice pictures on his website of similar work - thefarmallh.com.

I do have a question though regarding the bull gears. Is it necessary to mark them in any way to put them back on the axle shafts the same way they came off, or does that not matter? I would guess that given the age of these tractors, the gears are probably not on the shaft as they were from the factory anyway but I wanted to check.

thanks again for this info!

--b

Hoping it doesn't matter as I didn't mark them. I hope others will confirm or correct this.

I needed to replace the bearings - both inner races had lost balls.

Cuby: I am about to do the same thing. I need to change all the gears from one Farmall H into another as one has a broken housing under right bull gear and too big of damaged area to weld up. I have a donate H with good housing but bad transmission. Now your comment here is (Why did you do it the hard way) Is there an easy way? As I have two to take apart I am open for any good ideas. All good advice would be a great help. Thank you and to all.

Well I had heard of going through the PTO opening but since I had zero experience having any type of access to this enclosure, I thought the complete disassembly would be the most educational. I've also heard, with that method, the maneuvering of the parts in the enclosure is pretty tight and I thought it would exceed my abilities. If anyone attempts that method, it would be super useful to get images and a report of how it was done. I'll hope to follow this procedure up with a report on the assembly.

Good eye - I hadn't even noticed that. From what I've seen, the gears look OK - that was what I was focused on.

The bull gears can be swapped side to side if there is a lot of wear on the faces of the gear teeth. Best to also swap bull pinions also if you swap the bull gears.