International 404 Tach cable

Please forgive this simple question but can you get the Tach cable off the drive without removing the distributor on an IH 404.

My tach is not working and was thinking of taking the cable off and spinning it to see if its the tach itself is bad. Or is there a simpler way of testing out the tach.

Also is there a manual out there that covers the wiring and tach and stuff. I do have a Service Manual but it does not cover this.
thanks

Have you tried loosening the knurled nut the holds the tach cable assembly to the drive housing adapter in the distributor?

<img src = "http://cnh-b2b.ptcmanaged.com/index.php/sbsimage/CSIH/default/337615.png">

(quoted from post at 14:59:29 01/06/19) Have you tried loosening the knurled nut the holds the tach cable assembly to the drive housing adapter in the distributor?

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Yes I have but I also have a loader on the tractor so space is pretty tight and I didn't want to just yank on it and then find out I had to take the distributor off. it didn't appear that the knurled end would pull back up the cable.

Yes, just unscrew the knurled nut and the forward end of reference numbers 2 and 3 will just slide out of the number 7 housing. The problem I ran into is getting number 7 out of the casting as it seems stuck in place. Usually the part that fails is the number 10 in Bob's diagram he posted which is what I am trying to get to and it being stuck in the housing is holding me up. I should mention I have a Farmall 240 but think they are identical in parts and functionality in this area. I am unaware of any manual that deals directly with the tachometer and it's components. As far a something with a wiring diagram the best I could find and used when I restored my Farmall 240 was the TC-53 IH Parts Catalog which are easily found on this site or Binder Books (your 404 is a later, improved and updated tractor very similar to my 240) but will have a different Parts Catalog. I obtained my wire harnesses from Porch Electric and they identified each wire harness with plenty of information as to part number and location. The noted IH Parts Catalog with some effort and time shows the routing of each harness along with the clamping part numbers and location for routing the individual wire harnesses. HTF, Hal.

Thank you, that's was what I was thinking also, if my drive is bad I will then worry about pulling the distributor and hope I have better luck in getting the housing apart.

My thinking at this time is to fabricate a metallic piece with the same threads as the stuck reference no. 7 connection housing and making a
simple slide hammer to break the housing loose from the casting. I think there is plenty room to do what needs to be done without removing
the distributor which I am also trying to work around with the slide hammer solution. I am contacting a person that has a tremendous amount
of knowledge on these IH tractors to see it he thinks that is a proper solution with the expectation he will even have a better or simpler
one. My email is open and I will be happy to provide information on anything I find that will assist us with a solution if you care to
discuss this offline, Hal.

Yes I would be very interested in what you find out. Thanks again for your help

Cable just screws off the little housing on top in picture. Sometimes if the cable twisted off it could be stuck in the gear. To remove the drive gear and housing take the 2 little screws out in the thin steel ring and slide housing and gear out. Usually slides out pretty easy. Little steel piece goes in housing slot and grove in the drive gear shaft. Small gasket is used at the housing flange to seal. Distributor doesn't need removed. Lower one in picture was a previous drive housing and gear than the 404.

(quoted from post at 10:00:40 01/07/19) Cable just screws off the little housing on top in picture. Sometimes if the cable twisted off it could be stuck in the gear. To remove the drive gear and housing take the 2 little screws out in the thin steel ring and slide housing and gear out. Usually slides out pretty easy. Little steel piece goes in housing slot and grove in the drive gear shaft. Small gasket is used at the housing flange to seal. Distributor doesn't need removed. Lower one in picture was a previous drive housing and gear than the 404.
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Thanks D Slater, That is the information I was looking for and thanks for the pictures. My 404 starts and runs so nice I didn't look forward to messing with the distributor.

I changed my tachometer toothed drive gear Ref #10 out today with little difficulty except for getting the small screw started on the back
side next to the engine block for the clamp which is noted as Ref #6 in the parts diagram provided by Bob. Hope someone in your family has
small hands to get it started as it is certainly tight and working somewhat blind. Certainly not necessary to remove distributor as noted
by D Slater. To free up my connector housing Ref #7 for removal I had an old tach cable assembly which had a hex nut with the correct
threads that I cut off and screwed onto the housing. I then turned the nut with an open end wrench tight against the housing and it broke
free. I then removed the nut while holding the housing (wrapped with a strip of paper towel so as not to damage the threads) from turning
with a small narrow pair of pliers. I then had everything apart and installed the new toothed gear which is just like the one pictured in
the upper photo that D Slater attached to this thread. I closed it back up and spent quite a bit of time getting the screw noted above
started due to the congested area along with my stubby fingers. After seeing the removed toothed gear I removed it is quite obvious why my
tachometer wasn't working and feel this fixed my tachometer problem.
The nut I used to turn the connection housing has non-standard threads (not coarse or fine) and something different but certainly 7/8" in
diameter as I checked at the hardware store and neither was the correct thread count or pitch. Hope this helps and thanks for your thread
as this is something I needed to accomplish on my Farmall 240 and it inspired me to get it handled. Hope my involvement in this matter has
been of an assistance to you with your issues, Hal.