1942 Farmall H Memorial Project Update

Ken Christopherson

Well-known Member
Hello all and Merry Christmas Eve-Eve! I figured I would give you a brief update on the 1942 Farmall H memorial restoration for suicide
awareness. Over the past week, we were able to go down to my cousin's shop and send every internal transmission piece through his high
pressure steam-washing bay, the parts washer, and the high temp rotisserie cabinet. Looks like we are in need of a lot of bearings for the
rear section, and am currently working with my bearing supplier (Case IH wants nearly $1200 for all of them).

We also were able to blast all of the PTO components, install all new bearings, felts, and seals, and reassemble. Everything there is like
new. Last, we completely disassembled the belt pulley drive and it is a good thing we did. Man, the sludge that is in there is like malt o
meal hot cereal! A good cleaning, and that should be ready to reassemble with new gaskets and seals as the bearings look to be in real nice
shape.

Attached is a video of the PTO and Belt Pulley work, for those of you who would like to tackle these projects on your own. It really was
not too bad at all (of course, I have the entire H laying on the floor in pieces). I hope you all enjoy, and have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.
If you can, don't forget to visit the fundraiser for the project. Check out the GoFundMe link in the reply below. Thanks, and happy
wrenching!

P.S. The earlier PTO assemblies with the large sealing ring around the housing - these are no longer available and you can either do one of
two things: 1) Reuse the old sealing ring, with a little RTV for extra security. Or 2) Try to locate an O-Ring of similar size. I am opting
to do method #1 as my sealing ring is still very nice.
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1942 Farmall H PTO & Belt Pulley
 
Remember that when ball bearings are cheaper they are usually a ball short. Had my bearing place explain to me when I priced bearings. Size specs are the same, but load specs are less with fewer balls.
 
Bearing technology today is so superior to 60 years ago that I would not worry about 1 less ball. I've used the ones with 1 less ball for years with no problems. IMO
 
I'm looking at a number of new bearings for the rear. Many are still good, but a few need replacing. For the brake pinion bearings I am looking at replacing the originals which are ST201 13-ball (crosses to a SKF 209-J, 14-ball) bearings with 6209-J bearings which are 12 ball. I don't suspect this tractor's brakes will be put under that much stress to make a difference. It won't be hauling huge wagonloads of silage, plus the 6209-J bearings are about half the price. They use them on the transfer cases of Chevy Tahoe/Suburban, etc. I believe.
 
I have watched all of your vids on this H rebuild. I have enjoyed them all immensely. Keep up the good work.

One fewer ball isn t going to hurt a thing on your tractor. Modern lubricants are so much better than what these tractors had originally a new bearing will last forever with the light use it will see. Unless you plan on working this tractor in the fields 10 hours a day for the next 30 years, the replacements from the bearing supply warehouse will be fine and probably cost 1/4 of the IH bearings.
 
Thanks for the tip - I was kind of on that assumption. Not only are the lubricants far superior, but I would have to assume that the metal
technology is far superior than what it was in those days. I've ordered a number of bearings already, and I believe that most others are in
real nice shape so I will be reusing them.

Thanks again for the input, and I hope you stay tuned!
 
Ken, you're doing a great job on your project! Just a heads up on bearings, look on eBay. I buy most of my bearings for old stuff on there. I don't want Chinese or Mexican Timkens, I want USA bearings, and there is always a ton of NOS bearings on there. I always make sure that it's an actual picture of the bearing they're selling and that I can see on the bearing where it says USA. Sure the boxes might look like crap, but you're using the bearing, not the box. I bought all NOS bearings through eBay for my Silver King trans, final drives and differential. Probably 20 bearings, many bigger ones, most are NOS New Departure, the rest are USA Timken and USA SKF. Probably have $275 in the 20 or so bearings/races I bought. All brand new, aside from being 50 years old or whatever, all US made. Another example, I needed new crankshaft main bearings for my F20. I bought 2 NOS Timkens off eBay, sold as a pair, for $3.50 with $5 shipping. The cheap foreign replacements for those is about $50 or $75. Found a USA SKF for the rear bearing on the F20, and that is about a 6" or so bearing, really big. Got it for $30 and free shipping.
Just a heads up for the future. Keep up the good work!

Ross
 
Thanks for the tip, and I did the same as you. I searched many avenues on eBay, and did end up getting a few bearings from their that were NOS. One was the inner axle bearing! Most others I was able to get through my local supplier for a very decent price.

When it comes to the F20 main bearings, I know exactly the ones you are referring to. (Have a '38 F20 myself). Did you know that IHC originally warrantied these mains for life to the original owner! (Or at least that is what I had read somewhere).

Again, thanks for the tip and we are waiting for the final few bearings to arrive in the mail. From there, I have to clean up the belt pulley assembly and reassemble that... Then it is off to sandblast & prime for most everything. I feel the home stretch is fast approaching!
 

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