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I have a standard Farmall M that needs new brake bands and also needs seals on the brake shafts. As most of you know from previous posts I am not a mechanic.
But I have successfully completed several projects recently. I have no idea about replacing seals. Does the deck need to come off and do I need to take the
transmission apart? Do the brake shafts just slide out? Depending on the transmission work, I may or may not attempt to do this. This tractor also has an M
& W hand clutch which complicates things somewhat. Thanks, Ellis

I've never changed one on an M with an M&W clutch, but typically, I pull the brake cover/band off, remove the brake drum, and then pull old seals out which can be a chore if they are stuck. Drive new seals in carefully around the shaft, reinstall brake drum, brake cover/band and then you are good to go.
Sometimes I will repair the brake drum by turning it down and putting a repair sleeve on it if it has a deep groove in it.
The hardest part is typically getting the old seals out. Most people put two new style seals in place of the one old style (thick) seal.

Thanks for the easy to understand instructions. Ellis

(quoted from post at 10:59:02 02/10/20) I have a standard Farmall M that needs new brake bands and also needs seals on the brake shafts. As most of you know from previous posts I am not a mechanic.
But I have successfully completed several projects recently. I have no idea about replacing seals. Does the deck need to come off and do I need to take the
transmission apart? Do the brake shafts just slide out? Depending on the transmission work, I may or may not attempt to do this. This tractor also has an M
& W hand clutch which complicates things somewhat. Thanks, Ellis

Click to expand...

Get a book for the M&W from Ste*ner. There is a seal in the clutch you will need to replace also.

I cannot chime in on the M&W hand clutch as I have no experience, but the standard brake seals can be a little tricky, sometimes. Most methods I have seen without disassembling the transmission involve using sheet metal screws ran into the seal face in 3-4 locations to act as a 'puller'. Essentially, you drill a few small pilot holes in opposing corners, and use some long sheet metal screws to thread into the holes and push against the pinion carrier casing behind the seal. Tighten them gradually to pull evenly on the seal. The pinion shafts must be removed from the inside of the transmission, not the outside... So this method would require removal of the top cover.

Also, IF you are going to remove the top cover and remove the pinion shafts, you must remove the axles and bull gears prior to doing so. If you are going to go this far, you might as well check your bearings throughout (especially your inner axle bearings). From here, you can pull the pinion carriers and just drive the seals out from the inside to make life real easy on you (although it may have been a tough road to get this far).

Depending on how long the brake drums have been on the pinion shafts, they may slide right off, or they may require a large 2-jaw puller. My H's slid right off without issue.

I have a teardown series on a project I am currently working on (1942 Farmall H for Suicide Awareness)? It details nearly every step of tearing the transmission apart. The H and M are nearly identical, with the exception of your M&W hand clutch. Link is below for the transmission section (parts 1-3).
Farmall H Transmission Teardown

Ellis, do you have a copy of an M&W manual for a live PTO? I can make a copy of mine and send you. Robert

I would definitely not remove all these items to replace just those seals, but if I was doing a total teardown and rebuild, then yes I would.

I have changed a lot of those seals in the way that I described and it was not nearly as much work as removing the top cover alone, never mind pulling axles housings and pinion housings. The first seal is the hardest and then you learn what works for you.

As I said, if you need to do a full teardown of the rear end, then that is the way to do it, but I would definitely not do that just to replace brake seals.

I'll do it like you described in your first post. I'll borrow an auto body dent puller from my buddy to get the seals out. I just watched a wrenching with
Rachael video where that little girl does a brake job on an H Farmall. I think what will really slow me down is disassembling the M & W hand clutch. Ellis