New Farmall H Owner (Oil Leak)

I am new to owning farmall's and just bought a 1952 Farmall H. I noticed that it had a slow oil leak from just after the oil pan. There was a smaller pan with 2 bolts holding it on. I removed this and it was full of oil. When I look up from the bottom of the tractor I see what I think is the secondary driveshaft and the part of the transmission. This seems to be where my oil leak is coming from.

How hard is it to fix? Do I have to split the tractor? Can I fix from underneath? - I am pretty mechanically inclined but don't have the ability to split the tractor.

The belly pump can be lowered out of the tractor, leaving you with a big cavity to work in. You can change both front seals on the transmission, or any seal on the belly pump. If the leak is coming from the rear main engine seal, the tractor will need to be split because the flywheel will not come out through the bottom. But you CAN change the clutch.

(quoted from post at 12:58:48 11/09/22) I am new to owning farmall's and just bought a 1952 Farmall H. I noticed that it had a slow oil leak from just after the oil pan. There was a smaller pan with 2 bolts holding it on. I removed this and it was full of oil. When I look up from the bottom of the tractor I see what I think is the secondary driveshaft and the part of the transmission. This seems to be where my oil leak is coming from.

How hard is it to fix? Do I have to split the tractor? Can I fix from underneath? - I am pretty mechanically inclined but don't have the ability to split the tractor.

Click to expand...

Clean off all the old oil and grime first to determine if the oil from the engine, which will be black and dirty looking or if it is from the hydraulic pump which will be muck cleaner looking....

(quoted from post at 06:47:29 11/09/22)

(quoted from post at 12:58:48 11/09/22) I am new to owning farmall's and just bought a 1952 Farmall H. I noticed that it had a slow oil leak from just after the oil pan. There was a smaller pan with 2 bolts holding it on. I removed this and it was full of oil. When I look up from the bottom of the tractor I see what I think is the secondary driveshaft and the part of the transmission. This seems to be where my oil leak is coming from.

How hard is it to fix? Do I have to split the tractor? Can I fix from underneath? - I am pretty mechanically inclined but don't have the ability to split the tractor.

Click to expand...

Clean off all the old oil and grime first to determine if the oil from the engine, which will be black and dirty looking or if it is from the hydraulic pump which will be muck cleaner looking....

Click to expand...

So the oil is engine oil - it's definitely black - This is where I know the oil is leaking from somewhere in here. I get removing the belly pump? based on the pic is this where the real seals are located??

Engine oil is only coming from the rear main seal, or possibly a casting plug where the cam bores were milled. Both of these locations require a split to repair. The flywheel must be removed to access the rear main seal, as well as the oil pan. The same is true of the cam bore plug. The leak, if dripping every minute, or more when running will need to be fixed. Jim

Place a want ad in the classified section, more likely to get a response, and you can look there for possible combines. Transporting combines across country is costly beyond value in many cases. Shopping on local markets (like Craig's List) is also possible. Jim

Hello CdnFarmall welcome to YT! It looks like you may
have tried to post a picture. If you look at InjunToms
post the reply by JimME explains your problem,
essentially you need 5 posts to post the pictures. Then
if you look at the end of my reply there it gives some
instructions on how to post the pictures.

Thanks for the heads up, he should be able to post photos now.

I don't see any pictures, but if it is rear main then splitting is required. I would not let that scare me off assuming it is a good running tractor to begin with. It is not that difficult but needs to be done safely and there are people here who can explain what I mean. Make sure the engine is not stuck before you split. Check on parts before you split...price and availability are issues in today's world. Just a couple examples of the banana peels I slipped on doing my last project.

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice - I have finally posted a pictured... please confirm if as discussed and suspected that this is the rear seal area and I would be required to split the tractor.



The Tractor runs great for it's year and vintage - I am fairly mechanically competent... I've just never taken on a task like splitting a tractor before and would have to build some support structures to supportt he two halves in the shop... so the debate is - if for this kind of repair if it isn't cheaper to take into a Ag Garage specializing in Ag Equip repair.

But I do welcome, thoughts, advice, encouragement....

I suggest buying a service manual , cheaper than anything for us rookies .

It suggest procedures to follow ,you decide if your willing to undertake.

I suggest you measure crankshaft endplay , manual should explain how to measure. If it ok or not replace the front seal also while your in
there .

Measure everything you can while you have it apart .

This quest end up taking three to for times the time you envision. Just the facts .

Pressure test the coolant if you see any antifreeze in crankcase . Sleeve o rings may be leaking .

Good for you ,enjoy the repair , take you time .

A couple more thoughts. The two rear main seals I replaced I did so because a LOT of oil came out. I also have a SMTA with a rear main drip that has been fine for over 20 years and it works in the hayfields every year. I asked the guy about it when I bought it and he said it was easier to top it off regular than to split it. I would not pay someone to do that level of work on an H so if you do split it yourself, beware of while you are in there comments. Some have merit but many do not. Keep your eye on the job at hand. It is an old tractor and a common one. If it runs good now, I would not go looking for trouble. Fix the leak if it needs it and put it back together. My two cents...MANY will disagree. They all leak somewhere.

As said by Barnyard E.s post you do not have to split it
to change those seals. The Lift-All hydraulic unit in the
bottom of your picture towards the front of the tractor
can be lowered out. This requires removal of any pipes
or fittings sticking through the side of the casting to
outside of the tractor. Pull the cotter pins through the
collars around the shaft, slide the collars to the center
of the shaft and then the drive stub will pull out, do not
let it drop on your head. Remove the bolts on the sides
up from the bottom, then lower it with a jack it is heavy
and awkward to handle. First you should clean it out in
there the best you can and run it a little to determine
what exactly is leaking. I believe it is most likely rear
end lube from one of the seals on the front side of the
transmission in the top of your picture. I have linked
the manuals YT sells for your tractor, see 1st link. I
would recommend the 2nd one on the list. You can find
them online for download cheaper if you are okay with
that method.

Also you do not need to purchase a parts book
because it is available online. The 2nd link attached is
a link to the CNHI parts diagram for your tractor. CNHI
is the current name of the company that owns the ..IH
and Farmall.. names at the moment. The diagram will
give you a look at what is inside. If it is not obvious
many parts are no longer available. For a time IH
simply removed part numbers they no longer sold for
these old tractors so a lot of part numbers and
descriptions are not there. Sometimes it helps to
actually web search the part number for the parts that
are difficult to find. From this same page you can
navigate to see all the different part sections for your
tractor. Hint, if you have a phone you need to hold it
sideways to see the navigation arrows. And if you lose
the page just select ..Model.. and type in Your tractor
model, like Farmall - - and Search and it will come up
in the list to click to open. Sorry that is long it is a copy
and paste that explains it thoroughly.

The seals I suspect you have leaking are found in the
Chassis section in subsection 112, key numbers 48 and
67.

Hope this helps, if you have more questions let us
know.
YT manuals for Farmall H

CNHI Farmall H online parts catalog

A quick tour of your picture:
What you are showing is the gap between the belly pump unit (bottom of picture) and the front of the transmission (top of picture). The "farther away" shaft in the picture is the input shaft to the transmission. The "closer up" shaft is the belly pump coupler which is held in place by a couple of cotter pins if I'm not mistaken. The belly pump is driven off the transmission countershaft.

There are three pipes sticking through the casting, two on the left one on the right in the picture. Remove those. Also remove the hydraulic control lever from the side of the tractor. Remove the cotter pins holding the coupler and slide it out. Then all that is left holding the belly pump in place are four bolts up into the bottom of the tractor. The belly pump unit is a bit awkward and usually you'd want a couple of people with special handles to lower it but it can be done with a floor jack. You might consider replacing a couple of the bolts with long pieces of all thread to use as guides for lowering and raising the unit into place.

If you can verify the oil is coming from one of the places visible in the picture, you are nowhere near the flywheel and it is NOT your rear main engine seal.