Tractors and flood waters

I?m trying to assist a friend who had a number of tractors get caught in Midwest floodwaters. These are mainly IH tractors. A number of us spent one day draining, flushing the engine with E85 and changing engine oil as well as draining water from the transmission and rear end or completely draining the transmission and filling with new fluids. All grease zerks were also greased. Yesterday another friend of the owner and I continued working on these tractors. We drained water from the carburetors, from the oil filters and disassembled the distributors and sprayed those with brake cleaner. We got through six of the tractors.

One question I have, are there other things we should be doing with these tractors? The water was just above the frame rails on a series similar to an M. The water rose on a Wednesday and receded on Saturday night. All the oil changes were done on Monday. Yesterday (Wednesday) we got the 656 started but I couldn?t get it in gear using the clutch. I started it several times with it in gear but couldn?t get the clutch operating correctly. Could the clutch have gotten rusted in that short of time and what are options to try and get the clutch operating correctly? Thanks in advance for any advice.

clutch disc mite be stuck to the flywheel

I would document the work that was done, date and time on each tractor.

Get out the WD40 . This is exactly what it was made for !! Spray every wire connection , every wire plug , every electrical connection , every guage , spray the alternators and generators inside and out , spray starters , light sockets , as a matter of fact spray every nook and cranny that could get water in it. Get the tractors running ASAP and let them run until they are at operating temperature. Place a fan blowing on them when they are sitting to dry out any moisture anywhere on the tractor. Electric wiring will corrode and turn green if it is not sprayed and dried out completely. It sounds like you have done everything else right , I wish the owner luck with his tractors.

Clean and pack front wheel bearings. They probably have had flood water in them containing silt which is an abrasive as well as the water starting rust, the grease seals do not provide a perfect seal.

Another thought, pull the TA back, then try putting in gear. If these are slightly out of adjustment the clutch will act like it is dragging and not fully release. Hope this helps

One more thing. You should block the clutches. Take a wood block, push the clutch down, and stick that block in the frame so the cluch is disengaged. Also pull the TA handle back. Give the throwout bearing a shot of grease. Take the cover off of the voltage regulator and give them a shot of WD-40

looks like you got good advice. I just want to express my sympathy to all the folks that got flooded. I wish you all the best in your recovery.

Sounds like you are going in the right direction.

It may be a little late now, but whenever the electrical gets wet, the battery should be disconnected ASAP. Once everything has been dried out, blown out, disassembled when needed, then it can be reconnected.

Yes, the clutch is probably stuck. Usually they will break loose if you can get it started in gear. Try to get it in a high gear, goose the throttle, slam the brakes, try to shock it loose. Just be careful!!!

As said, block it down so it will dry out once it's loose. Good idea to block them anyway, just in case.

And the front wheel bearings will need to be washed out and repacked. If it got above the rear bearings, they will probably fail eventually, but I would just be aware, go ahead and run, maybe they will be OK.

But the best thing to do, if the water got in the engine, drain it before cranking it through, then pull the plugs in case there is water in the cylinders. Then get it running. The only way to get all the moisture out is to boil it out by operating the engine at temperature. The oil may be cloudy, but it will eventually clear up. If you can't get it started right away, at least pull the plugs, spin the water out, put some oil in the cylinders. Then turn it through every day or so, just to keep the rings free.


As for gear cases and hydraulic tanks, best to drain them before starting the engine. The water will be on the bottom. Crack the drain plugs and let it drip out. Much easier to get it out in liquid form than after it has been emulsified into the oil.

Don't forget about the power steering pump, if equipped, and the steering gear.

Hydraulics and trans cases tend to hold moisture. You may end up changing the oil a few times.

Change the oil's; get it running; ship it to another area; and SELL IT.
Flood water is not water.
It is sand; slime; grit; with water as a carrier.

Drain the Air Cleaners too...~~

Probably get em warmed up and dump the fluids again . I sunk a brand new four wheeler in a pond once it never was quite the same ever again

I have not had luck by slamming on both brakes. But have had really good success if I only slam on one side at a time. That really shocks things loose. Make sure you have the clutch pedal wired down and are in a nice flat open area and HANG ON tight.

Maybe Fred Goodrich will chime in they had several flood damaged pieces after the 2011 flood. Many were sold as flood damaged in auction but I'm sure they dealt with some of them. Thankfully no one tried to start some of them. Saw a few transmissions apart they were complete trash, silt in every nook and cranny. My former employer brought home IIRC 3 trailer loads from their auction. Most of which got parted out.
That's probably not what you want to hear, Fred would know alot better than I would.