1086/1486 ??

I keep reading negative things about I-H 86 series tractors. I own a 1086 and can agree on almost every complaint I have read. Just for fun, what are the really good things someone could say about I-H, Or the 86 series tractors from this time period? I will say that when the 86 tractors came out I thought they were very good looking. They were very popular around these parts and every one of these I new of had been turn up almost from day one. Easy to make HP from. Al
 
(quoted from post at 14:10:10 09/23/20) I keep reading negative things about I-H 86 series tractors. I own a 1086 and can agree on almost every complaint I have read. Just for fun, what are the really good things someone could say about I-H, Or the 86 series tractors from this time period? I will say that when the 86 tractors came out I thought they were very good looking. They were very popular around these parts and every one of these I new of had been turn up almost from day one. Easy to make HP from. Al

I great power unit...
Until the power left the engine and entered the clutch / TA, then it all went down hill from there.
 
My 986 has been a good tractor that has required minimal upkeep. I don't see it as being any better or worse than any other IH tractor from that era. If you can't make good use of your left hand then you are not going to like the shift just like you will not like the hydraulic controls on a 10 or early 20 series JD. I have a bigger issue with the hydraulic controls on the 86 as the 3 pt lever should be in the same cluster as the remote levers when plowing with a semi-mounted plow. The cab is better than a 66 series cab. Parts are readily available either new or used which is more than what can be said for an 5X88 series tractor.
 
I guess the best part about either the IH 86 or 66 series tractors is , they make cheap reliable hp for guys that can’t spend more than 15 grand on a tractor. Darn old things will still just keep working along as they were intended to do. No the cabs aren’t great, or even close to great, but if you have never had a cab before, and you get one of these old tractors, and have fall tillage or winter manure to spread, they’ll still get the job done, and keep the wind and rain off you. Maybe they are a bit loud, and awkward, but my 966 is almost 50 years old. Comparing these tractors with new tractors is about the same as comparing a car from the late Forties or Fifties to a new car today, they aren’t even close.
 
I have a neighbor that picked up a 1486 for a song with a 4 post ROPS. As far as I know he likes it and uses it quite often. He did mention to me once that "the 1466 was a better tractor than the 1486" which I found odd, but I was not in a position to hear the reasons why. wonder if thats true......
 
My limited experience was positive.

I once rented a 1086 and a 13 shank chisel plow to chisel 80 acres that had never been chiseled before. It was tough going.

At one point I went up a grade for about 100 yards coming away from a waterway. Starting up the grade, I'd be at full throttle, first gear, with the TA pulled back. The front wheels of the tractor would come up about 6" off the ground and stay that way till I went over the top of the grade.

I was impressed at the time.

On the flip side, a friend of mine had a couple of 1086's and got rid of them because he claimed they had weak rear ends. But, he was known to be hard on equipment.
 
Put 40 years on an M, it is still an M. ~1000 moving parts. Put 40 on an 86 series, with 3 times the parts, treat it like an M, Nasty. Jim
 
Like others have said,good cheap horsepower.If you properly adjust clutch/dump valve/trans brake their a great tractor to operate.My 886 with German diesel while not as powerful as the D360 is good on fuel.I like mine.
Paul
cvphoto56943.jpg

Kids like em too!

cvphoto56966.jpg


cvphoto56967.jpg
 
I went from tractors with no cab or cab with no heater or AC, no live power, slow road gear to the 86 series, so they were very comfortable compared to what I was use to. Heat, AC, Live PTO (540 & 1000), sound proof, clean, radio, TA, brakes that worked, and plenty of power for the day. I actually have a 1086 with a 1486 motor.
 
They have a great engine that makes power. They also have a fast pto speed that makes them great for silage blowers and manure pumps. A few years ago when we still had cows I thought about buying one with a cab.(I am almost 100% John Deere). I wanted something to put on the manure spreader that I could let sit out and get nasty without it bothering my conscience.LOL And they cost less than a 3020. Tom
 
I always thought the square body IH 86 series was their best looking tractor. Don't have any personal experience with running them however. I like the square IH tractors but I like the rounded design of JD's new generation tractor. The two best looking tractors made in my opinion.
 
Yes, other than the engine a lot of the components changed when IH went to the 88 series tractor. The 88's were to be a stepping stone to what eventually became the Magnum. If IH had stayed in business the IH engine would have been retained and most likely the CDC engine would not have come to be.
 
They are a beautiful, beefy lot of HP for money tractors.

I just think the operator controls are not placed well, and should by syncro.
 
Tough tractors. We had two 1486s that had over 15,000 hours put on them and an 886 that had over 22,000 hours put on it. Never had a 1086, to many of them were turned up to be used just like a 1486 or 1686.
 
I 've never used an 86 series tractor and from what I've seen and heard I will stay with the 06,56,66 series and not look back. We pull a 24 foot vibra shank with the 1466 and run over it twice once to dig up bean stubble then again to smooth it out. Even the mulch finisher has to have 2 trips to get it done. We can pull the 25 foot mulch finisher with it though it has to work harder to do it. Besides that is the job of the Stiegers to do the heavy stuff now. chisel plow disc and fit ground the 7140 plants and the toys just spread fetilizer and hay. Little tractors run augers.
 
(quoted from post at 10:32:07 09/23/20) 88 series parts are hard to come by?

Eighty EIGHT series, yes.

Remember the early 1980's was not a good time for farms. Not many tractors were being sold. Not many tractors were being made. Then IH sold to Tenneco, and big IH tractor production was immediately shut down.

Fast forward 35 years, there isn't enough demand for parts to make it economically feasible to keep producing parts, and the stocks of NOS parts are used up. Yes, it's getting hard to get parts for them.
 
What's funny is the early Magnum cab is the same cab as the IH 86 series, and people consider that a GREAT cab.

So really it wasn't the cab itself, but what was IN the cab. I think people could have accepted the forward-opening doors if not for putting the fuel tank half in the cab, and having the shifter right in the doorway on the left side.
 
86 series cab also has a right side door to help offset the shifter location. JD was not the only one with a left side only access. By 1980 White and AC had left entry only.
I would have to check up on Case and Ford but think that they were the same.
 

Several yrs back my friend hired me to plow & field cultivate some land for him with his 986. I drove his tractor a couple of hrs & decided driving it was not for me. So I started pulling his plows with my JD 4255. I'll choose the single door cab over 2 doors every time.
 
OK, nitpicking here but there is NO 88 series tractor. All the 2+2's are 88, there is a 30 series, a 50 series and a few 70 series articulated 4WD.
Much of the complaints about the 86 series tractors come from IH trying to jump a ten foot ditch with two five foot jumps. For the record I never
burnt my hand on the muffler even with the shifters located in the way. Now a SOCP John Deere tattooed me several times getting on and off. ;)
 
Yeah, you're nitpicking.

When people say "88 series" they mean 3x88 (where x is an even number) and 5x88 tractors. Cab layouts were pretty much the same in both.

If they mean 2+2, they say 2+2.

I mean if you want to get REALLY nit-picky, the 686 makes it so there is "no such thing as an 86 series tractor," the 666 makes it so there is "no such thing as a 66 series tractor," and so on right down the line. Any "series" where all the tractors were not built on the same platform, breaks the series, but we don't operate that way.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top