Tractor Repair: Farmall Super M PTO, tractor supply store, m sn


Question
QUESTION: Oil drips from the pto shaft of my Farmall Super M, SN F 35219J.  I am not able to locate replacement oil seals.  Also, the oil seems to be rather milk chocolate brown.

ANSWER: Hello,

  The nice thing about these old Farmalls is that lots of parts are still available from any Case IH dealer.  These seals are usually in stock, and I got a pto seal for my tractor a couple of weeks ago from the Case IH dealer where I work.  They had 3 of them on hand.  There are a couple of seals that match.  The Case IH part numbers are 358772R91, or 358812R91.  If you don't have a Case IH dealer near you, an auto parts store should be able to find a different brand seal by crossing these numbers on a seal interchange.  If the oil hasn't been changed in many years, change it.  The Case IH lubricant chart says to use Hytran oil, but don't use that!  Use 85W140 gear lube.  Otherwise, you will have leaks everywhere and will be replacing all the seals on the tractor.

         Good luck,

         Arnie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you very much!!  I had gone online to IH for parts and the seals are shown in red with a part number but no box to mark and order them.  I'll try going to the dealer instead.  
What advice can you give about changing the engine oil and other fluids.  I went to Tractor Supply Store to buy oil and they said I need to know if the former owner (84 year old farmer) used detergent or non detergent and if I put detergent oil in, it will loosen all the crud and plug up all the smaller openings.  I have no way to find out what oil, antifreeze, transmission, etc. fluids were used.  
I really apprecialte you help.  I bought the tractor manual and a service manual, but they can't help with things like this.
I replaced two hydraulic lines on the bucket but have small leaks there.  I used paste teflon as recommended by TSC.  Best bet there may be to take them off and try more paste.  Would I need to use brake cleaner of something to clean the threads first?
Ed  

Answer
Hello,

 It's not possible to order parts directly from Case IH, so you have to go through a dealer.  The detergent oil vs. non-detergent oil issue has been going on for years.  Everyone has a different opinion on it.  Detergent oil doesn't prevent crud, it just keeps it in suspension so it doesn't settle out in the engine and build up over time.  People worry that detergent oil will loosen the deposits that have built up from using non-detergent oil, but my opinion is it depends on how often the oil was changed no matter what oil was used. Crud will build up even with detergent oil if the machine is not cared for and the oil not changed at the proper intervals.  All we use at our dealership is detergent oil and we have never had any problems putting it in these older machines.  Non-detergent oil isn't that widely available anymore, so it's not that likely that it was used recently.  Even if it would loosen up some crud, it's not going to plug any openings because it would be fine particles and not big chunks.

  Technically, teflon thread tape is not recommended for use on hydraulic systems, but most people use it instead of paste because they have better luck stopping the leaks.  Personally, I haven't had much success with paste either.  It's good for water pipe fittings, but hasn't worked well for me on hydraulics because of the pressure involved.  I used Rectorseal, which according to the label can withstand up to 10,000 psi, but I still had small leaks.  So I did what is not recommended and put thread tape on the fittings and the leaks are gone.  Before trying paste again, you would need to wash the oil off with brake cleaner as you said.

         Good luck,

         Arnie