Help needed with INTERNATIONAL (gas) tractor/backhoe

Hello everyone,

My name is Jim and I need a lot of help with an INTERNATIONAL (Gas) tractor/backhoe. I thought the MODEL was a 444 (from the hood emblems) but the bill of sale says it"s a 300 model, so I am unsure which one it is. My dad purchased this machine and had it a few months but unfortunately died of cancer shortly after, so it was left in my hands. I don"t know that much about tractors/backhoes, but I can turn a wrench and have all of my dad"s tools to work with.

It"s not in the greatest shape but I"m trying to get the machine running properly so that it can be sold.

I uploaded pictures of the backhoe at my website you can view them here --> http://www.powerplayrecords.net/International444/

(*After you click on a photo, just click the BACK button on your browser to return to the main menu page to click on the next photo)

Here are some things I could greatly use your help with:
#1) Identifying the MODEL and the YEAR that it was manufactured. (Photos 025,026,027,030,and 031 have some identifying marks).

#2)GETTING IT STARTED AGAIN. I replaced the spark plugs, drained the old gas and put in fresh gas and I also cleaned the carburetor... but there is an opening at the side of the carburetor (see photo 005 and especially 006) where fuel is leaking out (it"s where some mesh was stuffed in). From what I can tell there is a filter/hose missing...notice the open tube above the fuel filter. IF I CONNECT A RADIATOR TYPE HOSE BETWEEN THE CARBURETOR AND THE TUBE WILL THAT SOLVE THE PROBLEM? [The diameter of the opening at the carburetor side is about 2 1/4" and the other tube opening is 2"]

#3)NOW THERE IS SPARKING AT THE BATTERY WHEN I TURN THE IGNITION SWITCH. The machine was turning over properly and running last year. It was turning over again this weekend, but didn"t start (this was BEFORE I cleaned the carb and changed the spark plugs). For some reason after I did the stuff listed above, it started sparking near the battery. I stopped immediately, with the leaking fuel happening. Now I need to determine why it"s sparking (where the short is). The wiring was poorly done by whoever owned this machine before and it needs to be re-wired properly (See photos 034,036 and 048). DOES ANYONE HAVE A WIRING DIAGRAM FOR THE SWITCH TO THE BATTERY?

I think the machine will run again no problem once I find the short and stop the fuel leak. As long as the battery was charged it would always start right up.

Anyway, thanks in advance to anyone that replies and wishes to help me.

THANKS!
-JBinNY-

Untitled URL Link

Hi, JB. I don't know much about the backhoe, but I'd say you have 300 utility, with a 350 utility engine. Basically a plain utility tractor with backhoe and front loader added.
The only thing 444 about it is the hood. It doesn't belong on this tractor. The tag on the engine below the firing order says 2-11-C
and below that it says C-175. The 2-11-C means that engine block was casted on Feb 11, 1957. The C-175 means its a carburated (gas) 175 cu in engine.
There is another pic that shows 2-20-B, i think. That is Feb 20, 1956. 300 utilitys were sold in 55-56, 350's in 57-58. 300's had 169 cu in engine, 350's had 175 cu in engine.
Something must have happened to the original engine and it was swapped for an engine from a 350. Alot of this stuff went on with older tractors because so many parts are interchangeable between models/years.

Hi BOBM25,

Thanks for the fast reply with your helpful information!

I found the bill of sale (from the guy that sold it to my dad) and it did have it as an INTERNATIONAL 300, so it sounds like you"re right about the model (and year). This tractor/backhoe appears to have modified a lot so, what you suggested about swapping things out sounds about right.

*Do you know anything about the switch wiring or the hose that is missing that runs to the carburetor (it would probably be about 2 - 2 1/4" in diameter and about 12-15 inches long)?

THANKS!

-JBinNY-

Untitled URL Link

JBinNY, Nice set of photos. Here is what I have deduced from them:

1. The tractor is a model 350. Serial number 4727 makes it a 1957. The "C-175" cast into the engine block is further confirmation, as this denotes the 175 CID engine the 350"s were built with. Also, there are remnants of a starter button on the instrument panel. 300"s had just a key switch.

2. 444 hood panels have been put on it. Proof positive of this is that there is no louver on the left side panel above the air cleaner where the air would be drawn in. This may be one reason why wire mesh was stuffed into the carburetor air intake (to act as an "air cleaner"), which is what the opening in the side of the carburetor is. More on that later.

3. The engine has a down exhaust manifold. The elbow the exhaust pipe would connect to has been removed and a home made flange and elbow installed in its place to mount a vertical muffler.

4. The electrical system has been changed from 6 to 12 volts, but it has been completely cobbled up. If you send a message to me via email, I will send you the original 6 volt diagram, and give you some pointers on keeping it a 12 volt. That would be your best bet at this point. My email is open.

5. As I stated before, the opening in the side of the carburetor is the air intake. There is supposed to be a hose that connects between this and the air cleaner pipe. I got one last year from Case IH for $18 or $20. You need to get the engine running before worrying about that hose just yet. As I mentioned before, there is no louver in the hood panel for the air inlet at the top of the air cleaner to draw air from. If I were you, I would take that hood panel off and check and see if the steel air baffle that is supposed to seal the inlet pipe to the hood is there. My guess would be that it is gone, which in your case is probably OK. If it seems like there would be enough space between the air inlet and the hood for air to get drawn in with the hood on, in order to get it sold, I think I would just get a piece of coarse screen at a hardware store to form over the inlet pipe to keep the big pieces of debris from getting sucked into it and let it go at that. I would first take the air cleaner assembly right off the tractor, thoroughly flush it out with mineral spirits or kerosene, reinstall it, and fill the oil cup to the oil level line on the cup with motor oil (10w-30, 10W-40, 15W-40, or 30W is OK).

Email me and I"ll give you some suggestions on getting it running when I send you the wiring diagram.

Okay the 2-1/4" opening on the front of the carb is for the air cleaner, which is the 2" pipe with no connection.

The tractor will run without the air cleaner attached, no problem. However I would not want to run it long like that. It has an oil bath air cleaner, so remove the bowl from the bottom, clean it out, and refill with new motor oil. Exact weight is not important, any normal motor oil will work, though SAE30 was standard back in the day.

The gas leaking means that there is a problem with the float and needle in the carburetor. It's likely that in the act of cleaning the carburetor, you displaced something and the float is binding up on the side of the carburetor bowl now. Cure it by taking the carburetor apart and installing a rebuild kit from your local CaseIH dealer.

The sparking is likely from a bad connection at the battery post. Cure it by removing and cleaning all parts of the connection. Look for frayed or bare wires while you're in there just in case.

Hi MHMalcolm,

Thanks very much for looking at the photos and making your detailed comments.

I actually did clean the air cleaner assembly, but I didn"t know what type of oil it needed. I"ll make sure to fill it to the level line with some 10W30 motor oil that I have.

If possible I"d like to keep it wired as a 12V so that I can use the existing battery as well as jump start it with my vehicle. Any help with the wiring would be greatly appreciate of course!

Any other suggestions for getting it running and maintaining it would be great.

THANKS SO MUCH!

-JBinNY-

Hi mkirsch,

Thank you very much for the reply with your comments!

I"ll make sure to cover the carburetor with some wire mesh until I can locate the correct air cleaner connector hose.

Also I"ll take the carburetor apart again and see what I messed up. Hopefully it"s something that"s not too complicated to fix. A carb repair kit will be my next purchase.

In addition I"ll clean the battery terminals and hopefully with some wiring suggestions from one of the other guys I"ll be able to eliminate the sparking problem and get it started.

Thanks again to you and the rest of the forum members, you"ve all been very helpful!

-JBinNY-

Jim, definetly a 300U with a C175 engine. My Dad bought a new 300U in late 1957 and it had the C175 engine same as 350U not the C169 that should have been in 300U.

JimB

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the info confirming that the machine I have is an International 300U with a C175 engine. This will certainly help when I need to get parts for it. Very cool that your dad bought one of these new. Hopefully he got a lot of use out of it.

Thanks again for your comments!

-jb-