IH Early M Front End

Hi Y"all,


My Father-in-Law visited this last weekend. My M is now running so sweet... It has never run this well!!! We did not have to crack open the carb. So, my carb rebuild was good. He just did a few tweaks. More importantly, he showed me what he did and explained why. The cooling system was nice and tight, so that side plate was sealed well enough. For those following my M"s saga, I"ve got a BIG grin now.


Some time ago, I was able to get an IH WFE for my M. In the IT shop manual, it shows some kind of adapter plate between the WFE bolster and the tractor bolster. I do not have this plate. Should I be worried? or will things bolt up without it? Will it be a real pain to get someone to fab a plate for me? Would Steel Wheel Ranch have these?


Also, in the throttle linkage, there is a bell crank between the throttle handle and the governor control, right at the cylinder head. At that point is a dual-spring arrangement. I"ve got a ton of slop there. We tried replacing the springs, but couldn"t match the springs well at all. We went a bit on the stiff side, because we could not find springs that were close. Anyone have a good source for springs that would be close to factory? The little T-shaped pin that slides on the throttle rod is wollowed out pretty good, too. Just weld it up (or braize it up) and redrill? I figure I should also clean and polish the throttle shaft there.


THANK YOU for being a continuing source of information.

The WFE adapter plate would allow you to move the front end back under the bolster about 5-6" or so. This allows a shorter tractor and reduced turning radius. It is not needed otherwise.

Kewl! Thank you!

I was curious if anybody knows how much a Farmall m upper bolster weighs? I need to replace the front crank seal and am getting things in order to do it. any tricks I need to know about?

the bolster is heavy, couple 2-300 lbs i"d guess. i use an engine hoist or loader when removing. ya dont wanna drop that on your foot!!