F-340 Brakes

Leo Davinci · Aug 27, 2010

The brakes on my Gasoline Farmall 340 are too small. It has the same brake assembly as the Super C. When properly adjusted, they’re under rated, and they wear out too fast. The diesel 340 uses the same disks as are used on the 460, which is a much larger tractor. The brake drum assembly on the diesel 340 is an inch or two larger in diameter than that on the gas 340.

Can I make an easy conversion? Can the inner and outer brake covers be removed from my tractor, and simply be replaced with the larger inner and outer brake covers from a diesel 340, or will I need to replace the third piece in that cluster which holds the bearing for the differential? Are the splineshafts, which hold the brake disks the same on both tractors, so the larger brake disks will fit properly on my tractor, after it is fitted with the larger housing?

Has anyone else ever made this conversion, or got a better way to improve the brakes I have?

Thank you.

Leo Davinci · Aug 29, 2010

The activity here suggests that no one has an answer for my question, but FYI, I found a valuable resource to get such answers:

Go to...

http://www.caseih.com/northamerica/PartsService/Pages/search.aspx

About half way down the page, click where it says "right here."

If you spell it correctly, you can find the parts list for any IH product. I found the Gas and Diesel 340 brakes listed, with part numbers, which do not match between the two. Based on what I saw, I'd guess swapping diesel brakes into the gas tractor would be a major undertaking, but if anyone knows differently, I'd appreciate being informed.

Thanks.

rustyfarmall · Aug 29, 2010

(quoted from post at 11:01:16 08/29/10) The activity here suggests that no one has an answer for my question, but FYI, I found a valuable resource to get such answers:

Go to...

http://www.caseih.com/northamerica/PartsService/Pages/search.aspx

About half way down the page, click where it says "right here."

If you spell it correctly, you can find the parts list for any IH product. I found the Gas and Diesel 340 brakes listed, with part numbers, which do not match between the two. Based on what I saw, I'd guess swapping diesel brakes into the gas tractor would be a major undertaking, but if anyone knows differently, I'd appreciate being informed.

Thanks.

I did read this yesterday, and had to go check the part numbers myself because I just din't see whay there would be a difference between the gas and the diesel, but yes, there is a difference. It looks to me like it would have easier and less costly for IH to use the same brakes on both versions, but maybe they were trying to use up some of the Super C parts?I really don't know why there would be a difference.

I guess the next logical thing would be to cross-reference the brake pinion shaft and related items for both the gasoline version and the diesel version to see if maybe those parts might interchange?

Next question. How are you using the tractor and what are you doing that causes the brakes to wear out so fast? Or maybe there are some other brake parts that are causing the extreme wear issue?

Leo Davinci · Aug 30, 2010

I guess the fast wear comes because I ride the brake downhill to
avoid having to use a slower gear. However, even when properly
adjusted, this tractor seems to have weak brakes if it is attached
to much of a load, especially when attempting to stop while
backing down hill. My M does not seem to suffer from either
problem, and it also has disk brakes.

I'd also like to add that I "adjust" the brake by using a lathe to
remove material from the inner contact edge of the outer brake
cover, effectively reducing the space around the disks until they
almost touch. Once reassembled, I only turn the adjuster ball
nut to "fine tune" it. This method maintains the proper
"geometry" for the linkage inside for maximum mechanical
advantage to the operator for easy braking. It works great for a
while--but not for long, and to lesser effect in reverse.

By the way, thanks for your input.

rustyfarmall · Aug 30, 2010

It sounds as though you are trying to "out think" the IH engineers that designed and built the brake system which is very rarely a good idea.

I would suggest that when you install the next set of new brake discs, raise one rear wheel off the ground and then rotate that wheel by hand and listen, as as feel, for brake drag. There should be absolutely NO drag on tractor brakes UNTIL pressure is applied to the brake pedal. Tractor brakes are not like the brakes on your car or truck where you WANT a slight amount of drag at all times.

F-340 Brakes

Leo Davinci

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Leo Davinci

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rustyfarmall

Well-known Member

Leo Davinci

New User

rustyfarmall

Well-known Member

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