656 Water in Hydraulic Oil

Ron in Nebr · Oct 6, 2010

We have a 656 gasser, gear-drive, that's constantly getting water into the hy/trans oil. My brother claims it's just 'cause you're not supposed to leave them parked outside, but I say BS- there's something not sealed up someplace.

Any common places to look? I noticed that on the brake housings, the one on the right has a hole up towards the top, the left one has a cork in this hole. Could water get in there and run into the trans? I also noticed the boot where the pto engagement lever goes in and out is deteriorated...is that a possibility? Can't see anyplace where bolts are missing anyplace else.

Tyler Jackson · Oct 6, 2010

Check where theres any thin sheet metal or a shield and under stuff. The 350 I'm doin has a shield on top of the TA and under the battery that had a fairly good sized hole in it from wear.

Knoxcityfarmboy · Oct 6, 2010

I had the same problem, bought my 656 from a guy that left it outside. After two hayseasons, 4 fluid and filter changes and parking it inside, the problem is taken care of. You brother is right.

Tyler Jackson · Oct 6, 2010

I would think that it should be sealed up. You should be able to leave it out year round with no seepage at all

Allan in NE · Oct 6, 2010

Ron,

Are ya working the tractor hard enough to burn off the condensation?

I'm with you. Tractors weren't designed to live indoors.

That's another one of those silly "human" things; old iron just does not care as long as it has a good coat of paint.

Allan

Allan in NE · Oct 6, 2010

Ron,

Are ya working the tractor hard enough to burn off the condensation?

I'm with you. Tractors weren't designed to live indoors.

That's another one of those silly "human" things; old iron just does not care as long as it has a good coat of paint.

Allan

erik dekeyser · Oct 6, 2010

The 656,666,686 and most of the IH in that style have a large cast housing and they will have condensation on the inside and outside .I find once the oil is 4 or 5 years old you will get water in there and the best thing to do is drain the water out once the tractor has been sitting for a day or two. I usually do it once a year just before winter so it doesnt freeze up. The drain plug is just above the draw bar. If you change the oil you should be good for 2 or 3 years because the new oil will absorb some of the water.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 6, 2010

I doubt if you have any leak or hole for water to get in, I have seen the inside of these in cold weather with a thick coat of frost inside, it looked like it had snowed, this is normal condensation, particularly in northern areas where temp varies if you dont change the hytran often enough. Hytran is made to hold some water in suspension & the good stuff will discolor to yellow/creamy. Just change it when it looses caramel clear color. 47 years at Parts for IH.

theponyroper · Oct 7, 2010

Ron, I have the same problem with my 560. There gets to be an incredible amount of water in that oil in a short time. I changed the oil two or three times one winter without much improvement and the tractor was stored inside the garage so I know it wasn't rain water. I finally installed a petcock in the drain hole and now after the tractor has sat a while I will crack the valve and drain out a couple quarts of fluid. That will get the majority of the water if the tractor has sat long enough. As to the good oil I drained previously, I found that letting it set in barrels for a few months let most of the water settle to the bottom and in the middle of the winter when it was 20 below I could pour off the oil and leave the plug of ice in the barrel to discard the next spring when it thawed. My problem was so bad for a while that I couldn't even run the tractor with an oil filter in the winter as it would clog up with slush in a few minutes and starve the pump. Still can't believe all that water comes from condensation but that's got to be where it's comming from.

Ron in Nebr · Oct 7, 2010

Actually Allan, the old girl isn't worked very hard for very long anymore. Never was really, as far as any pulling work. It originally was our "stacker tractor" with a hydrafork mounted on a tall tower, so it basically sat and ran all day in one spot, other than pulling the stacker to a new spot after a stack was finished. And it wasn't parked indoors ever for the first 25 years or so of it's life, because we didn't have a shop big enough at that time to put it in.

Occasionally now it does some loader work putting round bales in bale rings...gotta get some rear weights on it before it'll do any "real" loader work. It came new with no 3 point and stamped steel rims, so there's just not enough weight in back...it'll barely move itself with a load of dirt in the bucket.

656 Water in Hydraulic Oil

Ron in Nebr

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Tyler Jackson

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Knoxcityfarmboy

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Tyler Jackson

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Allan in NE

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Allan in NE

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erik dekeyser

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Anonymous-0

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Ron in Nebr

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