Which International Best To Replace JD 730 Diesel?

Red Mist · May 13, 2011

Howdy, Boys:
My South Carolina cousin has just blown the tranny/rear in his diesel JD 730. He was raised in a IH family and is interested in going back to IH. What he has asked me to ask you is, what would be a very good IH tractor model to get to replace the 59 hp 730, an IH with equal horsepower or a little more..... He is thinking something along the lines of a diesel 656, 666, 706 or 756 - but he does not know which is the best model as far as being a very excellent tractor. I don't know either. If you know, please post your opinion by ranking them very best and on down to (perhaps) something to avoid. In additon, if there is a model with two different diesel engines, please address that also, as to which is best.
I don't mean to sound unappreciative, but if you really don't know, then please don't speculate; While I do appreciate your enthusiasm and willingness to try to be of help, this is a MAJOR, serious purchase for him and he needs opinions from those people with actual experience and/or knowledge.
Thank you all very much.
Mike Durhan

Andrew Z · May 13, 2011

As for the replacement i would look for a 656 they
are fairly plentiful, great working tractors. IF
your lucky and can find a 666, or a 686 that would
be even better choice same family as the 656.

Andrew

Anonymous-0 · May 13, 2011

Stay away from the 706 - for some reason they always had problems

686, 666, 656 are real good --- 686/666 would be my first choice

John M · May 13, 2011

Mike,

Long time no see! Do you remember Holidays in Barkdale? He had a 656 2 weeks ago for sale. Buddy of mine said he knew the previous owner, and it had always been taken care of. If you like, Ill swing by there tomorrow and see if he still has it.......

pete 23 · May 13, 2011

The 730 is a fairly heavy tractor, and I would go for a 706 over a 656 any time. I was working at the dealership for 5 years when the 706 came out and have worked on them when need be ever since as well as the 656. Fact is, just finishing up a major repair on a 656. I prefer to work on the 7. It's all about condition, condition, condition. They are getting pretty old, as is the 656 and of course 730.

CNKS · May 13, 2011

I haven't been around a 706, but other than shifter problems and fuel consumption of the gas model, this is only the second post I have read really critical of the 706, except for minor problems--the first was yours a couple of days ago. I have been on this forum for at least 12 years. My impression is that with the 706/806, after the 560 fiasco, IH finally got it right.

Pat-CT · May 13, 2011

656 or a 666 is a decent sized tractor. If you can find a turbo
version lingering around it would be alot more tractor then the 730.
A 706, 0r an 806 would also be a good tractor but a little bit more
$ from what ive seen. Ive spent some time on a 656 gas and a
diesel turbo, never had a lick of trouble.

armand tatro · May 13, 2011

What 560D fiasco??!! Armand

Lloyd Sorlien · May 13, 2011

I hate to see anyone knock the 560 Diesel, I had one and done all my plowing with it, 4-14s. I also have a 706 gas and I really like it for baling and a loader tractor. really not hard on gas for me.

DeltaRed · May 13, 2011

The 706 is a good choice-the later diesel(310)is better.Thier only major problem is thier gear shifters when they get worn.They can repaired-or better still-update/convert to 56 series shifters!I know,I have done 3 ,it works!

rustred · May 13, 2011

i was wondering the same question. far as i am concerned it is a very reliable tractor that is very easy on fuel.also will do more work in a day than the 730.

DeltaRed · May 13, 2011

If you you put 56 shifters in a late 706,you will have,for intents and purposes,a 756!

DeltaRed · May 13, 2011

A730 will outpull a 656-not so with a 706/756.

Bob · May 14, 2011

If he sells the BROKEN green thing he should be well on the way to have the $$$ for his new red thing!

(NO flaming, please. I own red stuff AND green stuff!)

JWCarp · May 14, 2011

Of the tractors you have listed looking at them to replace a 730D I would sugest:
First the 756D or Late 706D. Good heavy tractor with a D310. I have never had a D310, but have heard they are very good engines.
Second would be 666/686 (again basically the same tractor) 666 and early 686 with have the american D312 which is a good engine. Later 686 with have the D310. This is probably the most comparable in size and power to the 730.
Third would be the early 706. Same as the first but with a D282. A good D282 is a good engine but just not as good as the others. Be very careful if you buy a tractor with the D282. There are some specfic things to look for that are indications that you are going to be into the engine before long. I have had 3 and know that for a fact.
I rate the 656 last as it again has a D282 that is tuned for a little less HP than the 706 (mostly an RPM change)and is in the small frame (similar to the 666/686. A lot of people will rate the 656 as one of the best tractors IH ever made but I prefer the large frame tractors.
Another tractor I would not pass up if you find one is an 826. It is basically a 756 with a D358 german diesel. Probably 15 or 20 HP more than the 730, but it has good power in a handy size.
Hope this helps.

mkirsch · May 14, 2011

(quoted from post at 18:07:35 05/13/11) Stay away from the 706 - for some reason they always had problems

686, 666, 656 are real good --- 686/666 would be my first choice

706's were quite popular where I grew up. Many of them are still in use as front-line field equipment... If they're so awful explain that.

Rtkman_706 · May 14, 2011

Check out Red Power's article on the 656, very good information. One very interesting point is that the 656 hydro fuel consumption was not much more than the "competitions" power shift transmission.
I have a 706 d282 and like it a lot but if I could find a well cared for 656 hydro for (loader work & misc work), I would get it. My second choice would be a 806/856.

CNKS · May 14, 2011

Lloyd, I'm not knocking the 560, the rear end damaged IH's reputation, and they never fully recovered from it. The 706/806 helped them recover from the 460/560 problems.

CNKS · May 14, 2011

Armand and rustred -- I did not say 560D, I said 560. I thought EVERYone who has been around IH knew about the rear end problems that caused IH to recall the early 460/560's, possible 660, to repair the problems. They even set up tents at some dealerships (JD got a lot of fun out of that) to fix the problem. They did fix it but it scared a lot of people away from IH for a long time. I was not critizing the 560. I said fiasco, I should not have used that word as it was a real problem.

IH fan · May 14, 2011

I like some IHs, but I didn't know you could replace a JD 720/730D with an IH. You will definataly need deeper pockets for the fuel to do the same work.

supermpuller · May 14, 2011

IH had a recall on the first year 560 and fixed the problem, its no different that the several JD recalls . A 560 diesel will pull with 730 JD both have around 60 hp.

rustred · May 14, 2011

we had 720 and 560 years ago. the 560 definitly outworks the 720 by the end of the day. i dont believe the 560 used any noticeably more amout of fuel either. so now you know.

rustred · May 14, 2011

i thought thats what you were referring to, the early ones with the problems. But hey its still a darn good lasting tractor, even if the ta's dont work on a lot of them. but thats another fiasco!

rustred · May 14, 2011

yep, have seen a lot of the 8430's in the jd shop with recalls on the diff's. in the 1970's .

Aces · May 14, 2011

Not hard to get 70hp or more out of a D282 in 560 or 656 never saw 730D do that.

IH fan · May 14, 2011

We lived across the road from a seed corn farm that had 3 720s and a 450 at the time, all diesels. The 450 pulled a 4x14" and the 720s pulled 5x14s The manager told us the 450 used way more fuel than a 720... that was my only comparison. Dad never had a diesel, but complained the gas IHs he had always burned more gas than his JDs.

Roger H MI · May 14, 2011

A Farmall "A" never was too much a John Deer fan

crystalallis · May 14, 2011

hi i was plowing with my 706 diesel early model with a jd mounted 5-16 in sod last week and it was great and used less fuel than i had anticipated

oldtanker · May 14, 2011

(quoted from post at 09:13:16 05/14/11) we had 720 and 560 years ago. the 560 definitly outworks the 720 by the end of the day. i dont believe the 560 used any noticeably more amout of fuel either. so now you know.

According to the Nebraska test the 560D burns 4.1 gal an hour at rated PTO speed. The 720 3.2. Now I don't know about you but .9 gal an hour can add up to some serious money over the course of a year at todays prices. Now if you were jumping on a certain brand of tractor that is known for weak trannies even over several major upgrades from the 40's to the 70's I could see you bashing.

I'd really like to see the out work part too. Seeing as they are pretty close to the same.

I'm not trying to push JD here.......just looking for honest evaluations. It's real easy to bash what you don't like. Much harder to admit that JD may have made something that worked right.

As far as the 560D's are concerned my BIL who is very hard on equipment has run 3 of them into the ground. Considering how he takes care of his stuff I'd have to rate them as a very good tractor. I know he got tons of hours out of them. Same with his 826. Rode hard and put up wet. Just really beat to death yet with close to 16K hours on it he has yet to get into the tranny, 2 TA's and 2 engine remans (cause he blew the first reman being stupid with about 100 hours on it).

Rick

Red Mist · May 15, 2011

Thanks guys. Great information here. I'll print it out and pass it along to my cousin. Again, thanks. Mike

Which International Best To Replace JD 730 Diesel?

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