IH 240?

hey fellas, can anyone tell me about the 240, problems, parts availability, weak and strong points etc. i always thought they were sharp looking little machines and see one for sale locally...thanks

I have had a Farmall 240 for a year now which I plan to refresh even though it is in fairly complete and decent shape at present. Like you, I think they have a nice appearance, fairly small to work with and very suitable for trailering to tractor or farm shows where they are very uncommon. There were only about 3500 of the Farmall row crop models produced and 3 to 4 times that number of the International Utility models made. There are a lot of common parts between the two along with some common to other models like the 404. These models being produced in low production numbers is probably the reason so few (if any) reproduction parts are made which are unique to the 240's. Some items you will find next to impossible to find are the battery cover, tachometer, fuel quantity gauge and the tank sending unit, both the hood and side panel emblems to name a few. Engine parts aren't a problem as the engine is very common to other model IHC tractors. The normal places which have inventories of obsolete parts from years ago production are all but cleaned out and rarely if ever can a 240 unique item be located. At last years RPRU in Albert Lea I had a fairly good shopping list of desired parts for my Farmall 240 and wasn't able to locate a single unique item.
The 240 models don't really offer much (except appearance) of an improvement over the earlier models it replaces like the Super C, 200, and 230 as to a TA or IPTO except the introduction of a utility model in that size tractor.
I think they are a nice appearing and useful tractor (mine has a fast hitch) but you are going to find locating needed parts is a very huge challenge. I wish you success if you decide to add one to your tractor shed and my email is open if you want any more specific information, Hal.

I have had a 240U for a few years. Like has been said, they are not common and parts can be a problem. The weak point seems to be the front steering bolster parts if you have a loader on it. I had to replace the gears and steering arm on mine when I bought it and there was evidence it had been repaired before. Another down side is no IPTO, which by 1958, most other tractors had. The engine and transmission are plenty tough for their size. Mine has the factory 3 point which is basically a modified Fast-Hitch and not the best 3 point set-up. But it is better than nothing, and 3 point implements are a whole lot easier to find than Fast-Hitch. I have an IH-Wagner 120 loader on mine and a CharLynn PS unit. The live pump is not big enough to operate the PS and the 3 point when the engine is idled down, but the loader has a crank driven pump, so it's not too bad... just need to keep the rpms at about 1/3 throttle or better for everything to work.

Just to add a bit to what Hal said, the feedback linkage from the hitch to the hydraulic valve can be a problem. Excessive wear makes it difficult to impossible to adjust and parts can't be found.

If you are looking at a 240 utility, the rear hubs are a press fit on the axle. If they loosen up and wear, you have another problem to deal with. Steering gear parts were unique to this model and are hard to find if you happen to need them.

With all that said, the biggest problem with the Farmall was that it was a size whose time had pretty well passed by the time it came out. So it was never produced in great numbers. It has Farmall A lineage and the basics are pretty solid. If you find one in decent shape, you should be quite happy with it.

I ran a Farmall 240 on a dairy farm when I was in my teens, back in the 60's. It surprised me how much work that little tractor did.

hey guy's thanks for your input...

(quoted from post at 13:20:21 01/15/12) I ran a Farmall 240 on a dairy farm when I was in my teens, back in the 60's. It surprised me how much work that little tractor did.

Click to expand...

I've always been surprised at how much you could do with all of the Farmall C line of tractors. I guess that's one reason I bought this 240U... I knew how tough they were.