All tractors leak?

So I"m restoring my Farmall H and I head out to work on it after being away for a week or two and there there are a few spots on the garage floor, one under the engine, another under the gear box another under the rear end, nothing major, just a few spots. My buddy says all tractors leak. My question is, when you restore a tractor do you try chasing leaks/drips or is it nearly impossible to get an old tractor to not leak some?

I chase and I CONQUER!!!

Well, I try. I put a new rear main seal and seal retainer in my MD and I think it is still leaking. My H is good to go though. I put every seal and gasket in there when I refurbished the rear end.

We did my Dad"s H that was my grandfather"s H and it does not leak. Every seal and and every gasket has been changed minus the deck lid which was replaced back in the seventies.

Yes and all new pick-ups leak- just ask the dealer that sold me mine. No it doesn't have to leak, but the question is where you're at on a cost-benefit scale for tearing into things and spending money to fix leaks. Eventually you'll to have to deal with more than gaskets, seals and packings. You'll find a bearing with little bit of wear so the shaft moves around just enough to prevent the seal from sealing OR the journal the seal runs against has just enough wear to prevent the seal from working. The fact is it doesn't make economic sense to make major repairs on a lot of old tractors, by the time you get everything fixed you'll have more money in it than it is worth. YES most of the folks on this site ENJOY working on tractors and get a sense of accomplishment in making a old tractor perform like new. Others know after going through a tractor and investing a lot of time and money they know that tractor will serve their needs for as long as they want. Totally rebuild a Farmall M and you'll have more in it than it's worth BUT if you do it right it'll cost you less than a new tractor and probably run just as long and will be a heck of a lot easier to fix along the way.

It depends on the model and the seal, but not all seals were originally designed to be a complete oil seal. Trans/rear end case seals were not designed to withstand an overfilled reserve. A/B/C PTO belt seals were not designed to provide a complete seal and some oil seepage was expected and happens under use. I am sure there are other examples. Grease was cheap when these units were first built and a little oil leakage was expected.

I change ALL the seals and gaskets during a "restoration". No, I'll never get all the money back, I don't do it for money. Even so, there will usually be a few leaks, mostly from the oil pan, some do, some are next to impossible to fix. Eventually gaskets like the valve cover are going to seep. No tractor is leak free. As to cars and pickups, my 10 year old Grand Cherokee and 5 year old GMC pickup do not leak, at least not enough to drip in my garage. There is what I call seepage from various places.

When I restored my Super C over the fall and winter of 2009-2010 most all seals and gaskets were replaced along with a lot of bearings in the normal leaky areas. It is now almost seep free but still a slight amount of leakage is visible after being parked for several months on a cement floor. I was told by almost everyone that small seeps are just the way it will be regardless of what you do. My biggest issue with leaks was the hydraulic system which is now free of any detectable seepage. They were about everywhere as it is a fast hitch tractor and I had hydraulic fluid from one end to the other from various components beneath the tractor before it's restoration. If you go after every little drop at this point for every one you are able to cure you will probably create at least another new one, Hal.

We have a saying where I work. If it is less than a gallon a hour it is just normal seepage.

Don't worry when it leaks, worry when it stops leaking!

Yooper,

My "restored" H Farmall has oil drips from several places after putting in new seals, gaskets, etc. Remember this: "Old tractors do not leak, they are just marking their territory".

If my van or Tahoe leaked on my garage floor, it would drive me nuts. But with my H, I put down an old shirt or pair of jeans and toss when soaked. Just enjoy that magnificent old girl!

LA in WI

Just look at any oil seal on the tractor and you can see that it's only really designed to keep MOST of the oil in. In fact, the seal itself needs a little oil seapage to keep from burning out from friction.

If stopping all leaks completely was the ideal, they'd at least be double lipped seals, or use some kind of packing.

So right from the design stage they weren't supposed to be perfect.

Then, over time, the metal the seal rides on eventually wears into a little groove and the seal becomes a little less effective. You can put a new seal on, but because of the decreased diameter that it rides on it's going to be less effective than the original.

So - bottom line is - yes it's ok to leak.
New seals can make it better, and if you've got things apart, why not. But I wouldn't start taking things apart just to stop a leak somewhere unless it was so bad it was costing you real money.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with leaks. Just today I found the following leaks: Thermostat housing gasket leak, front timing cover leak, hydraulic filter gasket leak, and "U" tube to priority valve leak. The thermostat housing is a double repeat offender. I used permatex black on it this time, with a new gasket.

They drive me nuts. Seems I get one fixed and up pops another, and once in a while, the same one.

Do not think of it as a leak. It's just sweating a bit from all the work it's done.

My 300 leaks, not much just a couple of drops every month or so. The B is on a straw floor so can't comment on it. The A leaks a little from the rear end but will soon be fixed. Like everyone has been sayin, you could chase the leaks and try to get them all to stop, but you might go nuts (and broke) in the process. As long as it is not excessive I wouldn't worry about it, it is just another reminder to check your fluids.