going to look at a IH 1086

I am going to look at a IH 1086 I think it is a 1976 model
are there any problems that are common on the tractors I should look for
also what is a good way to check the T/A
Thanks

I've only bought one and that was a 1586 so I imagine there are people with more experience out there can tell you of issues specific to these. I had a bee in my bonnet about the rated HP, so I was always looking for a tractor that had not had the turbo turned up to boost the HP. On that same note, I like one off the farm. Mine had a right rear seal that was bad that the guy was trying to minimize, but it looked like about a gallon of fluid laying on the rim so I made him get it fixed. Has more bells and whistles than a Farmall M but I went over every inch of it and, so far, the only thing I missed was so obvious it still makes me laugh. The left rear window was open when I bought it...because it was the wrong size window. Never occurred to me but $100 later....

Take an 1 1/8" wrench with ya and crack the engine oil drain plug.....make sure no anti-freeze comes out.

Allan

Well start off with the obis ones first , water in oil , oil in the water , milky looking hyd. fluid , does the heater work , does the lights all work , does the FUEL GAUGE work , how sloppy is the ft. end . Do the brakes work and also look to see if the wires to the brake censors are hooked up and not unplugged or cut off ( they are on the brake drums on the side near the top of the drum .) How bad are the cab mounts >> Cab settling can lead to shifting problems . How well does it shift ?? Dose it double shift when you start off?? NOW HOW TO TEST A Hyd T/A drive the tractor around for a while and let it warm up a bit . Find and area that you can get it in high range in like high 3rd or road gear and at full throttle , start loading the engine with the brakes and bring her down to around 1500 -1600 RPM and with your foot ready on the clutch pedal pull the T/A shift lever back IF it shifts down wright away your good to go for how long only god can tell ya that and he never has told me yet. NOW IF when you pull the T/A into low and you find yourself coming out of the seat and headed for the windshield it is in your best interest to stomp the clutch down because that bad T/A just might grab ahold and the next thing you will see is the sky when she pulls the ft. end about five feet off the ground . So if it stops dead in her tracks when you pull the T/A into low it will need a T/A job . If it shift fine then at some point it's going to need a T/A job . I H only built two tractors - one the T/A is OUT and TWO the T/A is going out. Just like Cars and pick ups with automatic transmissions ya got the ones that are already smoked out and the ones going down the highway going out . How long will a T/A last ??? don't know all the ones i have installed are still going and that covers a lot of years . Keeping a T/A working is not hard , just keep the oil and filter changed and stay up on clutch adjustment and the trans. brake and dump valve and never ever use the T/A to slow down with it's not a JAKE BRAKE.

Ah ya don't need to do that just pull the dipstick if it's got clean new oil just walk away or if when you pull the dip stick she looks like she has RABIES from frothen at the mouth walk away. Or buy it for thirtyfive hundred under what they are asking and throw a kit in it .