IH Farmall 300 Utility Hydraulics - Rebuildable?

chabat124 · Jul 1, 2014

I am getting a Farmall 300 Utility tractor from my father in law. The hydraulics are not working. Is this something that can be rebuilt by someone with mechanical skills? Or is it something only a shop can do? Or is it a situation where I will have to buy a new pump and or other parts new?

I have not done a lot of work on tractors. I have a pretty good handle working on car engines, and have a lot of experience wrenching on dirt bikes, ATV's and riding mowers. I have not however worked on hydraulic systems before.

Currently I have a 1952 Ferguson TO30.

Chris

hydriv · Jul 1, 2014

That model was only made for 3 years (54 to 56) as a utility tractor. Most tractors of this vintage had a hydraulic pump inside the transmission housing to power the three point hitch. If you have a loader on this tractor, then there would be at least two cylinders to deal with plus a control valve. Without photos, it is pretty hard to assess your situation. If it does have a loader, it could be one of several brands of aftermarket loaders that were available at that time. In any event, you might want to get the serial number of the tractor in question and go visit the local Case/IH dealer. They can look up the parts manual for that tractor on their computer and tell you if the pump can even be purchased as a new item or not.

If it cannot be bought new, then rebuilding it would be a job for an experienced hydraulics shop. If it can be bought new, then find out the price and compare that to a quote from the hydraulics shop. A lot of the small pumps are just too costly to rebuild unless that is your only option.

I am guessing but I bet that you have to split that tractor to access the pump and the control valve for the hitch. Not a fun job and certainly a new experience for you. Great care is needed when splitting open a 5600 LB tractor. Having it fall on the floor is bad news. Having it fall on you is even badder news. LOL .

Leejohn · Jul 1, 2014

You are asking for the unknown. !st thing to do is some trouble shooting.

MHarryE · Jul 2, 2014

Official Case IH Online Parts Store and Case IH Catalog for Best Parts Search and Best Parts Look Up. Case IH Parts for Case IH Tractors, Case IH Combines, Case IH Tractors, Case IH Manuals, Case IH Parts That link should take you directly to the IH300 utility tractor hydraulic system so you can take a look at what it's like.

Whoops - that link didn't take it deep enough but if you search by model, enter 300, you get a lot of models to select from that contain 300. Midway down the list is the 300 utility. Then go to hydraulic system and you get all the breakdowns. Really not too difficult to work on.

chabat124 · Jul 2, 2014

I will get the serial, and pictures after the weekend. There is no loader, and no plans for one. I will just be using a bush hog with the 3 point hitch.

I will already be splitting my Ferguson TO30 for clutch replacement later this year. Out of curiosity, I was wondering if I should buy a 1" impact gun or 3/4... Or do you guys think a 3/4 Drive breaker bar, cheater pipe, and Kroil would get most larger bolts off?

I read a really entertaining book a year ago that got me interested in doing the work myself on my tractors: Busted Tractors and Rusty Knuckles: Norwegian Torque Wrench Techniques and Other Fine Points of Tractor Restoration ---by Roger Welsch.

Have any of you read that? I enjoyed it a lot.

LD1 · Jul 2, 2014

Its not a tranny pump. Rather a pump off the front timing cover. It is actually what drives the distributor. The resivoir is under the seat. Check the oil level first. They didn't hold much. If it has sat, it could have leaked out.

At least that's how my int. 300u is. If a farmall 300, it could be different.

pa31 · Sep 14, 2015

I have an International Harvester 300 Utility. the pressure relief valve appears stuck in the closed position. I do not have a flow diagram and don't know where the pressure relief valve is located. I would appreciate some help and thanks in advance.