Super-A touch control, Pa. style

I just rebuilt my 1952 Super A hydraulic cylinder block last weekend. I installed a new kit of o-rings and gaskets from the CaseIH dealer. I noticed a couple days later my control valve o-rings were leaking. So I got new o-rings separate from the kit and installed these last Friday night. It appeared these o-rings had a slight thicker wall. I thought this was going to work but it started leaking later Friday night and is still leaking. Anyone have any ideas what I can do next? I have looked all over for thicker o-rings with the 1/2 inch I.D. to match close to what the control valve requires. Everybody I talk to says they had no leaks after installing the o-rings even the CaseIH dealer mechanic. Someone recommended teflon orings but I can't see how I would stretch a teflon o-ring over the shaft.

thanks,
Jim

Pete, congratulations, you took the leap! Not so bad was it? The piston and connecting rods come out as a unit. The pistons are removed through the back (head end). Remove the nuts after they are out, clamp the connecting rod in a vice (with brass jaws) and loosen the nut. The bolt has a tapered shaft and will require the encouragement of a brass hammer to separate. IHC Dealers will have the boots and strainer.

“My front end is a cruddy mess,” are you talking about the front axle and steering box? I took mine apart (thanks to Hugh’s advice) and it not so bad. The only bugger I ran into was pulling the steering arm off to be able to separate the box. If you have issues when you get there, email me and I’ll be happy to share my experiences.

Hugh, it sounds like you’re considering going into your touch control. After what I’ve found I would recommend doing it. My pistons are pitted and are not serviceable. I’ll have to find a source for these, I’m sure they will not be inexpensive! You will find flat o-rings that are at the end of their service life (if not beyond). Anyway, it’s really not a difficult project.

Here is our web page of progress on the restoration:>Link

Regards,>Link Greg

And the pin that goes through the connecting rod bushing- it comes out after separating the pieces of the bracket that constrains it?

Did you get out your safety valve piston? Find the source of the rattle?

Pete,

Remove the pins from the connecting rods and the rockshaft, setting it aside. Remove/cut the leather boots off; then drive the pistons and connecting rods out of the block through the back (head end). I had to persuade mine with a friendly tap on the end of the connecting rod to get them moving. You’ll see the stops that need removing to get the control valves out once you have the rockshaft out of the way. I hope this helps, Greg

Have you tried removing the pressure regulator valve seat yet? I'll probably need to make a tool to remove it. My largest screwdriver doesn’t budge it.

I think strainers are still available but you might want to try soldering it first. I know someone (we'll not mention any names here but I know him really well :) who stuck a screwdriver through one and managed to solder it together again.

On that gasket, I find it comes off fairly easily with a decent razor blade scraper. Not much more trouble than any other gasket.

tractorsam

Me, straggling along behind, I'm just "standing on the shoulders of giants"! (Sam and Greg) (LOL)

My blade lifts that way, as does the factory blade. When I first had my blade, I had it on the Super A first winter. It caused the hydraulics to leak around the rams. That was 1990 and the Super A torque tube dried off 6 months after I last had the blade on it. Since that time the blade has been on my 130, same thing, all winter the torque tube is wet with oil. By the end of june it's dried up.

I think if folks would refrain from using touch control on retraction lifts, leaks would be less previlant. I would advise anyone looking at using a blade, go to an implement cylinder and remote valve.

You drove my 130, that tractor has been through the mill 10 times over, on is 3rd set of pistons and sleeves, yet hydraulics have never been apart. On that big disk I have using my 3 point hitch kit, the 130 lifts that disk to full height easier than my 140, and I doubt if the 140 has seen 500 hours of work lifetime. But then you get right back to what I said on Greg's thread this morning about tractors parked for long periods. The lubricants drip down from the upper extermities of every component as in engine, hydraulics, transmission and rear end plain any simple, over time oil is replaced by rust, and rust causes far more damage than use. When farming I saw this with big tractors, when hours went on fast and furious the repair cost per hour is far less than the tractor doing couple hundred hours per year.

Of course one of the big live hydraulic problems with IH tractors out of the 40s and 50s, the reservoirs were too small, many of them got low in oil and had more than one hot session. It required close scrutiny of hydraulic oil levels. Then you had the operator that decided since he wasn't using hydraulics, no need to check the oil level. I always tell those folks, that hydraulic pump will last as long without oil as your heart will without blood. Usually jolts them a bit.

When I first got the Super C the hydraulics worked fine and then after using it a while they started to leak down if you left a load on them (or more annoying the fast hitch drawbar would drop). Then after I discovered the state that the timing gears were in I decided it was time and the touch control would have to come apart. The o-rings are all pretty well perished and on the check valves there are small springs at each end. One of these was broken, jamming up the check valve. Also with no filter on the system it can't do any harm to clean it out occasionally. tractorsam