Moving 1256 wheels

I am going to have to move the wheels on my 1256 soon. Do I need the special wrench that came with these tractors or will any 3/4" drive socket set do the trick? What are the tricks involved? I've never moved the wheels of an IH before. Is this a wedge system? Anything to look out for? Thanks.

any way you can get them loose will work, they are a wedge system, once you get everything loose, roll the wedges to the bottom.

Their was a speacial wedge lock tool that was used to help break the wedges loose, looked like a horse shoe.One was used on each side and bolted together to help when you loosend the wedge bolt.

Baelee: Those horseshoe looking devices are usually clamped on, one on each side of one wheel. Only one set came with a tractor and from there you moved them to the wheel you needed them for. Look at your back wheels near the axle, if you have the irons the wheels looks quite different from each other.

Some folks have removed these, and they got separated from the tractor at sale time. I could never understand why this happened, may as well leave it on last wheel one used it on. It had to be torqued tight for operation, thus on the wheel was best place for them. Those wedges if properly tightened are at 500 ft-lbs.

Some folks claim if you break one wedge loose, you can strike top of axle with a big hammer and other wedge will pop loose. An IH serviceman told me that was a great wat to destroy axle bearings. Besides, if the wedges were tightened to 500 ft-lbs. I don't think the hammer trick will work.

Thanks Hugh. I will look at the tractor in the morning and see if I can find the horseshoe looking device. If I can't find it I guess I'll have to try and track one down. I do have a parts book for a 1256 but I don't see that piece anywhere. They even show the wrench that came with the tractor for the wheels but I don't see a device like you describe. If they were torqued to 500 ft. lbs., I'm in for some fun getting those loose. Thanks.

Baelee: You really have to look to notice the horse shoe device. It's actually two horse shoes, one on inside of wheel and one on outside, with two 3/4 bolts going through one then through the wheel alongside the wedges and thread into the second horse shoe on the other side of wheel. The horse shoes must be tight on the wheel, before you start. What happens as you loosen the wedge bolt, one wedge or the other will break loose. The one that breaks loose will come out against the horse shoe, thus forcing the second wedge to break loose.

I have a funny story about those wedges. When I took delivery of my new 1066, the wheels were set on 72" centers, same as my 300, 560 and 656. After working the tractor for a month, I decided I wanted them at 84" centers. Jacked the right wheel, proceeded to loosen the wedge, snap the first one came loose. Try as we would, we couldn't figure how that second one would come loose. Next a phone call to the IH dealer, and he said, "if all else fails consult the manual, the tool you need is on the left wheel". We let the jack down and went to the left wheel, 5 min. we has the wedges loose and wheel moved. It was all in the operator's manual of a 1066, and I can assure you, if all else fails, consult the manual. We missed the horse shoe tool just that easy, probably just as well, had we not read the manual, we would not have known about the 500ft-lbs.

You expressed not seeing that in your manual, it may not be there. My understanding is, wedge lock wheels were optional on 56 series tractors, and not yet available when first 56 tractors came out. My understanding is they were standard on all 66 and 86 over 100 hp. I know they are on all 856, 1256 and 1456 I've seen. I have seen the ocasional 966 without wedge locks. I'm not sure which is correct. My suspecion is they were standard on all tractors over 100 hp after 1967 and optional on 856, 966 and 986.

When your finished, make sure you tighten to 500 ft-lbs. Those wheels have been known to break if not tight. And make sure wedges, axle and wheel are clean as you torque them.

Any questions as you proceed, I'm not far away, too cold for someone my age to go far. I will say this, a year later I moved my 1066 wheels back to 66" centers, installed duals, and never moved them again. I thought at the time, these damn wedge locks will be trouble once they get 25 years on them. I don't envy you.

This is the "horseshoe" tool you need to break the wedges loose. There are currently 3 on Ebay.
Wheel Tool

Actually I haven't owned the tractor that long. I think that perhaps the wheels have been moved sometime in recent history. At least I'm hoping so!! The tractor had an ice cream box cab on it at some point in time which was replaced with fenders sometime not too long before I got it. Since the wheels are set for 30" rows I think they would have had to move the wheels around in order to get that cab out of there and mount the fenders. We'll see. I hope to get working on it later this month. Thanks again.

We move the wheels on our 1086 every year. Wide to pull round baler and narrow with duals to plant corn. Sounds like the same wheels with wedges and the horseshoe things to help break the wedges lose. 1086 takes a twelve point socket for the wedge bolt. To pull the wheels in we put a chain from wheel to wheel underneath with a chain tightner. One guy pulls on tightner while the other rocks the top of wheel with a bar. Takes awhile one link at a time. To pull them out wider we use a handyman jack on the end of the axle and a chain around the wheel and hopefully find a barrel for the end of the jack to rest on. As long as there is tension on chain all is well but if not it all falls apart. Wish there was a easier way.

Good luck

Brian

I used to move mine every year for a mounted corn picker. If you get lucky and the outside wedge comes loose first go ahead and turn the bolt all the way out of the inside wedge and turn the wheel so the wedge is on the bottom. Then take a large punch, I use an old axle one inch diameter and about three feet long, put it against the inside wedge careful not to damage the threads and hit it with a maul. Knock the wedge out move your wheel and reasemble. If you don't get lucky and the inside wedge comes loose first then you have to use the horseshoe thing. In my experience the outside wedge comes loose first 90 % of the time and I've never had an axle bearing go out from knocking the wedge out. If you move them there's a procedure in the owners manual for tightening them and its a good thing to follow it even then they work loose sometimes so check them a lot. Lee

The easiest way to move a wedge lock wheel is to rotate the wheel so the axle key is on top, and completely remove the wedge.

Lower the jack slightly so the key starts coming out of the keyway on the wheel, and tilt the wheel slightly in the direction you want to go. Lift the tractor back up, and the wheel will fall into place in its new location. Repeat as many times as necessary to move the wheel to the desired width.

Once you get the technique down you can lower the jack further and tilt the wheel further. Just don't get greedy, and make sure your jack and cribbing are good and solid. Even if the jack should slip, the axle will only fall until it hits the other side of the wedge opening, hardly a disaster.

mkirsch: That is the easiest way to move the wheel in or out, however the quick way is grab hold of it and slide it on the axle. I found the 1066 a bit difficult, however 656 and 560 were a breeze, as long as you had no chloride or wheel weights.

our 1256 does not have wedge locks, it has the u-bolt type clamps like an H M x00 tractor. Do not know if it is original hubs though, one has white paint showing through the red. If you didn't identify your hub type yet, then you should do so, since you may not have to worry about wedges.

karl f

Key word is "no chloride or wheel weights, Hugh." All our tractors have chloride and at least two sets of wheel weights. The terrain and soil conditions around where I grew up necessitates it. You didn't want to haul loaded 8x16 chopper boxes down those hills without at least two tires full of calcium and water. This was with a 756, a reasonably heavy tractor with hydraulic brakes. Even then, you'd get to sliding if the material was particularly wet, or the ground was.

Mkirsch: I was only kidding about sliding the wheel by hand.

You must have had some vicious hills. Roughly 20% of my farm was hills, the other 80% flat land. None of my 560, 656 or 1066 had wheel weights or chloride. I operated on those hills with 560 or 656, either baler-thrower with 20' wagons or forage harvester and 18' self unloaders. Later after I got the 1066 with duals and NH 890, I pulled 22' aluminun highway dump trailers on those same hills, behind the harvester, and did it without weights or chloride. I never had even the slightest of anxious moments either pulling or holding back. We hauled those trailers to the barn with a highway tractor and could operate the brakes.

Back in the early 60s I pulled that same baler with thrower and same 20' wagons, behind Farmall 300 with chloride and one set of weights on those same hills. Piece of cake, I never saw the 300 struggle pulling or holding back.

Lee: The criticism I've heard was not hitting the actual wedge as you do. These guys were striking down on the end of the axle with a 12 lb. hammer. I've forgotten which side thay had turned up. That was the system, I heard critised by an IH technician.

I can understand this, as regardless of how hard you hit the whole cone of the bearing will absorb equal pressure. These guys were hitting hard enough to leave hammer marks on the axle