Farmall 350 torque amplifier replacement labor

[docmirror]

I'm in N TX and there are various small tractor shops around. I haven't asked yet, but I'd like to get an idea of the labor hours or cost in my area to exchange the TA in a Farmall 350? Abilene Machine has rebuilt units, and I can go get that, but looking for a few guesses on the time to swap it out. Lets presume that everything NOT TA related in the trans is working well. If there's other work to be done inside, it will not be known until we break it down.

Planning at a minimum to replace the rear main seal, and the main clutch plate, and possibly the TO bearing The tractor is running and driving now, but I'm buying it presuming it will have, or already has TA trouble.

I did 8 pages of search here on 'torque amplifier' and did not find any reference to the labor hours involved.

 

[560Dennis]

I like to check you tube to get an idea of what’s involve before I do something that I’m not familiar with. This job I’m not .
Link here is part one of two .
Every sixty five year old tractor has different repair ,in this one the tractor appears to me to fairly well taken care of .
Your time will not be the same so check and replace for sure seals

Look over part 2 make a list of parts and search for replacement
For me , i figure three to 5 days of unanticipated findings to repair , minimum on an old usec tractor.
Do it all while it’s apart first time . Don’t skip it.

 

[Mrfred54]

When I give an estimate on a TA job it can very quite substantially. My average hours will fall between 25 to 35 hours. Some may be less and some more. Before anything make sure the low side (ramp&rollers) are slipping. If just the high side slips then only one split is necessary. If low side then center section has to be removed. Adjustment of TA is critical.

 

[docmirror]

I watched a couple vids. All are DIY jobs where work is done ad hoc over days or weeks. Im going to have an indie shop do the job. I would like to find a shop that has some recent history with TA replacement because my experience is the labor hours go down significantly when one has hands on experience and not following the step by step of the manual. Learning while doing can easily double the work hours. I will he calling around and maybe Abilene Machine has a reference.

 

[the tractior vet]

Well labor rates have jumped all across the board and as hour wise on MOST 300-460's should go around 24-25 hours . Providing you have the Special tools to make the job go by the BOOK . If i had a extra pair of hands i could do one in a long day starting with a clean tractor and not one caked in manure and 40 years of layered dried dirt and grease . At the time i was a Hy Cap dealer and had everything on hand for the job and could reface the flywheel on site . Now around here shop rates run from 125 to 175 and hour , so the days of getting out the door for under a grand are long gone and dead. Parts well like everything have skyrocked to insane prices . SOOOOOOO best take your NITRO pills a full inhaler and have EMT on speed dial.

 

[the tractior vet]

I watched a couple vids. All are DIY jobs where work is done ad hoc over days or weeks. Im going to have an indie shop do the job. I would like to find a shop that has some recent history with TA replacement because my experience is the labor hours go down significantly when one has hands on experience and not following the step by step of the manual. Learning while doing can easily double the work hours. I will he callimg around and maybe Abilene Machine has a reference.

Well just because you WATCHED a couple U TUBE VIDS done by someone with a U TUBE and a GO PRO your already heading down a bad path . I have watched a Couple socalled U TUBE experts and set back shaking my head I watched a person that was doing a 856 T/A and welp we will see just how long that job lasts due to the FACT he DID NOT set end clearance , this is vary important BIG TIME . Many times Some barn yard DIY guy has walked thru the door ask ing WHY he now has HY Tran now leaking in to the dry area after he did a DIY Mechanical T/ INSTALL . Most times they install the one seal wrong or the cut the seal when they install the assembly because they do NOT have the install seal protector , then they do not have the spanner socket for the ft nut and either damage the ft. nut or not get it TIGHT enough . Like the one farmer who came and asked me my price to do a full rebuild on his 806 D . As he would bring just the engine i gave him my price and he told me i was insane and he could do it cheaper , Fine do it that is the price . He had four engines blow in under 50 hours because he thought ya just stuffed parts into a block . The fifth block he brought to me and we Built him and engine that ran . just because you have a tool box full of tools and ya watched a U TUBE Vid does not make you experienced . YOu gain that with years of doing these jobs over and over again and knowing what ya REALLY NEED for the tools to do the job and those tools are NOT found at Harbor freight Mine came from OLD I H dealers who closed up Real I H factory tools .

 

[used red MN]

Well just because you WATCHED a couple U TUBE VIDS done by someone with a U TUBE and a GO PRO your already heading down a bad path .

You sorely misunderstood his purpose of watching “YouTube” videos!

 

[used red MN]

I watched a couple vids. All are DIY jobs where work is done ad hoc over days or weeks. Im going to have an indie shop do the job. I would like to find a shop that has some recent history with TA replacement because my experience is the labor hours go down significantly when one has hands on experience and not following the step by step of the manual. Learning while doing can easily double the work hours. I will he calling around and maybe Abilene Machine has a reference.

The problem with finding a shop that has done a replacement of a IH mechanical TA in the last 5 to 8 years is that I suspect they are few and far between. The current hourly shop rate causes it to not be a feasible repair considering the value of the tractors that contain them. The rare instances of when it happens is mostly when someone has a fat check book and the tractor has sentimental value and they want it restored and everything working like it should. The above is why you see the videos of “add hoc” repairs taking place, the repair by a legit tractor repair facility is just not financially feasible for the owner of a clunker Farmall/IH utility. (nothing against your machine)

 

[docmirror]

Well just because you WATCHED a couple U TUBE VIDS done by someone with a U TUBE and a GO PRO your already heading down a bad path . ..................................

just because you have a tool box full of tools and ya watched a U TUBE Vid does not make you experienced . YOu gain that with years of doing these jobs over and over again and knowing what ya REALLY NEED for the tools to do the job and those tools are NOT found at Harbor freight Mine came from OLD I H dealers who closed up Real I H factory tools .

I have no interest in becoming experienced, I want to pay someone who is experienced. I was trying to find info on the time needed to gauge if a shop is giving me a BS quote, or they have some clue about the job.

 

[docmirror]

The problem with finding a shop that has done a replacement of a IH mechanical TA in the last 5 to 8 years is that I suspect they are few and far between. The current hourly shop rate causes it to not be a feasible repair considering the value of the tractors that contain them. The rare instances of when it happens is mostly when someone has a fat check book and the tractor has sentimental value and they want it restored and everything working like it should. The above is why you see the videos of “add hoc” repairs taking place, the repair by a legit tractor repair facility is just not financially feasible for the owner of a clunker Farmall/IH utility. (nothing against your machine)

I'm leaning toward if the TA will operate in direct mode(DD?) just leave the TA handle alone, or just take it off. I'm not doing any tilling, mostly bucket work, some blading and brush hog.

What I'm buying with this old Farmall is a TA job, with a tractor attached. I have no need of the TA feature, and as long as the tool will drive and PTO works, the TA can sit in ooil and do nothing. Should it not go well in direct mode, I may investigate this TA bypass/removal option. Worst case, I have a stick welder and rod, I guess I can MAKE it 'non-TA'. heeehehehehhehehee

 

[the tractior vet]

I'm leaning toward if the TA will operate in direct mode(DD?) just leave the TA handle alone, or just take it off. I'm not doing any tilling, mostly bucket work, some blading and brush hog.

What I'm buying with this old Farmall is a TA job, with a tractor attached. I have no need of the TA feature, and as long as the tool will drive and PTO works, the TA can sit in ooil and do nothing. Should it not go well in direct mode, I may investigate this TA bypass/removal option. Worst case, I have a stick welder and rod, I guess I can MAKE it 'non-TA'. heeehehehehhehehee

Welp doing a T/A DELETE MIGHT SAVE YOU a hundred bucks , BUT what you save will o8ut weigh resale by up to 1500 . Many years back during my buy and sell days my one buddy who i ran with to sales thru out the mid west doing our SHOPPING . and after many selling sales ya got to hear ALL about the T/A from guys looking to buy tractors . Ya heard all the NIGHT MARE storys . Well Donny and i Bought TWO I H tractors that NEVER HAD A T/A from the factory , nice clean tractors and We hauled them to sale after sale and auctioneers called NO T/A never had one and sale after sale NO BIDDERS none . Load them and tak3e them back home adding miles of trucking and buddy trucking is NOT FREE . No body wanted them no matter how much people complained about the T/A. SOOOOOOO to get them SOLD i went and made them T/A tractors and added one thing to the sale a TWO YEAR warranty Parts and labor with paper work and bam they solid . New clutch , new T/A . You look in the Parts BOOK and see what a T/A delete costs and add in the time it takes to install you save around a 100-150 bucks and loose on the end sale . Yep i could BUY the KITS and i NEVER bought one , did NOT STOCK one , refused to install one . I bought SEMI loads of Bad T/A tractors and installed many and gave to each the warranty papers with the sale and NEVER had one come back or even a question after warranty ran out . Ya want a T/A to last a life time then stay up on adjustments and on Hyd/ T/A's never use the T/A as a Jake brake to slow you down that is what the brake pedals are for . Before i went into full time work i had done three T/A's as a NOVICE and asked many questions of the OLD GUYS and back when ya could BORROW the tools one needed from the OLD local dealers . Those days are long dead and gone . My First T/A job was on my old 450 D when i let a neighbor use it to drill post hole . What could go wrong letting a neighbor used a 450 D drilling post holes???? . YEp i found out . They went to start it and did not pull the decompression lever so it would switch to the gas side and tried starting it on the diesel side . Then they hooked a chain to it and tried pull starting it oin the ROAD in Road gear with the T/A in the low side and when the let there foot up in FIFTH low nothing happened and the pulling tractor was flat out in fifth at around 20-25 MPH they remember that the T/A was in the LOW side and slammed it into the high side and things exploded big time and buddy things exploded putting big holes in the center section . I sure did not have the money to just run out and buy a new tractor even though word spread fast that i had and issue and the one Oliver dealer heard about it and came and offered me and up grade to a NEW 1750 Diesel with a NEW set of Oliver 4 bottom's for 5200 bucks taking what was left on trade . . My god that was more then my NEW car cost two times over and those 145 a month payment some week was more then i made at my day job per week working flat rate as a mechanic at a Chrysler Plymouth dealer . So i FIXED IT a used center section piece mealed the T/A with new T/A clutch and used flywheel and BORROWED tools and used parts and two week ends on sweat , busted knuckles . When i should have been out of the FOX HUNT not fixing my tractor .

 

[used red MN]

Welp doing a T/A DELETE MIGHT SAVE YOU a hundred bucks

-.-.-.
Doc, you got your money’s worth or something’s worth out of that one!

 

[AlinMO]

I'd go with your idea of talking with Abilene Machine as they seem to be very capable people.

 

[docmirror]

Putting a fork in this one. Has a clunk in both 2nd and hi and lo TA. . Chipped or missing tooth. I dont need the added project. Thx for the info.

 

[used red MN]

Putting a fork in this one. Has a clunk in both 2nd and hi and lo TA. . Chipped or missing tooth. I dont need the added project. Thx for the info.

Probably did the old IH lock in two gears deal. If you are shifting fast and it hasn’t stopped completely it can chip a gear tooth. The 656 we had was plagued by that in 2nd gear towards the end of its life. It would thump quite a bite louder when pressure was on the back side of the gear teeth such as heading down an incline where the engine was holding back.

 

[the tractior vet]

-.-.-.
Doc, you got your money’s worth or something’s worth out of that one!

Ya know some days your a pain where a Dr. won't touch and the sun will never reach . Ya let me know when you know and the years of repairing Stuff that i carry . Yea maybe i like to talk so if this offends ya live with it or go some where else . You jump in on every post and you your self have NEVER went on a service call onto a farm and worked into the wee hours of the morning to get that man back in the field when the sun came up .

 

[Mrfred54]

Putting a fork in this one. Has a clunk in both 2nd and hi and lo TA. . Chipped or missing tooth. I dont need the added project. Thx for the info.

If you were to do the TA job, you already have the tractor split between the TA housing and differential. For another hours labor with the differential deck removed you can replace second gear. Lots of good used gears available

 

[the tractior vet]

If you were to do the TA job, you already have the tractor split between the TA housing and differential. For another hours labor with the differential deck removed you can replace second gear. Lots of good used gears available

Ah well SOME TIMES removing that rear deck turns into a week of just getting the Rust frozen bolts machined out with a mag drill and end mill , yea we have been down that road . . Or the one 1066 that shortly after it was bought new it got hit by a R Model Mack semi dump loaded with coal and sat then someone bought it and some how it ended up at my place for a T/A job . What was to be a three day in and out on a non cabbed 1066 turned into the never ending nightmare and it started on the vary first bolt when it twisted off and EVERY BOLT followed yep every bolt . Each one was a battle of every trick in the book to remove . The dash support was busted in three places and held together with pieces of strap like you use to hold up a water pipe . once into the speed trans every gear was TOAST top shaft twisted , bottom shaft twisted . And the customer kept on sayen FIX it . So we FIXED it . i did the mechanical and rewired and installed the new steering wheel and seat , then Firestone showed up and put all new rubber on it then my buddy added in thee sherman and williams over haul . When done the bill came to over what a NEW 1086 cost loaded. . I remember when that 1066 got hit as at that time i was one of them OUT LAW coal haulers and was running on the same road that day hauling out of a strip mine to the power plant down on the river and due to the wreck cost me three loads that day due to the highway being shut down and no reasonable way around with out adding over fifty miles to the haul one way .