Ford 650

[B King]

Rebuilding engine on a Ford 650. With the engine removed I can see a significant amount of hydraulic fluid in the bottom of the transmission bell housing. Which oil seals might need to be replaced to repair this? Thanks for help.

 

[Kurt-NEPA]

Hyd oil in the bell-housing is almost always a leaking transmission input shaft seal. You'll need the seal and the gasket for housing to get it fixed. Hard part is getting the spring off the throw out bearing housing. Then it just 4 bolts to get it off. Pop out the old seal and tap in a new one with the right sized socket. Bolt it back on.

If I had the engine out, I would replace the clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing and pilot bearing. Also get the flywheel resurfaced. If the ring gear isn't perfect - get that replaced too.

Ahh! - mission creep again.

 

[B King]

Thanks for the input. Is the seal I need referred to as a transmission input shaft seal?

 

[Kurt-NEPA]

Sure is - get the input shaft housing gasket too!

 

[Jim.UT]

Yes

 

[Jim.UT]

Several years ago I had to replace the clutch in my 850. It was my first (and so far only) attempt to split a tractor for a repair. I took photos along the way. If you want to see the whole thing, click the link below. If you would rather just see the photos relating to the transmission input shaft seal replacement, <a href=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v45/Jim.UT/850ClutchJob/?action=view&current=850split17.jpg>click here</a> to start, then click "next" until you've seen all you need to see or you get bored....whichever happens first. The narrative kind of jumps around because I would do other side jobs while waiting for an ordered part to arrive. I basically posted the pics in the order they were done.

As I mentioned, this was my first try. There are things I did wrong. I tried to point out in the photo captions where I could have done things better or more efficiently. Be sure to read the captions as well as look at the pics. The whole purpose of this photo album is to help others avoid the mistakes I made.
850 clutch job

 

[Rancher Rick]

This has been very helpful as I will soon need to do the same to my 650 Thank you for all the info and pics.

 

[B King]

Jim, the photos are very helpful. Thanks for posting them. One dumb question, do I need to drain the fluid before taking out the transmission input shaft?

 

[john_Bud]

(quoted from post at 06:47:50 01/14/12) Jim, the photos are very helpful. Thanks for posting them. One dumb question, do I need to drain the fluid before taking out the transmission input shaft?

No. The normal fluid level is well below the opening for the input. The input shaft has a large gear that dips into the oil and brings it up, plus splash from all the gears does a good job of keeping everything in there lubed.


If the engine is being rebuilt, have the frost plugs replaced. I will spend the extra for stainless or brass (like a marine application) so they will outlast me. Seems like every time I try to "economize" the plug inside the bell housing or some other obscure inaccessible area will pop and start leaking shortly after getting it all back together!

 

[Jim.UT]

As John_Bud has already mentioned, the transmission oil level should be below the input shaft. However, it wouldn"t hurt to pull the level plug first TO MAKE SURE someone hasn"t overfilled the tranny. Level plug is on the side of the transmission just about level with the running board. If oil just barely seeps out of that hole when the plug is removed, it"s at the correct level. If no oil comes out, maybe it"s a little low. If it pours out, too full! Also, make sure the back half of the tractor is basically level befor pulling the input shaft assembly. If the front is a lot lower than the rear you could lose oil when you pull the shaft.