crsutton81

Member
Oldest son is interested in getting a larger hp tractor to use as his big tractor for the acreage that he farm's. Currently the big horse for him is a Farmall 300, and it is getting a total workout on some jobs trying to get by ! He has found an IH 856 diesel that has piqued his interest. Are they a good tractor, or is it something that a young small farmer needs to stay clear of ? Power wise it would be a good fit for him with what equipment that he owns, plus what equipment the main farm has that is available to him to use. I don't know enough about this series to advise him as we had x74 and x84 series growing up but later on I bought a 1086 used. I've seen pictures of what he's looking at. It has a decent paint job, rear tires are approximately 35 percent tread with no cracks, fronts are maybe 60 percent, 3pt,pto,drawbar, and dual remotes. I don't think it's a custom model. What would something like this be worth in today's market assuming it checked out mechanically sound ?
 
you wont go wrong with an 856! Good bulletproof tractors. The M of the late 60s.Go for it. 'You will think you died and went to heven.
 
Welp heres what to look for , Blow by , does the T/A work ?? heres how you tell, take it out where you can get into High 3 or 4 and running start loading the brakes and bringing the engine down under 1500-1750 and coming down have your left foot ready to shove the clutch down if it goes into free spin when you pull the T/A back into low , if it takes hold and no rev up inbetween she's good to go , Next make sure the park loc works , some have been changed to the spring loaded park loc a lot have not , here none leave with the over center one and are changed to the spring loaded one Check on how easy it will come in and out of gear or range , this is NOT a huge problem just and adjustment , Does all the lights work?? here again not a huge problem but i can tell ya the light switch can be and ongoing problem when extra lights are added . . Also listen for any clicking noise coming from the range transmission as this will tell you someone dropped it into Park while still moving and it had damaged reverse driven gear and that is a major problem and a ton of work to replace . Check and make sure the OIL tel tail light works in the dash as this light does two things , it lets ya know when the engine looses oil pressure and when the MCV looses oil pressure this light shold come on each time the clutch is pushed down and go out when the clutch is almost all the way out . Check your steering linkage check for oil in the rad , you know the rest OIL leaks and such. Everything can be FIXED and one of the best made.
 
Like delta said as for steering linkage the only linkage is the tie rods from the wheels to the center steering arm under the front. I've got an 806and an 856 both good tractors. I bought the 806 a year after I got out of high school. The 856 I bought from my brother. He bought it down around Dallas/Waco TX area. I don't worry about the TA I just make them a delete model if I have a problem with them. Never had one to use on anything and never missed them. For the transmission they are all about the same inside from the 806-1466. It has the D-407 for engine.
 
If in good shape and don't need anything major, probably going for $10,000. Check out tractorhouse.com for prices. Bye the way, that is a very very good model tractor. The only drawback would be, if and when the 407 needs overhaul it has dry sleeves and would probably have to go to a machine shop to do the job.
 
They were bulletproof when they were 20 years old, as many of us were.

They are now 56+ years old and how "good" they are is going to depend heavily on how the tractor was used and maintained in those 56+ years. You can get a high hour tractor with a tired engine and a weak/nonexistent TA, OR you can get a high hour tractor with a fresh engine and new TA, or anywhere in between.

Literally any bearing anywhere in the tractor could be on the verge of failure. It could nickel and dime your son to death, or all you'll ever need to do is add fuel, oil, and grease.
 
The 856 is a great tractor. The biggest problem is the wear and neglect that accumulates on a 55 year old tractor. The engines can be very expensive to rebuild. Be thorough in checking the tractor over and that may not be enough to see pending problems.
 
Well around here a I H with out a T'/A is worthless and bring less then one with a t/a out . I don't know why people are so afraid of the t/a . Yes i have installed many , but over 75% that i have installed were on tractors i bought at sales with the T/A out to start with . Once done and done right as long as you stay up on adjustments and ya never use it a a braking method they will last for YEARS . And in HILL country it saves you from stopping and dropping a gear . Even on Flat land and that we have vary little of when you hit a clay patch that will bring your tonka toy to her knees it keeps you moving with out killing the tractor . Also a huge help when tryen to back a four wheel wagon up a barn bridge with the lower rev. Also why would you want to even think of deleting when there is only a couple bucks difference in cost and killing resale by twice the cost. . My one friend i tried selling two I H's that were factory delets over here , we darn near had to eat them and it was a wonder they did not die from SHIPPING FEVER from all the hauling from sale to sale tryen to just DUMP them , ya can';t sell something when NO ONE will even BID on it . Yep ya hear time and time again OH man it's got a T/A that might be going out but i would buy it if it did not have it so we tried and found out first hand that was a lye . Over here ya put and 806 and a 4020 in the same field with the same plow and the 806 even at factory set will lap the 4020 with ease and never lift the plow or stop to drop a gear to get thru the tough spot then stop again to shift back up . IMHO is I H really needed a gear between 2nd and 3rd and have a five spee plus the high and low .
 
There was a pretty nice one that sold on a auction last week for $6500 which was prabably a good deal. It was a consignment auction so I'd be concerned about that but couldn't see or hear anything wrong. I'd say $10k would be the most
 

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