Tad Wicks

Didn't want to further hijack Bob's thread so I started a new one.

Why do you say that? Don't want to get into bashing, just curious to hear from those with more knowledge than I. I have one and it seems to be a decent tractor to me, though I'll be the first to admit that my experience with other dozers is the next best thing to nothing.

I should allow Tad to voice himself about his IH. Sounds like he didn't have much success with it compared to his ACs(that's a scary thought!). Myself, I have zero experience with operating IH crawlers, as the only one I own is a magnificent mailbox stand...actually a McCormick Deering TD-35. From what I've always heard, cracking heads were very common on the models that started on gas and ran on diesel; parts are pretty scarce too. One last thing on a positive note for IH, the TD-9B was such a hot rod AG tractor, Cat had to create the D4D to keep loyal customers happy! JM

Hi, sdmuleman.
An easier 'kwestyun to answer would be, "Wotz 'rite' wiv 'em?" Answer - Precious little. The TD6s and TD9s were not bad, maybe even good, ag tractors. The TD14 and 18s were just O.K. on steady drawbar work but tended to tear out back ends on heavy dozer work. You could easily do 'em a 'mischief' in heavy clearing. DON'T put 'em inter rock if'. yer want 'em to last.

Azfer the TD24, its main claims to fame were that it was about the first large crawler with planetary steering and that, in a whole 16 years of production, it had numerous upgrades and changes and still could not survive like its main competition, the Cat D8.- which has been around for 70 years this year. The TD24s disappeared from the scene so quick at the end of their production in 1963 that I have yet to operate one and I started operating dozers full time in early 1965.

ALL of the IH gas start diesels were prone to cracking heads. If they were worked anything like hard, it was vital to idle them down for 10 minutes or more before shutdown.

Will that do for starters?

Just my 0.02.

The TD9s used in the woods for logging around here broke a lot of rear final drive housings. Mostly on the right side for some reason. The TD9s with the Drott loaders and street pads were great machines. As Deas pointed out proper shutdown and for that matter proper starting were paramount for a long life. There are still some running around and running well in this area that were properly cared for. It always sounded to me when hearing the fuel knocking noise in the TD18s when first started that the the rods were coming out.

I ran a TD20 for about 2 years in the Army and didn't have any trouble with it. But is was not a CAT. catskinner

Hey guys
Thanks for moving this off of Paso Bob's thread, he may be polishing and loading weaponry as I type😖mile:. Sdmuleman, I don't want to get into a bashing episode as well. As I stated before there are the IHC beasts that I am quite fond of, When IH came out with the latter TD15 151 they were on there way to getting it right, except for starting on gas to diesel, when they put the DT466 into the 15C, they had a great tractor. I am talking ag tractors not dozers. IH had guide rollers on the inside of the truck frames to take the turning load of the back of the tractor, I always thought that was a great idea. The TD 14, my opinions are just that, yes, they would break heads, I never had one break, if cooled down properly they were ok, many people would switch them back to gas before shutting them down, I think that was was a lot of the problem and they were hell to warp starting valves. The TD 14A came out with what was called a "jethead" which was basically a water manifold to distribute the water more evenly, it seemed to help and in the latter 14A's, 141's,142's the early TD15 150 series, they added a coolant puke tank on top of the hood that was supposed to help as well. They were used throughout the IH line for several series. I can't imagine who in their right mind designed the transmission, for ag, you had to shift two levers to use your working gears third and fourth, all day long, up hill down hill all the while shifting two levers, TD 18 was the same way, except you had the sweet sound of twin stacks to help alleviate frustration. The 14 engine was identical to the 18 just two less cylinders, the pistons have to come out the bottom unless you pull the sleeve as well, now you can take a 3T D7 with four cylinders and what a beautiful sound they make, not a 14, they sound all to much like a poorly executed fart and I don't know why but that is just my opinion. They weren't know for their power, but they were known for their economy, I believe they were comparable to a 9U D6 except no power steering, no sweet ride, they always seemed to be stiff compared to a 9U or a 3T. In the TD14 142 they tried to get more power out of the anemic four cylinder so they cranked the RPMs up to 1650 or more,I don't remember for sure, if you remember that was the square 14 that looked like the 15, well they darn sure got the power out of them but at a high cost, the heads just would not take it so eventually they had to turn them back down. Have you had to put steering clutches in yet, if not, you are gonna love it, you have to strip the deck form the diesel tank to but not including the clutch plus the transmission lid and it is so much fun threading it back in, a real test of endurance. If you have a power steering tractor you will be cussing by the time you get the steering controls off and out of the way plus all the oil that drains all over the deck. They didn't have hypoid gears in the ring and pinion, they were square cut so there was a big bolt on the left-hand side of the ring gear that had bronze on the end so it would stop the ring gear from flexing away from the pinion under load, this would eventually wear away and put tremendous loads on the ring gear carrier bearings that are ball bearings not tapered. I could keep going but that is enough of that, I think any tractor out there can be picked apart, it is just that I spent so much time on a 14 freezing my ass off in the winter and dying of heat prostration in the summer, sitting on what can be considered to be the upmost in modern tractor seating and cushions, that would be a double flake of hay (variety depending on the season) folded into a burlap bag,that had turned into an adobe block and all the dead jackets piled up you could find, that was the usual upholstery. It is not all the tractors fault, I never found them the least bit comfortable, I am tall, they are not and I have permanent grouser and track bolt indentations on my shins and kneecaps from working on them, I was just stupid enough to do it because I didn't know any better or just stupid, don't know which. Like juiceman says any tractor is better than no tractor. There are all kinds of could-a and should-a built into any machine. Now don't you dare ask me about my IHC TD 500E unless you want another dissertation.😖mile:

I GOTTA LUV MY HD11 6V71 POWER NO SHIFT Tad