SouthernFarmall
Member
I’m looking to purchase either an IH 886, 986, or 1066 to put to work. From what I’ve read, these tractors seem to be solid except for a weak point caused by cavitation in the cooling system, which destroys the sleeves. I’ve never been around any IH wet sleeve engines before, so I’m trying to learn what I can before I make a purchase.
For these tractors, it seems like some people advocate for coolant filters, and other people talk about coolant conditioners and changing the coolant every few years, and other people say that I should use a test strip (I’m not sure what these are or where to get them) in the coolant to check it every 6 months or so.
The bottom line is that I can’t afford to buy a tractor with a rebuilt engine and have it fail after 1,000 hours due to something like cavitation in the coolant.
What are the actual best practices for giving these engines a long useful life of several thousand hours? I know that some types of coolant are bad to mix together, so specific brand names of good coolants and/or conditioners would be helpful. Is there a certain coolant flush interval that I need to follow? And do I need to add a coolant filter kit?
Any other info would be appreciated. Thanks!
For these tractors, it seems like some people advocate for coolant filters, and other people talk about coolant conditioners and changing the coolant every few years, and other people say that I should use a test strip (I’m not sure what these are or where to get them) in the coolant to check it every 6 months or so.
The bottom line is that I can’t afford to buy a tractor with a rebuilt engine and have it fail after 1,000 hours due to something like cavitation in the coolant.
What are the actual best practices for giving these engines a long useful life of several thousand hours? I know that some types of coolant are bad to mix together, so specific brand names of good coolants and/or conditioners would be helpful. Is there a certain coolant flush interval that I need to follow? And do I need to add a coolant filter kit?
Any other info would be appreciated. Thanks!