# International 1066



## T.A.Farms (Apr 21, 2016)

One of these is coming up at a local auction and I'm thinking about making some bids on it but I know nothing about internationals besides there hydros wore not worth a shit and the TA had there issues. Besides that how are they as a ground working tractors? I'm sure they like there fuel. Any opinions?


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I'm wanting to say they have aftermarket parts available for the TA's that resolved a lot of the issues with em.

I cousin had a 966 and a 1066 over the years and seemed to like em well enough.


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## Orchard6 (Apr 30, 2014)

The hydros were just fine when used as intended. The idea for the hydros was for pto type jobs with rolling loads, they work great for that, unfortunately too many people tried to use them for heavy tillage and they burned up under the heavy draft loads imposed by tillage equipment. They definitely require some more care and maintenance vs a gear drive though.
It's the same way with the T/A. If used properly they can easily last 6-7000 hrs or more. If abused you can wreck one in about 3 seconds! The T/A is NOT designed to be used for down shifting in road gear, period! You may get lucky and have it survive thru a few down shifts but eventually you'll wreck the T/A. They are meant to be used in field gears when a heavy load starts to lug the engine down. 
1066's are highly regarded as one of the best tractors that IH ever built! If you can test drive it make sure the T/A shifts well and doesn't slip. To check for slip put it in Hi 3 and hold the brakes. It should stall or really lug the engine down if it's healthy, try it in both T/A and direct drive if it slips you can buy it and upgrade the T/A for $800-900+ labor and probably never have to worry about it again. About the only real down fall I'm aware of is that the dif lock (if equipped) wasn't the greatest design and often doesn't work after 40+ years.


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## thendrix (May 14, 2015)

I always thought the hydro's would make a great mowing and baling tractor


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## Bgriffin856 (Nov 13, 2013)

Ours was pretty good for the year and half we used it considering a few issues here and there, till it spun its bearings....

Pretty common around here and they don't sit on a dealer lot very long so they are highly sought after


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

Dad had a 1466. Pump was turned up a bit and man could that thing pull. It was probably one of the most reliable tractors we've ever had on our place. It always sat outside in the winter and always started good. Plug in the block heater for an hour or two and it'd fire right off no matter how cold. If it hadn't been plugged in and wasn't extremely below zero, a squirt of starting fluid and away it'd go.

Only downside was the noisy cab. I wore ear plugs or muffs when using it for field work. Brakes would heat and stink a bit if you used them alot for turning.

Other downside was the grinding when you shifted. Liked our 5088s so much more that Dad sold the 1466 to a neighbor and bought another 5088.


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

T.A.Farms said:


> One of these is coming up at a local auction and I'm thinking about making some bids on it but I know nothing about internationals besides there hydros wore not worth a shit and the TA had there issues. *Besides that how are they as a ground working tractors?* *I'm sure they like there fuel.* Any opinions?


We had a 1066. Did alright for us. The TA is not a recurring problem unless it is abused or the cheapest unit is installed. They will do okay for tillage, but the DT-414 is not a ground shaking powerhouse unless it is worked over. DO NOT run band duals on these unless it has been converted to the wedge lock style hub. The hub clamp bolts tend to work loose or break with excessive drawbar/axles loads. I don't think the 1066 is any worse for fuel than any other of its size or age, I seem to recall about a 5.5 gal per hour consumption at full power use.

Shifting the IH Hi/Lo/quadrant trans seems to be a sore point for many users. Here is my 2 cents worth. Think of it as a truck transmission with a Hi and Lo range and a splitter. Shifting from one quadrant gear to the next can be done by double clutching or floating the trans with the throttle, same as a truck. In the case of a major gear change, say Hi 1 to Lo 4, it works best to make the quadrant gear changes with the range in neutral, then select the range. A properly adjusted trans brake will minimize the spin down time to select a range speed or reverse. Using the TA to "split" gears will aid in floating through the gears, especially between Hi 2 and Hi 3.


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## Wethay (Jul 17, 2015)

I've had some problems with a smaller IH of early 80's vintage with parts availability. It's way smaller and less popular so most likely no bearing on your situation?


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