Hello all, signed up to the forum recently and have been browsing, quite the place with a lot of knowledgable people! Anyways just a quick blurb about me; I'm 25, born and raised in northern Ontario, Canada. I've been working on anything and everything as far back as I can remember, and at 18 started an apprenticeship at a GM dealership. Left after a few years, working in smaller shops on automotive, as well as some heavy equipment. The last 2 1/2 years I've spent working at an underground mine, servicing and repairing light duty equipment such as pickup trucks, underground man carriers (Toyota Landcruisers) as well as service equipment such as steers, forklifts, and portable diesel gens/welders, etc etc. Anyways to make a not-so-short story short, my stepdad has given me a Hougn H50 loader and haven't been too successful on finding info on it. I am in the process of moving and only have a few pictures I snapped quickly while out visiting the farm it's stored at. Also found a similar one on google images Let me know what you think, I know have a bit of work ahead of me!
Oh, I forgot to mention... The reason it was given to me is that it has not been used in several years, due to an externally leaking head gasket. I have been assured that it has not been overheated, but I will still check the head when I remove it. Hopefully I can find some info on this awesome piece of equipment to get it running tip top! I will be getting it moved to my new place in the next month or so
I should know what that engine is, but it's been probably 35 years since I worked on one of those! Have you tried turning it over? Biggest problem might be if it has had water get into the cylinders from leaking gasket or condensation. Don't recall if this engine is a sleeved engine or if the pistons run right in the block. The other thing may be problems with fuel system from sitting, but these old systems are not as delicate as the high pressure electronic stuff of today. Doubt anyone will be pulling one of them out of a barn in 40 years and be able to get them running again!
Thanks for your reply! I have not done anything with it yet, but I should mention that although it hasn't had any use, it was moved to its current location within the last year. With a boost/charged batteries, and maybe a sniff of some magic starting fluid, it will run without issue. Everything works as it should. I plan on using it for snow removal and to clean up on my property, so some better tires and chains are in order. I am hoping to find used ones that are not as dry rotted
In that case maybe just need to pull head and replace the head gasket. Would be good idea to check head to see if it is nice and flat and maybe do the valves while it is off. I'd be tempted to drop the base and pop the pistons out if I could be sure new rings were available.
Don't be too worried about a little dry rot on ancient tires, they built them better back in the day, more toxins I suspect. Using it only when you can keep the tires dry makes a huge difference in not getting stuck. You won't have any trouble pushing snow with that weight unless you have hills, or soft spots that haven't frozen yet. I'd run it a few hours then do a leak down compression test before you decide what you want to do.
Not a bad idea. If you can start it maybe work it a little to warm things up then change oils and filters. That is assuming there is no coolant in the oil. crack the drain plug open a little to see if any thing comes out. If it's nice clear water just drain as much out as possible then tighten the plug. Same for the hydraulic tank and axles. Any chance the mine would miss a little oil??? Would not hurt to drain the fuel tank and put some fresh fuel in there too! That actually is a pretty good looking machine for the age, I've seen some machines that look worse before their second oil change!
The only issue is that they do not hold air if left sitting for a period of time. Also, the driveways I take care of (mine, and father-in-law's next door) are long and hilly. Even if I deal with the tires going flat, I believe that at least one set of chains are necessary. Hopefully I can track down some used ones. A leak down test is definitely a good idea. I have not verified myself, but I was told the leak was simply an outer corner of the head gasket, no internal leakage. That being said I will be checking the levels and condition of all oils, and fresh fuel is a must. Although I'm sure the mine wouldn't miss a bit of oil, being a fly in fly out camp makes removal of things somewhat difficult! And yes, I figured it was a decent machine for being (as far as I can tell) from the late 50's early 60's. Not to mention, the price was right
Its a 329 IH engine, pretty good engines but notorious for warping heads, blowing head gaskets, and being really hard to crank when cold. rebuild parts are available, castings maybe, not so easy...... little tip on the cold starting, turn the engine over a bit to ensure you have fuel in the cylinder, then preheat for about a minute, it will usually bust right off. And resist the temptation to use ether, you'll just make an ether baby out of it.
I assume you're talking about a 239, as I can find no info on a 329. As my loader has a 6 cylinder, I would assume it is a 282? Or am I missing something? Good to know about the ether and starting method though, thanks!
I had 2 H 60 HOUGHS--Tough machines. Mine had the Cummins engine. I fish 100 miles north of the village of Pickle Lake- Gold mine up there. 1200 miles one way for the eyes and pike...................
Huh how bout that, I'm from that area. Born and raised in Dryden. I work 2 weeks in 2 out at the mine you speak of, Musselwhite. Great people, and a great place to work. Didn't think anyone on this board would know of little ol Pickle Lake Ontario ha ha
Boy, Not to get you to far off toic but you guys are taking me way back. I hunted and fished all over that area in 1971. At that time Savant Lake was nothing but a little general store and Pickle Crow as they called it then was a proposed townsite a hundred miles or so farther north up at the end of the trail. They had government stakes ribbons all over Pickle Crow from a survey but not much else. There was a fair sized mine north of Sturgeon Lake a bit to the east of the road which was dirt back then. They mined gold and had recent found a lot of very rich nickel content. The railroads were on strike and they were hauling the ore down to east of Dryden via truck and belly dump to a different railhead. They were running 120,000 lbs gross per load on that trail. I remember it because they offered all three of us driving jobs. We had no work permits but the road boss told us he would give us a social account number to use as long as we only stayed three months as they sent in the funds quarterly. We kept hunting instead of driving. Near the rail line south of Sturgeon Lake a ways a truck load of ore ran off the embankment one day. There was a smaller trailer court and a resturant, general store near Sturgeon Lake where about 30 of the miners lived with there families. Jim, the owner of the place walked his 2U D8 them 20 some miles down the ditch and pulled that truck out of the bog after they shoveled most of the ore out of it. Thanks for the memories.
No problem! I'm always happy to hear stories from way back, especially about places so close to home. Thanks for sharing
your right. probably a 282, or a 239. It is definitely International Harvester engine, Felpro and federal mogul makes all the gaskets and engine parts for them.
I know Jimmy Hickey the boss at Sigfusson trucking in Pickle ; he sends two trucks up to the mine everyday. The trucks come from farther out west then to PL.
I met Jimmy about 5 years ago actually. A friend and I delivered 96 car and truck tires to the Sigfusson shop in Pickle for a couple of the northern reserves, to be picked up by some locals. They showed up in a crew cab short box truck, and AWD safari van to bring all those tires back up north! They fit, but boy it was quite the load! My friend knew Jimmy quite well, as he had grew up in the area. Seemed like a decent fella. What a small world!
Hey all, I'm bringing this back from the dead! Life has just kind of "happened" the last few years and my plans haven't worked out the way I'd hoped. My family sold the farm where I had the loader stored, so I finally had to do something with it. I got it moved down the road to a friends place but not without some issues. The coolant hoses were rotten and let go on the voyage. I stopped at Napa today and picked up everything I need to rectify that problem. I hope to be a bit more active on the forum now that a fire has been lit under my ass!