Brake/Planter Drive Question on a Farmall 230

[AL Farmall Boy]

Recently bought an original looking Farmall 230 with the fast hitch and several pieces of equipment that included a 2-row planter & side dresser unit. I'm not very familiar with these tractors, but I do know the planter and side dresser drive off of the center of the brake drums. While looking over the tractor last night getting it ready to try and start up, I noticed that the PO had a piece of old rubber hose over one side of the center drive piece of the brake drum to protect it I guess. Well hen I went to the other side and discovered this piece on the other one. It looks to be a red plastic cap with "IH" on it. Is that original and was it intended for its current use? The tractor is a 1957 model and I wouldn't think it came with something like that but if so it would be awesome knowing it's still There!!!

[AL Farmall Boy]

Pics

[AL Farmall Boy]

Just wanted to see if anyone had anything to say about this. I guess it is possible it is a plastic top off of an aerosol can used as a cover, but wanted to ask in case this could have been something from the factory. I'd rather not remove it unless I have to in case it is stretched on there and wouldn't go back on.

[Jim Becker]

In all the disk-brake equipped IH tractors I have seen, I have never seen one with any sort of plastic cover on the shaft. As I recall, some, if not all, of them came with a cap over the whole opening. It looked a lot like a cap on an auto front wheel hub. I don't know if it went in place of the metal part immediately behind your plastic cap or attached to it. If you have the parts catalog, you can see it in the 230 pictures in the front.

Since some of the control parts for a seed drive are there, some parts were previously attached to the shaft and the cap was put on after the seed drive was removed.

[AL Farmall Boy]

Yeah I was thinking that too since those other parts are on there, but was hoping that this might have been a factory cover. Sure would be really neat if so. I did have my doubts since plastic wasn't widely used like that back then.

I wonder what this could have came off of? Has a nice raised IH logo