I'm going to look at a 4500 next week. I don't know anything about them. I am familiar with backhoes in general and the ford tractors the 4500 is based on. I just want to know some of the pro's and con's of this machine. Are there any weak links I need to watch out for?
So nobody knows anything about these machines?
Too old, obsolete 20 years ago
Tough to get parts for.
They are not that hard to get parts for either even though they are old.
With the number of posts about 4500's, Ford must have sold a whole bunch of them. Which means parts will probably still be around, and lots of used tractors being parted out.
sorry didn't see this post till now. I have a 4500 built 1973. Parts are no problem to get. One thing i can say is the machine is awful light. its easy to pull yourself into the trench as the machine dosent have much weight to hold it in place and the hydraulics are far more powerful than the weight of the machine. If it has a cab on it the front bucket is impossible to see while grading. Basically its a 4500 ag tractor with a backhoe kit on it. makes the whole thing very un balanced and heavy to the rear. I cannot pull my machine forward onto a trailer but have to back it on. I think a 800 lbs weight on the front would help this. also with his unbalance there is no down pressure on front bucket for cutting or grading. you can tell that on latter machines they moved the operator station up to improve visibility. not on these you still set on it like an ag tractor putting you very low and bad visibility. OK now after all that I only have $800 in my machine so how much can i really bitch. Great machine around the house and shop but sucks horrible to try and go work it for hire as its just not competitive.
Thanks for the replies. I passed on the machine, someone had told the lady it was worth way more than it is and she wouldn't budge on her astronomical price.
What was she asking for it if you dont mind telling me? Yea its to bad when someone who does not know equipment gets something in their head because someone else who does not know equipment either told them something.
She wanted $8000.00. I didn't know the price till I went to look at it. A friend of mine knew the lady and asked if I was interested. The machine needed tires, has a hydraulic leak that I couldn't readily find and the injection pump was leaking.
If those machines were worth that Id have sold mine years ago! For the record if anyone wants to give me $8000 for mine I will gladly sell it LOL!
Yeah I figured I could probably get 3 of them for 8 grand