First of all Hi! Just joined this forum in hopes of learning more about this machine/project I acquired off the side of the road. Bought a 1969 Ford 4500 industrial Backhoe, runs great although you need starting fluid to get it going from cold, I dont think the glow plug system (if it has one) works. Once running it sounds very healthy. Has the 4 speed automatic shuttle shift tranny wich works as it should. Everything moves around as it should, the crowd cylinder leaks pretty bad and will need new packing. Backhoe is pretty sloppy toward the bucket end and could use some new pins/bushings. Has other various issues as well, the torque converter or something in there drips oil, charging system doesnt work, brakes work good but I found chunks of what I think were the brake disks in the oil from the rear end when I changed it, so those may need attention in the future.. (I hear thats a pain in the ass) Theres a knob/valve looking thing on the loader controls, right next to the 2 levers, I have no idea what its for, I was wondering if someone could tell me, its stuck and wont move whatever it is. Ill attach pictures of it. I couldnt find any info on whatever it is in the manual. Theres also a foot pedal on the backhoe which is not in the manual for the backhoe, I think someone added it, it appears to activate a PTO hydraulic connection on the back of the hoe, just a loop with a quick disconnect on it, was wondering what youde use a uni directional pto for on a backhoe? Kind of neat, not sure what Id do with it though unless it went in both directions, (a thumb) Picked up from side of road for $2500.00 Tractor is a 1969 4500, Tractor#: C216536 model: D5011F, Engine: 3 cylinder diesel 9E1B, Tranny: 9H7, Rear: 9E17B The Backhoe is a series : 755, serial: 1484 Loader Model: I9501 serial: 5357 Has anyone ever split one of these to address the torque converter leaking issue? Everyone says just leave it but for a machine Id be using alot I really dont like leaks, they generally lead to larger leaks eventually. I bought the machine this past fall to use on a 30 acre plot of land that needs lots of digging done, my plan is to bring it back to spec doing all the work myself. I recently rebuilt my bobcat m600 so Im familiar with working on things like this. Right now I just want as much information as I can get on these beasts so Id love to hear from anyone else who has one or has worked on one. Where is a good (and reasonably priced) source of parts for these machines? Last but not least, shes been sitting all winter, I started her once 2 months ago, all good, started her again recently and the hoe hydraulics seem very very slow, and the dipstick would only actuate in one direction, inward, outriggers will only go up but not down, any suggestions? My thought was maybe theres some water in the hydro oil and its blocking something. Thanks in advance for any info!
Hey Welcome to the Forum. For what you paid can't go wrong its prolly worth that in scrap. I'll take a stab at a few of the questions. The knob on front controls is most likely to active float for the front bucket (ie it makes the front bucket ride along the surface rather than digging in while grading). The foot pedal in the back is most likely for a hammer circuit which allows a boat ton of fluid through to the hammer but only 1 way. As for Parts actually I have made out extremely well on ebay, IMO Most Ford parts are some of the common and cheapest out there. (example I think my water pump is going, found one for $40 shipped can't imaging what that would be in D or C). Guaranteed with the age and look of those hoses your gonna blow more that just a few. Here is a link that can help you order some up rather than get priced out locally. It will help you identify the type then you can get them either made up or shop around. https://www.hydraulicsdirect.com/Fitting-Thread-Chart-s/1934.htm Again just guessing based on some of the same things I've seen and the one pic so take it w a grain of salt...
Welcome to the forum. No experience with your model and just learning as I go myself. I have also had good results with ebay for parts and hydraulic seals.
First thing I would do is put some kind of ROPs on it. You might get some info on the tractor end of it on a forum called yesterday's tractors. I have an old Ferguson, and I get a lot of useful info there.
The knob on the side was an attemp to make the bucket stay level while you raise the bucket and not have to push the lever to dump the bucket a little while raising so it dosent dump material on your hood. In one position the bucket does not move while raising the arms and if you dont manually tip out while raising the material dumps over the back of your bucket and on your hood. In the other position it will allow a small bit of creep or bleed off in the bucket cylinders theoretically keeping bucket at same attutude while raising the arms. Only problem is the rate is extremely different as per material weight and the rate off bucket roll while raisi g is never a constant. Its either to much or not enough and i just never use it and tip bucket out manually while raising the bucket. Is that clear as mud?
Thanks for the responses, I had read about the autoleveling buckets online and had wondered if thats what I had. When I first got it I moved a large rock with the loader and noticed that the bucket dropped as I raised the arms, I guess maybe it works, I found it more annoying than helpful because it kept almost dumping the rock, but I havent tried it with loose material yet. The knob looks like its supposed to push in and out to activate the feature, seems to be stuck in the on position, so for now Ill get used to it.. Update, the backhoe seems to work fine now that it got warmer, so there must be some water somewhere in the hydro fluid. Was wondering also if anyone is familiar with the 755 backhoes, I looked up my crowd cylinder seals and there apears to be both "new" and "old" style seals, I was wondering if it was just an updated part? like I could use either one, or if there were 2 different setups for the seals and I would need a specific one. Ive also had pretty good luck with Ebay, got some manuals for it, service, parts, and the backhoe service manual. Those E-manuals in PDF form are a great money saver! I do plan to replace the hoses as theres a few that look pretty sketchy and its probably best to do all of them at once, or at least the hard to reach ones for now.. Step 1 for me is to remove the backhoe and tighten up all the joints with new pins and bushings, some bushings have worn an oblong hole and so some sort of boring and then oversive bushings will be necessary. So now Im researching machining and materials.. One project leads to another!
Just got done splitting my 4500 to change the clutch. Not a bad job really. I am fortunate to do this in a heated garage, so that helps. I am in the process of a mini restoration so I took the loader and backhoe off. Giving my credit card a work out at Yesterday's Tractor, Steiners, and Chappell Tractor though!