I have grown up with an old International 4130 skid steer on the dairy farm. My father picked it up years ago and it was a very handy machine. The skid steer was built by Hydra-Mac and re-badged as an International. The Hydra-Mac 8C was also rebadged as another brand or two. This machine has only one major flaw. It was originally powered by a Onan NHCV Vacu-Flow. That was (as so I was told), a miserable engine that ended up in a class-action lawsuit. http://leagle.com/decision/19901363450NW2d913_11305.xml/HYDRA-MAC, INC. v. ONAN CORP. Well, the "fix" for that engine was another engine. It was pretty much the same, but they reversed the airflow to the standard airflow of any other engine. Intake ant the flywheel and exhaust at the crank (that makes for a warm ride). The rear gate was also changed to allow better airflow. This second engine worked better, but was still very problematic and had the life expectancy of a fruit fly. Third engine lasted a little longer, and the fourth engine has now gave up the ghost. We have always talked about a re-power, but it has never happened. The dairy shut its doors about 15 years ago, but the machine still has been used quite a bit. After my father passed away, but mother relied on this old machine to work on quite a variety of projects. We have a larger model Hydra-Mac, but we can never keep the hydrostats together... So that brings me to what I have up my sleeve. I am going to try and get this dolled up by Christmas with a new heart. I picked up a Robin-Subaru that I am going to try and stuff in the compartment. I thought I would post the process on here as I go through it.
Look forward to seeing your progress. Looks like a big undertaking.
Got a small start on it today!
G'day, I am always fixing the things that just break/wear or get plain ugly. Bobcat 753, MX45 Mitsubishi Excavator, Case CS75, Massey Ferguson 3090, MZ66 Manlift and whatever small equipment have besides the car - Hilux dual cab tipper. I don't have that much space I see you have and am jealous of the space/time you have found. I am on a few acres and maintenance is consuming on the land and equipment. Looking at what you have with the history there it has got to be worth the effort - to be still going and so useful - good on you - go for it! Look forward to the new paint job in the end. Bright yellow to find it? Good luck - hope you clear more hurdles than hit, Regards, MX45
Thanks for the encouraging words! I do appreciate the warm concrete to work on the projects! I am working on this one off-site to aide in the surprise. I am about an hour into it now. I have had this thing apart many times since I was knee high to a grasshopper, so I know where to look for the bolts to pull it down. Time is a real precious commodity for me, but I think this will be knocked out pretty quickly. I am still in the process of a new house for my family, so it takes much of my midnight oil. I did get the engine yanked out. Now ready for a bath... My least favorite part...
Thanks! I'll check it out!
I now have more time in washing all the gunk out of the machine than I have in disassembling. A gallon of powerful degreaser later and a lot of power washing, I can see the bottom of the frame.
I drew up a riser plate drawn up and had it fabricated today to adapt the engine to the old height and bolt pattern. First fitment went pretty good, all things considered. The alignment ring on both engines were the same, but the bolt pattern to bolt the coupler frame to the engine is a bit different, so I'll have to relocate a few mounting holes.
What a fantastic story to put me in the Christmas spirit........I love it! Hoping you manage to pull it off......all my positive thoughts are directed toward you! Please keep up posted with pics! dan
Dan, thanks for the words of encouragement!! I'm chewing off a piece at a time. I remachined the coupler cage tonight and added a new bolt pattern after welding on some tabs. It fit pretty decent, so I am hoping to set the engine in soon for good.
That machine will be an entirely different animal with a smooth running, easy starting V-Twin in it... And at about 2/3 the fuel usage to boot! :beerchug
I sure hope so. It was a pretty good machine beforehand, but the engine was always finicky. I am not up to snuff on Robin engines, but I'm hoping for the best. I was looking at a Honda beforehand, but came across this one.
Very Nice work indeed _ and I believe ROBIN is a Subaru 'brand' somehow, and been around for years.. pretty popular for Auger Engines around here in Canada at least. Should be a nice machine indeed _ Keep up the Good Work, and Pics for us little people to follow along!!
I finally got to put a little bit more time into the skidder tonight and got the first start accomplished!! I had to get a different muffler to get everything to fit. Now I have to do some fancy work to get the exhaust pipe out since I've got some tight clearances.
Glad to see you're moving along with your project, I have been (and will be) looking forward to seeing your progress. Keep up the good work!
We are starting the messy phase of grinding it down and getting ready to give it a nice coat of paint. The decal should be in soon that I am having made so we can get this thing looking the little bit closer to what it used to be. My brother is home from the Navy for a little while and I have volunteered him to help me get it ready for Mom's Christmas present.
Very Nice _ and the 'I have Volunteered Him' is quite perfect too.. Ha Keep up the good work, it will be worth it for the Big Smiles I am sure ~ Hope you can beat St. Nicholas!!
A little farther along.
Finally getting to the good part! My brother and my other brother came over tonight to give this thing a kick in the tail. Decals should be cut tomorrow and hopefully the muffler will be ready, too! Yea, it's a Harbor Freight gun... I like buying one for a project then retiring it. Easier than cleaning it!! Now to start the process of going back together. I should wait until the paint dries, though!
We might actually have this thing ready by Christmas!
Looking great!
Got all the wiring ripped out and reinstalled. Just need to finish the throttle linkage, lights, and some housekeeping details! So close!! Found out the new LED lights got lost in shipping so I'm hoping the new order is here before the big day.
We got the finishing touches all buttoned up tonight. Had a bit of an issue hooking up the throttle. Got it finally done. Everything is done but the lights that are supposed to show up tomorrow. My two younger brothers were quite key in having this ready by Christmas! Thank you both!!
Looks great. Seeing this old iron really shows how far the machinery has come. Too bad more of this stuff becomes paperclips instead of being brought back to life.
Great job guys! Mom will be proud! Ed
Awesome job guys .nice work .looks great
looks great!
How did Mom react? Did she faint? Or just take it for a spin? Looks great
Great job guys! Something like this would have taken me months if I could accomplish it at all! Looks great
I failed to mention we are giving it to her in the morning. Her Christmas is the day after, due to all the other Christmases to attend, including out own. And yes, Santa definitely found our house this year. The skid loader is on the trailer, ready to be delivered in the morning. We have quite the strategy planned for the unveiling. I am going to run home when I forgot something, and she is going to get a gift of keys right before I show back up with it behind me. Sounds good, right?? Here it is, ready to go:
Wonderful Work and News, so glad you have got it done ^^ I am SURE the look on her face will be NOTHING short of a Christmas Miracle.. Make sure the Video cameras are running, as many as you can get going from all angles, it will be a classic moment.. Merry Christmas to all out there, have a wonderful holiday season, and Travel Safely if you are!!
Thanks, all for the great comments and support! It was a success!!! She had a suspicion that she was getting a repower for Christmas, but not a redo! I did not realize until now that my parents bought it originally less than a year old. It was pretty cool seeing her reaction. She was in it and had it running and ready to get off the trailer quicker than we could unstrap it! Down the driveway she went after backing it off the trailer, and she never likes to back off trailers. It definitely made the whole ordeal worth it! Now I'm going to share this thread to her so she can see the process. Merry Christmas, Mom!
Awesome
WOW! Very nice job! I did not know that those old IH skid steers were HydroMac.
WOW! Amazing! I didn't get any email updates on this thread, and just thought of it now, after work and holiday distractions, and came here to check on progress. What a great job, looks great. I am sure your Mom is thrilled with the end result. The other amazing thing is that you were able to make this happen so fast. Congrats! dan
G'day - You clearly know the 'right' things to treasure in life - brings great things into being - thanks for sharing, Regards, MX45
Great story you and your brothers did a very good job.
Good Evening, I just picked up an old IH4130. I am in need of decals and noted the superb job you did. Mainly the actuator decal for the two joysticks. Having issues finding anything. Can you give me any leads to land these? Thanks, Mike, Middle of da Mitten, Michigan
Howdy! We actually had them remade with a local shop. If you want, send me a PM and I can pass along the info.
I missed the original thread. I love reading posts like these. People definitely get attached to their older machines. That machine looks super, good attention to detail and anti-skid tape to keep your mom from slipping. Nice work, guys! Probably too early to tell, but, how is the engine holding up so far? The outfit that made the decals ought to have the program available to print out another set.
Thanks! It was a fun project. The engine has been holding up well, but there are a few things that we have found. The engine is not quite as peppy as I was hoping. I should have went with a few more horses, but it does work. The next issue we found was cold starting. When the engine cranks hard with cold hydros, the ignition system does not get enough voltage to fire. I need to sneak in a cap and a diode to make a start circuit to help with that. The engine does run pretty warm in the semi-confined area, so I am going to mount a fan with a thermostat on top of the engine area to cool the engine a bit better. The v-twin seems to not run quite as smooth as the old opposed cylinder Onan. The gearbox chatters quite a bit more, but other than knocking the coupler loose a few times, it seems to do pretty good at high idle.
Hi I just bought a hydra mac 8c and it was re powered with a 28 horse john deere diesel, but the only thing was when I bought it the guy said the coupler between the engine and the gearbox that drives the hydraulic motors was bad. The coupler appears to be fine but the bolts that hold the gearbox to the frame backed out and I was wondering if there was any special seal around the splines of the shaft or the bracket in between the engine and gearbox or can I just put silicone there.
As far as I can remember, I think we siliconed the bolts that go into the gearbox. The shaft should have an oil seal on it.
what a sweet unit. we used to have one of those back in the day, for a very short time, because it was problematic. then it was all bobcat after that. another interesting unit: https://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-ra...-arm-bandit-compact-skid-loader-/122419571853
Awesome machines & Restore!! Just letting you know... I'm trying my best & giving my all to get the word out there these machines and the Hydra-macs are still out there so if you have facebook please consider joining my Group and let your other IH/Hydra-Mac skid steer guys know to join it too, Parts contacts, Guys with Manuals etc. Almost 100 members!! https://www.facebook.com/groups/HydraMac/
Yup... The 4130 - 4155 Where Hydra-Mac made, the 3200/3300s IHs where made by NMC-Wollard & the 4120/4125 One Arms where Husler.
Hi Mike, If you on Facebook I have a group for them IH/Hydra-Mac skid steers. https://www.facebook.com/groups/HydraMac/
After a few years on the repower, we decided to roll back the “upgrade” to the old Onan. The v-twin just didn’t have enough umph and rattled the poor power divider a little too hard. We found a Onan generator that had the same block as the old engine. We pulled it down and swapped parts around to get a good engine again.
Before and after
Good afternoon, I am new in this forum and I don't know if you are still hanging around in the forum or not, I noticed that the last post was on April of 2020, but I am going to try my best. I need your help and advise on this similar unit IH4130 that I am also going to try and restore it back to its glory days, and I will be needing your help with rebuilding the gearboxes for parts research or online locations for parts. Also I will be needing the original fuel tank, I'm using an external which unless is not secure it will bounce everywhere, paint code you used to paint yours, and also where to find the location to have all IH labels made including all small warning labels as well. Any help I will really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. I really believe that we have to maintain antique little machines like this rolling for generations to come. Cheers brother, and just to let you know that your finished product really made me think it over to completely rebuild mine close to factory look. Hope to hear from you soon!