4500 loader backhoe fluids

[glennster]

friend has a 4500 ford industrial loader back hoe. looking for recommended type of fluid for transmission and rear end. have the manual, but it doesnt say what type of oils to use. thanks, oh and its a manual trans

 

[souNdguy]

utf fluid meeting m2c134 spec...

pretty much any house brand utf fluid then.. etc...

 

[Ecnerwal]

Not sure what manual you/friend have, my 3400/3500/4400/4500 operators manual calls for a variety of outmoded fluids by Ford, all of which have been superceded by New Holland 134D. Which as, sound guy says, means nearly any UTF (but do check that 134D is one of the specs it meets.)

The nose hydraulics (loader and backhoe) don't need to be 134D, but using just one fluid is simpler and harder to screw up, and 134D works fine there too.

Engine oil, fuel, 134D, and grease.

On a 6/4 manual, the grease cup for the clutch throwout bearing in front of the right toes needs to be turned 1/2 turn every 50 hours, or a full turn if "subject to continuous loader/backhoe operations" - too much is worse than enough (can get grease on the clutch), so never more than one full turn, and not more often than every 50 hours. When it won't turn anymore, remove and refill.

The 20 or so zerks are supposed to be hit every day. The ones underneath have often been neglected. The main lower pin of the backhoe unit has a zerk in a recess on the bottom end, for instance. If you can't see it, start digging with a nail at the packed dirt. There are two or three on the steering/axle mount that are under the tractor.

 

[sixbales]

Howdy Ecnerwal,
On a 4500, is the hydraulic fluid reservoir for the engine mounted pump in the upright of the loader frame? When you check the hydraulic fluid level, do you have the loader and backhoe cylinders retracted or extended?

 

[shaun wallace]

The TLB hyd resivour is the top half of nose. Under lid held down by hood half there is a breather with dipstick atached. Ezeyist to add oil is to take big cover off and pour in. This is where hyd filter is located.

 

[Ecnerwal]

Actually, it's both.

The nose reservoir is where you check & fill it (breather dipstick, as described, but I've never seen one with the half-hood intact yet except in a picture) but that's only about 4 gallons - there's another 15 or so gallons in the loader frame. You don't need to access the loader frame part except when draining it all, though, because the high point of the system is the nose tank. Since the only access on the loader frame is a drain plug and the hose connections, that's a good thing.

Buckets flat on the ground, & tractor level for correct dipstick reading, which is neither all in nor all out. It's worth mentioning that the correct park position for the backhoe bucket is with the dipperstick vertical - I've seen many pictures of them parked with it tucked all the way under (towards the tractor) and I recall a note in one of the manuals that this was poor practice due to the way the leverage worked out when it was pushing from that position. Digging, which is pulling, is fine in that range - pushing or parking (which ends up being a push as the hoe settles) should be limited to vertical or further out than vertical.

The big round cover is the pleated paper filter for the hydraulics, there is also a screen on the fitting where that tank feeds the nose pump - you have to drain the 4 gallons or so in the nose tank and remove the 4 bolts holding the fitting in place to check/clean that screen. There is a drain plug on the fitting for that purpose.

I find a pointy funnel into the dipstick/breather hole easier than pulling the big filter cover to top up fluid. Make sure the funnel point fits into the lower hole, which is why it has to be pointy. If you were changing all 20 gallons or so, the big cover would be easier and you'd probably be changing that filter anyway.

On older units (my '68 is one) the power steering is also using nose tank fluid, and serves as a crude "low" indicator. That also has a screen on it where it exits the tank. Later units (my '73) have a power steering reservoir on the power steering pump; older units may have that if the pump was replaced. I don't recall when the change was supposed to be made.

The driveshaft for the nose pump also has zerks which are also not as well loved as they should be on a lot of tractors, since they are inconvenient to get to.

 

[oldhousehugger]

The loader and backhoe are powered by the PTO driven pump in the front end under the nose tank. It is very important to grease the 2 U-joints on the short driveshaft coming off the front end of the crankshaft. It is necessary to remove the pump to get the driveshaft out if it needs work.

There is a screen at the very bottom of the nose tank which drops out when you disconnect the supply hose to the inlet of the pump. Condensation water may collect there as well as in the lowest parts of the frame tanks. It is good practice to drain the entire system from the plug lowest on the frame next to the left rear tire. Then you can also drain the crossover hose, which is the lowest point of all. I save and filter the oil if it looks usable and then reuse it along with whatever it takes to top off the casting.

The transmission and differential/ reduction gears and wet brakes also live in oil. There are two plugs in the sides of the castings which indicate oil level. You keep filling the casting until oil runs out the upper hole. High tech. I have been using Oreilly 303 Tractor fluid in my machine and have had no problems so far. I think I may have added some 90 weight to the differential as well but the brakes live in there so it’s important to have at least some of the right oils for them to work in.
I did drain the rear end fluids just to see what was there prior to replacing the rubber boots on the brake levers, which enter the axle castings. If your rubber boots are bad any oil you dump into the rear-end may soon be lying in a puddle under the tractor below the brake actuator rods. You can get new boots from Messicks in Pa. They are by far the most reasonably priced OEM parts supplier I have found. They have all the Ford / New Holland parts books on line.

 

[PMan]

Thanks for the info