The power steering on my 4500 has been broken for years - I haven't been using the tractor that much, partly due to other things to do, partly due to no power steering, and it has resisted my efforts to repair it (pin for cylinder just won't come out, and I still haven't tried the exciting "burning it out" method you might find in an old post here).
Despite babying it along (no loader use, and using the loader to pick up the front to turn the wheels) the manual steering is now dead as well. I haven't gotten that (it's the gearbox at the base of the steering column that's not working on that) apart to see what's wrong yet, but I'm throughly tempted to chuck the whole weak business for something that works better - thinking, if I can find the parts, that the fully hydraulic PS seen on the 5500 and 550 in the repair manuals looks like someone at Ford figured out that this system stank and changed it. Presumably there may also be later tractors with steering that could transfer.
Another thought (since I'm where VT,MA and NY intersect, and have not seen much for tractor junkyards locally) is to go get a heavy duty 2WD truck axle and power steering box at the junkyard and bodge (perhaps by welding the truck axle to the 4500 axle) it on there, particularly since one the of the spindle mount castings on the 4500 axle is also pre-boogered (one of many things I didn't know to look for when I bought this thing). An entire 4500 in better shape with a blown motor or crapped out select-o-speed might be another option, but again, not too many 4500's to be found, at least when I go looking for them. I have a good diesel and 6/4 transmission on this one, and a lot of badly worn bushings from a previous owner that didn't believe in using a grease gun.
Of course, nothing much likes to come apart when it should either, so swapping major parts like that would be a frustrating experience, but having no steering at all is pretty frustrating & useless too.
This is a 1969 4500 with 740 loader and 753 (13 ft) backhoe.
Despite babying it along (no loader use, and using the loader to pick up the front to turn the wheels) the manual steering is now dead as well. I haven't gotten that (it's the gearbox at the base of the steering column that's not working on that) apart to see what's wrong yet, but I'm throughly tempted to chuck the whole weak business for something that works better - thinking, if I can find the parts, that the fully hydraulic PS seen on the 5500 and 550 in the repair manuals looks like someone at Ford figured out that this system stank and changed it. Presumably there may also be later tractors with steering that could transfer.
Another thought (since I'm where VT,MA and NY intersect, and have not seen much for tractor junkyards locally) is to go get a heavy duty 2WD truck axle and power steering box at the junkyard and bodge (perhaps by welding the truck axle to the 4500 axle) it on there, particularly since one the of the spindle mount castings on the 4500 axle is also pre-boogered (one of many things I didn't know to look for when I bought this thing). An entire 4500 in better shape with a blown motor or crapped out select-o-speed might be another option, but again, not too many 4500's to be found, at least when I go looking for them. I have a good diesel and 6/4 transmission on this one, and a lot of badly worn bushings from a previous owner that didn't believe in using a grease gun.
Of course, nothing much likes to come apart when it should either, so swapping major parts like that would be a frustrating experience, but having no steering at all is pretty frustrating & useless too.
This is a 1969 4500 with 740 loader and 753 (13 ft) backhoe.
