Mf220 backhoe ?s

[Diymechanicmike]

Hello, I'm in the process of purchasing a mf220 backhoe attachment to use with my tractor. I have a few questions about it. How much does just the backhoe attachment weigh with all the frame mounting brackets and the 2 links? I have a decent drive to go get it and at the moment I only have my single axle trailer I use for firewood and lawn mower hauling and some other odds and ends. My other trailer has freshly milled slabs stacked on it to replace the deck, so its outta commish. Just want to make sure this backhoe attachment doesnt weigh more then 1500-2000 lbs cuz that might be all my trailer can handle. Its homemade so there is no capacity on it. But I did modify it by removing the old rubber torsion axle it had and welded a new axle with leaf springs on it for more weight capacity and ground clearance.

Also had some questions about the unit. At the moment from it sitting it has some surface rust spots on the exposed part of a couple cylinders. Can this be cleaned off with steel wool and hydraulic fluid as the scrubbing agent? Only thing I could think of when looking at it, cuz if that part goes into the housing of cylinder, that dust seal is gonna get scraped up pretty good. I'll probably have more questions in the future but I think that is a good start.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

[Stan Coryell]

If it this backhoe like found on a 202, shipping weight is listed at #2300s. Owners manuals are available.

I would say make sure you get it for a very good price. The cylinders with bad chrome will need to be re-chromed and repacked to get repaired properly (or replaced). They may only weap or they may leak badly the way they currently are. It would be best if you can see it in operation. Personally, if I couldnt see it in operation, it would carry scrap value. Hoses and that spool valve can get costly quick. Not to mention pins and bushings. If it has sat a while, even in operation, the pins may apear much tighter than they are.

I had a loader lift cylinder rebuilt last year (1.875 x 31 rod size) because of a steady drip caused by pitted chrome. This included the rod being ground and chromed by a very good local shop. To remake the rod wasn't feesiable because of the design, $1K, a very fair price. This was the best option, as the other cylinder is in very good shape and replacing the pair would have been more expensive.

Any Pictures?

 

[ptfarmer]

I would say it's 2000lbs minimum (it's alot of metal), a trailer with a 3500lb capacity would be the minimum.

 

[Diymechanicmike]

(quoted from post at 10:28:22 01/04/23) If it this backhoe like found on a 202, shipping weight is listed at #2300s. Owners manuals are available.

I would say make sure you get it for a very good price. The cylinders with bad chrome will need to be re-chromed and repacked to get repaired properly (or replaced). They may only weap or they may leak badly the way they currently are. It would be best if you can see it in operation. Personally, if I couldnt see it in operation, it would carry scrap value. Hoses and that spool valve can get costly quick. Not to mention pins and bushings. If it has sat a while, even in operation, the pins may apear much tighter than they are.

I had a loader lift cylinder rebuilt last year (1.875 x 31 rod size) because of a steady drip caused by pitted chrome. This included the rod being ground and chromed by a very good local shop. To remake the rod wasn't feesiable because of the design, $1K, a very fair price. This was the best option, as the other cylinder is in very good shape and replacing the pair would have been more expensive.

Any Pictures?

yeah I came across that pdf of the backhoe manual and seen 2300lbs listed, I also saw some shipping receipt online of one being shipped from point a to b, and it listed 1250lbs so I was a tad confused. What would you consider scrap value? Like 0.25 cents a lb? Or maybe 0.32cents a lb since it is all put together in one piece creating something potentially useful? And everything is there with it to make it even more potentially useful.... lol. And no pics sorry. But it looks like most of them do, that hasnt been repainted since the factory done it. I looked it over really good, there arnt any cracks or reweld jobs on main stress points, minor weld jobs on the bucket, and a chain to the main frame(I assume to chain the backhoe still for transport, or possible leaks). Looks like somebody definatly greased the machine very well most of its life, and forgot their wiping rag. All the levers are free and moving. I was told it was being used in 2017 before the engine seized. It sat alot and the exhaust rusted and fell off and nobody put a can over it. But I'm just after the backhoe. I have an extra tractor already to work on, dont need another lined up....but this backhoe, I could make time for that!

 

[Diymechanicmike]

(quoted from post at 18:42:50 01/04/23) I would say it's 2000lbs minimum (it's alot of metal), a trailer with a 3500lb capacity would be the minimum.

actually brought my trailer I'm gonna use home today and looked it over and found that it does have a weight stamp, 3500lbs and 500lbs tounge load, which I'm sure I have exceeded that with firewood. If it squats the truck, I'm sure that's over 500lbs lol. But I should be good for the backhoe haul. Just gonna bring every strap I got. Seems like it would be much safer hauling it attached to a tractor lol.

 

[Stan Coryell]

I would say it's a solid #2k.

Scrap runs around $0.15 here.

I have no doubt it can be fixed, anything
can. I just wanted to point out the
condition is poor to unknown. You said
some of the chrome is pitted. I would
expect those cylinders to leak. They can
be rebuilt but won't last without a
rechrome.

How did the hoses look? Newish or cracked?
Hoses get costly. The same for the spool
valves.

If I were going to tie that into a
hydraulic system:
Break a few fittings loose, drain some
fluid into a clear container, let it sit
for a bit and then see what it looks and
smells like. It should be clear to a
yellow clear.

Make sure there isn't a milky color or a
burnt smell. If so I would try to get
every bit out of it.

Spools, pumps, and your cylinders rely on
a very close fit and a thin film of oil to
create a seal. Anything abasive can
destroy these parts and ruin their ability
to seal. Think of them like the piston
rings in an engine. There isn't any sense
contaminating your hydraulic system.

One last note. That backhoe is strong! The
have been known to bust the trumpet
casting (Axel housing). Don't over do it.

I wish you luck. Let us know how it pans
out.

Stan Coryell
Mickleton, NJ

 

[Diymechanicmike]

yeah i think im good on the weight factor now. dang the recycling centers are straight up taking it from you in your area. might be less tweekers in your area tho, however i bet everybody just holds onto scrap metal alot longer as well.

now i wouldnt say the chrome is pitted, looked to me like it was just on the surface of the chrome. i felt it and it didnt seem concaved more protruded thats why i said surface rust. but it is only on the very end of rod that i assume is exposed continuously. the boom cylinder looked great from what i could see but its mostly retracted when sitting. the dipper cylinder was the worse it looked like chicken pocks on the top 3-4inches or so of rod. the bucket cylinder looked decent as well.

but yeah some of the lines were newer and some older they do have the steel braided hoses on it so thats a plus cuz i have had some of those with the steel braid showing and not leak a bit. but i know lines get pricey i own a bucket truck and a squirrel can really do damage to your wallet. lol. the valves looked fine and were free, no rust on those so only thing with that would be o rings and thats cheap.

and yes i was thinking about the old fluid in it. ill definatly try your drain test and look at it to decide if it all needs drained before i hook it up. i was planning to do that near my next fluid swap so i could mix it all up together in my tractor moving every cylinder multiple times then retract all cylinders drain and refill with new and it should be diluted enough with fresh to not hurt anything.

glad to hear its strong cuz thats what we like lol. but any certain things that shouldnt be done to keep from breaking an axle tube? i wouldnt wanna do that.

ill forsure let ya know how it all pans out and ill post a pic of my haul home with my fabricated atwood camper/utility trailer conversion. lol.

 

[Diymechanicmike]

(quoted from post at 09:27:17 01/07/23) yeah i think im good on the weight factor now. dang the recycling centers are straight up taking it from you in your area. might be less tweekers in your area tho, however i bet everybody just holds onto scrap metal alot longer as well.

now i wouldnt say the chrome is pitted, looked to me like it was just on the surface of the chrome. i felt it and it didnt seem concaved more protruded thats why i said surface rust. but it is only on the very end of rod that i assume is exposed continuously. the boom cylinder looked great from what i could see but its mostly retracted when sitting. the dipper cylinder was the worse it looked like chicken pocks on the top 3-4inches or so of rod. the bucket cylinder looked decent as well.

but yeah some of the lines were newer and some older they do have the steel braided hoses on it so thats a plus cuz i have had some of those with the steel braid showing and not leak a bit. but i know lines get pricey i own a bucket truck and a squirrel can really do damage to your wallet. lol. the valves looked fine and were free, no rust on those so only thing with that would be o rings and thats cheap.

and yes i was thinking about the old fluid in it. ill definatly try your drain test and look at it to decide if it all needs drained before i hook it up. i was planning to do that near my next fluid swap so i could mix it all up together in my tractor moving every cylinder multiple times then retract all cylinders drain and refill with new and it should be diluted enough with fresh to not hurt anything.

glad to hear its strong cuz thats what we like lol. but any certain things that shouldnt be done to keep from breaking an axle tube? i wouldnt wanna do that.

ill forsure let ya know how it all pans out and ill post a pic of my haul home with my fabricated atwood camper/utility trailer conversion. lol.

well there it is, lil rough around the edges but hey its 50 years old, what can you expect. But there isnt any major structural damage to it. Only a few welds on the unit for some holding chains. The cylinder rods are actually flaking some of the chrome off and that's where the surface rust was. I actually cleaned it up with soapy water to get the dust loaded grease off the rods then used wd-40 and a piece of steel wool to clean the rods and WOW, I couldn't believe how much better they looked after that. Dont think I'll have any issues with the dust seal getting ripped when I rebuild the cylinders. However I can definatly see some possible weeping/leaking areas due to the
Chrome flaking. Maybe I'll get a quote for a chrome dip, I googled prices and it came up with 2-3 bucks per square inch for re-chroming, I didnt do the math but seems pricey but nothing close to 1k like someone said. But I guess I'll just find out how bad the rods leak if I need to re-chrome or not. But at this point I dont think they are gonna leak to bad if they even do.

Now to the trailer part of my haul, this was a very sketchy haul with this trailer. The backhoe is very top heavy and my trailer is barely wide enough for it so I had to take turns very slowly cuz it rocked pretty good the first turn I went around and had a bump. All i could think is this is gonna flip and just rip my trailer tounge right off my hitch the whole hour n half drive home!!! But we made it safely. And yes this was a max load for my trailer and I'll never haul anything that heavy and tall on it ever again lol. Lesson learned there.

 

[Diymechanicmike]

Anyone have any sources for manuals for this unit? Parts manual, shop manual, and operators manual?

Thanks,

Mike