Ford 540 vs 445... Now 545 D

[NCHorselogger]

Both machines are too far away to travel and check out in person unfortunately.  Hard to find these loaders around here.  The one with AC was municipal owned as you mentioned.  Fella bought it and is just flipping it.  The other is further north and he has sent me several videos of it running and loader operating.  He has a local dealership that offered him 17,700 for it.  I'm hoping I can check with them since they combed over it.  Otherwise, it's a gamble buying without putting your hands on it.... 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I've bought a lot of equipment and if I can't go and operate it myself then it has to be dirt cheap because everytime I buy without looking I always end up dumping a bunch of money into it.

I doubt the dealer will tell you anything and I also doubt they combed over it at all. I've sold and traded a few things to dealers and not once have they looked at more than a picture before giving me a price.

[chevytaHOE5674]

I drove 14 hours one way to look at a tractor. The cost of the drive, food, hotel, etc was cheap compared to buying a piece of junk. Pictures and videos it looked great, in person I looked at it for 10 minutes before running away. Haha

[NCHorselogger]

Yeah, neither are cheap and I can't travel that distance to go look.  I agree that it's a gamble and generally one where I would likely come out on the losing end without due diligence.  Those things never favor the buyer.  I'll keep looking or maybe see about hiring a local mechanic to inspect.  

[ncsawyer]

Nice Setup there, NCSawyer.  I had noticed the outer box on several I have looked at and was not sure what the configuration was for.  Where did you source your ssqa and grapple?

The quick attach is here https://hayspear.com/new-holland-445d-545-loader-to-skid-steer-attachments/
It allows for your bucket/grapple/forks to attach closer to the loader pins than the ATI version. https://asktractormike.com/product/ford-445c-445d-545c-545d-industrial-tractor-skid-steer-quick-attach-conversion/
The one I used came with pins and is rated for the 5000lbs the machine is rated for.  
The grapple is a Construction Attachment grapple.  The manufacturer is in Lenoir, NC.  They are one of the heaviest grapples out there.  Mine is their middle duty one and is extremely heavy and well built piece.  You cannot buy direct from company.  You will need to find a
dealer.  I picked mine up barely used and saved $1,000.

[newoodguy78]

Has anyone with these tractors had the 4wd bind up on them? What was the culprit?
Was going down the road with ours the other day and it locked up good. To the point it tossed me up onto the steering wheel, thought I had been rear ended initially. Limped into the closest field and trailered it home. It would drive slowly but sounded awfully expensive when in motion.I suspect someone else sent it down the road in 4wd drive but not positive.

Took the driveshaft out and everything is fine zero issues driving it around and no unfamiliar noise coming from anywhere.
Initially I suspected the transfer case had an issue, after talking to a service tech he wasn't very quick to assume that. 

I swapped out the front axle from a parts tractor ( the front end was functional when I put it there) same issue. Drive it around in 4wd and it's binding up pretty bad.
Back to the shop it went . 

At this point I've pulled the front end totally apart,axles out final drives everything. All parts spin free and ther is no signs of chipped teeth or filings anywhere. I pulled the transfer case down,same thing that I can tell everything looks good in it and the gear that drives it in the rear end.

The only thing I've found is some metal that looks like shims in the gearbox between the driveshaft and front axle. With that said it spins freely by hand. Certainly not a good thing but have seen a lot worse.

Was really thinking I'd find some heavy carnage but not so much. Any advice on what I'm missing would be greatly appreciated.

[newoodguy78]

 

 

 
Not sure how to delete the double picture but this is the axle tag.

[Jack S]

Newwood guy, I may be way out of it but I had a thought. If your tires and wheels are not matched to the gear ratios for some reason especially on pavement after a number  of rotations  the slower front or rear is going  to start putting the brakes on because it can't catch up. Does this make sense? something to think about anyway.

Jack

[newoodguy78]

You're not wrong in your thinking of wheel size however in this case I don't believe that's the issue. The tractor has the proper size tires that are recommended. 

[chevytaHOE5674]

So all the tires are actually locking up? When this happens does the torque converter slip or does the motor die?

Does it happen in both 2wd and 4wd?

When in 2wd are you sure the front axle is disengaging?

[newoodguy78]

When it happened initially it left skid marks in the road...
The motor dies or bogs down when it starts to happen definitely a power draw, it's got the 6x4 manual transmission no reverser. 
2wd with driveshaft in it isn't as bad but something is off.   No driveshaft no issues. 4wd is a definite issue. 
Never thought of it being completely disengaged to be honest 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I would lift it up safely and run it on jack stands and see if you can pinpoint the issue.

My first guess is something in the front axle as the "transfer case" is pretty simple and unless it isn't fully disengaging there isn't much to go wrong. 

[newoodguy78]

I'll probably do that tomorrow. What has me perplexed is the front axle in it now was working with no issues when I stopped using it. 
Stay tuned I'll be back with more crazy questions. Had to walk away from it this evening. 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Certainly is odd. The transfer case is just a shift fork, and coupling that engages the gear off the rear pinion gear iirc. Not much in there other then some bearings and the coupling, if no gear teeth at missing.

Lift the front axle up in 2wd. Spin it over by hand and see how it feels. It should spin nice and smooth.

[Andries]

You've got me scratching my head newoodguy. 
Because all the other big pieces in the drivetrain are checking out, perhaps it's the hanger bearing in the driveshaft that might be seized. Mine are hidden by a belly pan type of shield (drawing)
and only a really close look will show you the grease zerks in there. On my 545D it looked like it hadn't seen a squirt of grease since it left the factory. The shield is good protection for the driveshaft, but holds a lot of ground crud up against the bearing as well.
ChevytaHOE has a great suggestion to put it up on blocks, fire it up and run the wheels, with a very VERY trusted person in the seat.
 Process of elimination should show you where the troubles are coming from.

[newoodguy78]

Andries the hanger bearing was something I thought of . Mine spins free as can be.

[GRANITEstateMP]

with the front shaft out driving it around, you said it still felt a bit off? All toward the front, could you feel it through the steering wheel? Any odd feeling in the trans or toward the rear?  When it did it the first time, which wheels left skid marks?  Sorry to bombard you with so many questions all at once!

[newoodguy78]

With the driveshaft out it there's no issue or signs of problems at all. When it locked up on the road the front wheels skidded. You could feel the problem through the whole machine and was hard to pinpoint where the problem was coming from exactly.
Good questions,hopefully this helps someone in the future.

All that said I'm pretty sure it's been figured out. Yesterday I got messing with things and looking them over. Went to spin the input shaft on the offset gearbox between the driveshaft and axle that is the pivot point. I'd spun that thing over by hand multiple times and sensed no issues so just started looking elsewhere. This time the shaft wiggled the slightest bit, spun it and didn't feel right then it went smooth with no wiggle. Alright you sucker I thought and grabbed a hammer as I spun it started hitting the side of the gearbox,bam it bound up. Opened it up and the bearing was bad. Now it has me wondering if the replacement has the same issue and it just never showed it's face before.

I'm shocked no gears were broken with as fierce as the initial lockup was. I suspect the driveshaft torqued the shaft just enough to cause binding. A little bummed I took everything apart that I did but at least I know stuff is good and everything will get new seals when it goes back together.

That was early yesterday morning before I headed to the field good start to the day. Went to the field ran all day on another tractor with no issues or so I thought. Parked when I got done went to do something else, came back by the tractor and saw this. Always something....

 
You know what they say "if you aren't fixin you aren't farmin" :D

[thecfarm]

Both!!!!    ???    
I guess the back tire ran over it too.  :(

[GRANITEstateMP]

newoodguy78, I've done plenty of circle track racing, vut that is a bit much in the front and rear stagger department!

[newoodguy78]

Oh I could spin some left hand circles no problem with that setup  :D

[Andries]

@newoodguy78 if I've got that right,  you figured it was a gearbox output shaft bearing that had crapped out? and perhaps a twisted drive shaft because of those lock ups? 
Good troubleshooting! Have you had a chance to fix it up and get it back into operation? 

[DennisK]

Better retrace you path, Deer sheds do tractor tires no favors.

[newoodguy78]

Andries I'll get some pictures later but ultimately yes. The bearing on input shaft of the gearbox that drives the front axle is what laid the last egg. I believe the driveshaft was adding enough torque to bind the bearing. That gearbox also acts as the rear pivot point for the front axle. There is a seal between the two a point to watch for leaks.

I haven't had a chance to get it back together. Still have the spare axle under it to be able to use.Took me three days to get through to to parts counter and when I did it was sticker shock. $1200 for the two bearings,seals and shims to put it back together. All of which wouldn't halt fill a small coffee can. I've found some aftermarket sources just haven't had the time to get things ordered. 
Had five guys start yesterday so hopefully that frees up time to fix some things. It's been an uphill fight trying to get anything done this spring with any luck I'm nearing the end of this streak.

[Andries]

Newoodguy; thanks for the tip re: bearing and seal.
Good luck with the new hires, and in sourcing the shims, seals and bearing. So good that you had a spare axle kicking' around!  8)