455c backhoe rearend seal

ptbrophy

Member
Hello all,
I am going to help out a neighbor with his backhoe.it is a ford 455c made in 1988 It appears that a seal on the drivers side {left} of the machine has gone bad.The seal is located on the shaft that protrudes out of the rearend and the wheel rim bolts to it.The oil is just pouring out from around that shaft,and he lost 10 gallons in a short time yesterday.
I am not a newby at some of this stuff,however a quick look at a parts diagram made me take a pause.
Is this a really tough job that a couple of guys should take on?
Since it would be apart I would like to take a crack at the brakes as they have never worked in the 8 years that I have used this machine.The always go to the bottom and then grab.Any thoughts about the brakes?
Some suggested he may have the incorrect oil in the machine.
All comments would be appreciated.
Patrick
 
Going to have to drop hoe subframe. That may mean taking hoe off. Going yo have shop crane to remove trumpet. You will go thru brakes to get to plantarys. Them remove bolt that holds plantary on axle unstake seal,pull axle out then pull or cut bearing off then seal comes off. look at brgs may have string or was loose . brg are adjusted by shims on inboard end of axle. Brakes run 10,000 hrs or more. while in there replace brake boot.
 
You've got some work ahead of you, about as much as you'll ever run across for replacement of a single seal. It's going to be a big job if
you've never done anything like that before.

If it really is leaking that badly, either something got into the seal and tore it up, or you have a bearing going out. First thing I'd do is
lift the wheel off the ground with the stabilizer and shake the wheel back and forth and see if it's sloppy. Any movement means a bearing
replacement for sure.
 

Yikes,

I had no idea that this was going to be this big of an undertaking.

I had pulled up the Ford / New Holland parts site and that just showed the rearend.
I saw that I would have to go in thru the inside and that gave me pause.This is big.
I just ordered a shop manual,all 1120 pages worth to assist.
Don't be surprised if you get an SOS or smoke signals ,or some other sign of distress.
Any idea regarding the correct fluid?

Thanks for the help.

Patrick
 
Regarding the brakes, check adjustment per the manual. These oil bath brakes almost never wear out if used properly. However, on industrial tractors with torque convertor transmissions like yours may have, some operators run the hand throttle at mid to high RPM for faster loader hydraulic speed and use the brakes to stop the tractor, without pressing the declutch pedal or shifting to neutral. This practice will prematurely wear out the brake discs.
 

[i:be96450260]Is this a really tough job that a couple of guys should take on? Since it would be apart I would like to take a crack at the brakes as they have never worked in the 8 years that I have used this machine.
[/i:be96450260]
You've lost a wheel seal. Plan on doing both sides, which includes axle seals, housing seals, bearings, and brake discs as needed. Two guys can do the job a lot easier than one, but as stated, it will be a challenge. We used to remove the wheels and drop the tractor down, but I read a post on here or HEF a few years ago describing the reverse. They used the stabilizers to raise the subframe off the axles. A combination of both would probably be easier.

First, do you have an EROPS or ROPS. Makes a difference when you hinge the subframe at the front bolster and the hood starts to come through the windshield. I haven't done this in so long that I'd have to think my way through it all over again. What takes a Ford mechanic 5-10 minutes to disconnect may take you an hour. Won't change the outcome, just the time involved. So what if it takes an extra day. If you have help, you will be fine.

You can pivot the subframe on the front bolster when you remove one bolt per side and loosen the other. The stabilizers will raise the subframe off the axle housings. Removing the tires will allow you to drop the back end of the tractor down gaining clearance below the subframe. The axle housing comes straight out. You'll need to support the backhoe and the subframe when you remove the lower link. I don't remember how much you can cheat and still avoid trouble. There's cables, hoses, wires and linkages to disconnect first. I no longer remember which. You need to watch the hydraulic lines at the front bolster as I don't remember whether they need to be disconnected. I think not. When you think about hinging the subframe away from the tractor, you'll start to see what's a problem and what's not. Take pictures as you work your way through the process. Your pain will benefit someone else.
 
Just a followup on the project.
You guy's were spot on with both the cause,and the obstacles that I encountered.
First it is not an easy job.Correct.
We did end up using the shop crane.
Yes,the bearings were shot.The rollers were laying on the bottom of the housing.
Yes,the axles had baler twine wrapped around them which in turn destroyed the seals.
I managed to get all the seals, the brake boots,new cotter pins,new brake pads disc's and I am still waiting on the new bearings and races.
Yes,both the bearing remains and the race had to be removed using special forces. :lol:

Thanks for all the help,the comments gave us a good deal of insight of what to look for,and it made the job much easier.

Will be happy when this is done.

Patrick
 
(quoted from post at 18:58:21 05/27/20) Just a followup on the project.
You guy's were spot on with both the cause,and the obstacles that I encountered.
First it is not an easy job.Correct.
We did end up using the shop crane.
Yes,the bearings were shot.The rollers were laying on the bottom of the housing.
Yes,the axles had baler twine wrapped around them which in turn destroyed the seals.
I managed to get all the seals, the brake boots,new cotter pins,new brake pads disc's and I am still waiting on the new bearings and races.
Yes,both the bearing remains and the race had to be removed using special forces. :lol:

Thanks for all the help,the comments gave us a good deal of insight of what to look for,and it made the job much easier.

Will be happy when this is done.

Patrick


One more question.
I was under the impression that the rearend housing was part of the hydraulic system and part of the rather large oil reservoir.

I was incorrect.

According to a rather large and expensive shop manual,the rear housing holds 7.2 gallons.

It does not state of what.It just says see owners manual.

I have been informed by several people that these wet brakes need a certain type of oil to run in.We don't want to spend all this time and money and put the wrong oil in.

Is it #90 weight gear oil,hydraulic oil,or something else?

1120 pages in a manual and it never makes any reference,just see owners manual.

Thanks Patrick
 
Looks like Valvoline made a name change and went back to the old Unitrac designation. Ford/NewHolland M2C134D. 134D is what it's usually called. You want oil that meets or exceeds this spec, and there's not many manufacturers making this spec anymore.

https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publ...2d889bd3/e6e6eaa5-0cbd-e711-9c12-ac162d889bd1

Did you hinge the subframe at the front bolster before you removed the axle housing. If you didn't, I'm curious as to how you removed the housing.
 
One more question.
I was under the impression that the rearend housing was part of the hydraulic system and part of the rather large oil reservoir.

I was incorrect.

According to a rather large and expensive shop manual,the rear housing holds 7.2 gallons.

It does not state of what.It just says see owners manual.

I have been informed by several people that these wet brakes need a certain type of oil to run in.We don't want to spend all this time and money and put the wrong oil in.

The rear axle is the sump for the tractor's 3 point lift hydraulic system if it has a 3 point lift. Most industrial models that came with a backhoe did not have a 3 point lift. The hydraulics for the loader and backhoe are separate from the 3 point hydraulics so you are correct that the rear axle is not being used as part of the sump for that. As for the type of fluid, as Check Break has said, use a good quality UTF that says on the label that it meets or exceeds the Ford/New Holland M2C34D specification. That spec has friction modifiers that are friendly to wet brakes and clutches, and it also has Extreme Pressure (EP) additives that allow it to cling to the mating surfaces of the gear teeth in ways that other thin oils without those additives will not be able to accomplish. In a 455C with no PTO or 3 point lift that fluid needs to lubricate the differential gears and other moving parts inside the rear axle, and still be friendly to the wet brakes. On models that had the 3 point lift it also had to act as the hydraulic fluid for the lift and independent PTO control circuit, as well as be friendly to the wet clutch pack for the PTO.
 
(quoted from post at 13:01:04 05/28/20)
One more question.
I was under the impression that the rearend housing was part of the hydraulic system and part of the rather large oil reservoir.

I was incorrect.

According to a rather large and expensive shop manual,the rear housing holds 7.2 gallons.

It does not state of what.It just says see owners manual.

I have been informed by several people that these wet brakes need a certain type of oil to run in.We don't want to spend all this time and money and put the wrong oil in.

The rear axle is the sump for the tractor's 3 point lift hydraulic system if it has a 3 point lift. Most industrial models that came with a backhoe did not have a 3 point lift. The hydraulics for the loader and backhoe are separate from the 3 point hydraulics so you are correct that the rear axle is not being used as part of the sump for that. As for the type of fluid, as Check Break has said, use a good quality UTF that says on the label that it meets or exceeds the Ford/New Holland M2C34D specification. That spec has friction modifiers that are friendly to wet brakes and clutches, and it also has Extreme Pressure (EP) additives that allow it to cling to the mating surfaces of the gear teeth in ways that other thin oils without those additives will not be able to accomplish. In a 455C with no PTO or 3 point lift that fluid needs to lubricate the differential gears and other moving parts inside the rear axle, and still be friendly to the wet brakes. On models that had the 3 point lift it also had to act as the hydraulic fluid for the lift and independent PTO control circuit, as well as be friendly to the wet clutch pack for the PTO.

Thanks Check Break for the oil info.I took that sheet to the local John Deere dealer and they were real happy to sell us 30 gallons of Hygard oil.That was the first oil on that sheet.
As far as removing the axles,I have no idea how to hinge the thing.We just unloosened the 8 bolts that hold the rearend and fastened a strap around one side and than around the subframe.
We could shift the entire rearend around 5 inches and that allowed us to that jack the subframe and slide the housing out.
After we put that side in,we shifted the strap and pulled the rearend to the other side.
For some unknown reason the second side seemed to go much faster...........
Thanks Sean,these machine has never had brakes in the 8 years that I have used it
.We had asked people about them and had received several opinions,and the oil type was one of them.
When the seal went bad we decided to do both sides and while in there do the brakes.Then we found the bad bearing and did both sides.
We then decided to do a complete fluid change and a new filter.
I am glad someone else is footing the bill.Yikes

Thanks,

Patrick
 

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