Ford 3500 Backhoe removal question

rmeav8er

New User
I'm getting ready to pull off the Backhoe and loader from my 3500 so I can do a lot of maintenance this winter without all that in the way. I understand the basic principle of unbolting the backhoe, lifting it out of the cradle, supporting it, unhooking the hydraulics, then driving it away from the hoe. Here is the question I have. There are 3 lines coming off the backhoe. The top 2 are easy, one is the pressure and the other supplies the loader on its way back to the reservoir. Unhook those and loop them together to retain hydraulic function to the loader. Is the third line that goes straight back to the loader frame another return? How do I unhook it without losing all the hydraulic fluid in the loader frame?
cvphoto64149.png
 
One of the lines on my 4500 with hoe I could plug and the other to i had to attach together or all the hydraulic fluid would come out onto the ground.
mvphoto65417.jpg


mvphoto65418.jpg
 
Yes, loop the pressure line to the one that continues on to the loader. You will need to plug the third line once you disconnect it from the hoe if it has not been updated to a quick disconnect fitting. Most quick disconnect fittings I have seen plug themselves when they are disconnected.
 
If you are lucky, there may be a cap already there that you can use on the third line. It's been a while, but I think it is screwed onto a fitting welded under where you RH foot would go. I think you can just see the fitting between the two blue seat uprights in your picture.
 
(quoted from post at 06:03:20 11/24/20) If you are lucky, there may be a cap already there that you can use on the third line. It's been a while, but I think it is screwed onto a fitting welded under where you RH foot would go. I think you can just see the fitting between the two blue seat uprights in your picture.

I'll check that out in the morning. None of my hoses are quick disconnect so I'll be trying to plug it. Taking the loader off too so I may just raise the bucket enough, drop the hoe, then go park the loader. Should be able retain hyd pressure without fluid as long as I don't drop the bucket.
 
Taking the loader off too so I may just raise the bucket enough, drop the hoe, then go park the loader. Should be able retain hyd pressure without fluid as long as I don't drop the bucket.

Losing pressure so the bucket doesn't drop isn't the concern with not looping the two lines together. If they aren't looped together then all of the fluid in the reservoir in the loader frame will be pumped out the pressure line onto the ground as soon as you turn on the engine. If you tie the end of that third line off somewhere high enough then you may not lose any fluid through that one without capping it, but leaving it uncapped for any period of time will likely introduce dirt into the system.
 
So it looks like there is a male fitting welded to the frame. If there was a female cap that was supposed to be on it, it's long gone. Looks like I will either have to find a male cap that will fit or rig something up.

I was assuming that you have to disconnect the hydraulic pump from the engine once the loader is removed anyway. Can't have the pump running dry. That's where I was thinking I can lift the cylinder and leave it to move it into the barn to remove it. Only going about 30 feet at best. Even without hydraulic pressure, the cylinder should retain enough to keep the bucket up as long as I don't hit the controls.
 
I was assuming that you have to disconnect the hydraulic pump from the engine once the loader is removed anyway. Can't have the pump running dry. That's where I was thinking I can lift the cylinder and leave it to move it into the barn to remove it. Only going about 30 feet at best. Even without hydraulic pressure, the cylinder should retain enough to keep the bucket up as long as I don't hit the controls.

If you're towing it to the barn without the engine running, then yes you won't lose a lot of fluid with all 3 lines open as long as you keep the hose ends high. When you first said "I may just raise the bucket enough, drop the hoe, then go park the loader" I assumed that you were going to do that under the tractor's own power. The third line doesn't need to be capped even if you do run the engine as long as you keep the uncapped end up high. It is a return line and when the backhoe end of the line is disconnected there should be no pressure in it. But if you let the end drop below the level of the fluid in the loader frame the fluid will siphon itself out.
 
So the only way to disconnect the 3rd hose was at the frame without turning into a contortionist and getting under the backhoe frame. I put a catch pan under the frame and when I disconnected the line, I lost about 75% of the fluid in the reservoir. Not a big deal since I had to drain it anyway to remove the loader. Before I shut the engine off, I lifted the loader enough to drive, then disconnected the backhoe, and disconnected the pump. Pulled the tractor into the barn and will remove the loader in the next week or so. The pressure in the cylinder kept the loader up long enough to move it where I needed to.

Before I reassemble, I'm borrowing mikewood869's idea and putting a valve of some sort between the frame and 3rd line. That will let me shut off the fluid before I have to remove the line.
 
If it were mine, I would install a set of quick disconnects in each of the 3 lines. Make sure to install the ones on the lines that need to be connected together so that they are of the proper gender orientation to do so.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top