Old style tube type loaders

[jeffgreef]

Looking at an International 460 (1960 or so) with an old style loader on it. I've seen pics of these on older tractors but I know nothing about them. Can anyone give me a general idea of the capacities of these things- are they much lighter duty than later loaders made with rectangular tube steel? Anything else about these would be appreciated. All I intend to do with it is clear snow and maybe occasionally do some dirt work. Would it hold up to doing excavation work?

 

[BHD]

even a modern Ag loader is usually not rated for excavation work,

there rated for manure, not saying one can not move some soil but it should be loose soil not compacted virgin soil, If it has a three point make or buy a small ripper with a few shanks so one can work the dirt up before loading or moving it,
for a light tractor the old loaders are fine, the tubes are trussed, and have usually the strength that is necessary for the type of tractor it was designed for,

 

[LD1]

That loader actually looks pretty strong....judging by the size of the cylinders and assuming ~2000-2400psi operating pressure.

Weak point on that tractor is that its 2wd. You are gonna want loaded rear tires AND something heavy on the back. Like a 1000# bushhog or similar.

I do see at least 1 galvanized pipe fitting on the high pressure stuff. IF you get the machine, go over all the hydraulics. Any galvanized or black pipe fittings on high pressure side need replaced ASAP

 

[jeffgreef]

Thanks BHD and LD1. I'll check it out this weekend, I plan to take samples of oil and hydro fluid to send off to a lab. He only wants $1900 for it- I figure if I can't find anything seriously wrong it's worth a try. These old Internationals are supposedly pretty reliable.

 

[4570Man]

The loader is probably a lot stronger than the front axle. According to tractordata.com the loader is rated to lift 2,500 pounds to full height and has a breakout force of 5,000 pounds. That's stronger than most modern compact tractors. Is the tractor gas or diesel?

 

[stuckmotor]

The blurb at tractordata.com says the 460 had weak rear ends and an upgrade was "offered". It doesn't say whether this was an option or came on all 460's after a certain serial number. You might want to check that out.

 

[jeffgreef]

I just researched it a bit and it's a Wagner model 260 loader. I was very surprised that it's rated to lift 2500 lbs.

It's a gas engine.

From my reading, when the 460s and 560s came out it rapidly became apparent that the transmissions and rear ends couldn't handle the increased power of these units. IH went on overtime to fix it, had a massive recall, and re-engineered the rest of the tractors produced with those numbers. The re-engineered units were excellent, but the IH reputation had been tarnished. Yes, I plan to get the serial and research it. Even though they did the recall and fixed the later ones, it's still possible this is one of the bad ones. Seems like it wouldn't have survived this long.

 

[jeffgreef]

Oh, and, anybody know who Wagner was? Separate company or an arm of IH?

 

[arizona98tj]

Make sure the TA (torque amplifier) on the tractor is working properly. The 460 and others typically had TA problems and the fix isn't cheap. We had a 460 when I was a kid and we had no issues with the TA. Some research indicates not everyone was that lucky.

 

[2458n]

Looks like with the teeth and chains it has been used for something. Besides checking the trans and rear end I would look for power steering. It is very handy. As you are aware 1900 can be spent on a single attachment for a new tractor. Looks like there is plenty of tractor for the money.