Front Loader from a Ford Truck

[Creamer]

The truck loaders I drove using the auxiliary hydraulic pump attached to the front of the engine had no problem with using the direct drive system because when you were asking for power to the wheels you weren't typically moving the loader much. You only move the loader at slower speeds. Still the hydraulic pressure was always present for small loader moves.

 

[bigdeano]

You want to figure how much hydraulic power you want because a belt drive may not be sufficient. It can take a lot of power to turn a good sized pump.

 

[nimblemotors]

I have used a couple online calculators and they give me 3 mph for 3.73 gears, 2.5 xfer, 29 inch tire, and 300 rpm,

http://www.bgsoflex.com/cgi-bin/rpmmph.cgi?gear=3.73&xmisn=2.5&tdiam=29.0&mode=Vehicle_MPH&rpm=300.0&mph=

And with 1:1 4x4 high, 7 mph. I guess that is fast enough, interestingly, I youtubed 3mph and there is movie called that which is the speed of a horse walking..and at 7mph that is a pretty fast walk.

So I'd say the 300rpm motor would be good, the additional torque could help.
BTW, I checked and the truck has a 3.45 gear ratio, so when I change the rear to the 8.8 with either 3.73 or 4.10, I will need to use bigger tires in the 'front', 31 and 33,
which is probably a good thing, and keep the smaller 29 in the 'back'.

I have not been able to find a good auto 4x4 trans for this truck, these 80's trucks are mostly all gone now. In any case, the torque converter / trans would get really hot going back and forth all day,
and there is a typical delay in shifting from 1st to rev, i'd assume there isn't really a delay when using a hydraulic motor going from F to R.
It basically adds minimal cost as I see it, maybe $250.

I think I can drive the pump from the front crankshaft, I'd move the radiator and use electric fans already. with the trans gone I could hook it up to the flywheel, and heck if one wants to clutch the connection, can use the trans clutch with some creative mounting hacking. If a belt drive will do, I can use the water pump fan flange to attach a rubber coupler.

 

[Groo]

Nothing wrong with a manual tranny on a loader.
I basically learned to drive on a manual CUT with a FEL.

Would it be possible to flip the centers on the axles?

If you want to try hooking up a hydraulic motor to the transfer case, I'd go with one about 5x the size of the pump (edit: maybe 3x, I forgot about low range), so basically you'd get your first gear gearing there. The pump should be direct drive from the engine if you are getting you motivation via hydraulics. Mounting a pump to the bellhousing would be a piece of cake compares to mounting a motor ont he transfer case I'd think.

 

[texasranger556]

My currrent machine has three pumps directly coupled to a 25HP Kohler engine; one on the regular crank shaft and the other two on a PTO stub off the opposite side of the crankshaft. It's very hard on the starter in the winter to crank it over with cold hydraulic fluid. Very hard, but it starts down to -5F, but barely. Not too bad in summer, though.

OP appears to live in California. Cold starting is probably not going to be a big problem for him, but that is an assumption.

 

[Groo]

If the valve isn't piloted, it should flow with very little resistance at start-up.

 

[MossRoad]

I have used a couple online calculators and they give me 3 mph for 3.73 gears, 2.5 xfer, 29 inch tire, and 300 rpm,

http://www.bgsoflex.com/cgi-bin/rpmmph.cgi?gear=3.73&xmisn=2.5&tdiam=29.0&mode=Vehicle_MPH&rpm=300.0&mph=

And with 1:1 4x4 high, 7 mph. I guess that is fast enough, interestingly, I youtubed 3mph and there is movie called that which is the speed of a horse walking..and at 7mph that is a pretty fast walk.

So I'd say the 300rpm motor would be good, the additional torque could help.
BTW, I checked and the truck has a 3.45 gear ratio, so when I change the rear to the 8.8 with either 3.73 or 4.10, I will need to use bigger tires in the 'front', 31 and 33,
which is probably a good thing, and keep the smaller 29 in the 'back'.

I have not been able to find a good auto 4x4 trans for this truck, these 80's trucks are mostly all gone now. In any case, the torque converter / trans would get really hot going back and forth all day,
and there is a typical delay in shifting from 1st to rev, i'd assume there isn't really a delay when using a hydraulic motor going from F to R.
It basically adds minimal cost as I see it, maybe $250.

I think I can drive the pump from the front crankshaft, I'd move the radiator and use electric fans already. with the trans gone I could hook it up to the flywheel, and heck if one wants to clutch the connection, can use the trans clutch with some creative mounting hacking. If a belt drive will do, I can use the water pump fan flange to attach a rubber coupler.

How are you going to provide flow to the drive motor and what type of pump and valving are you planning on using?

 

[GLyford]

A hydrostat for the drive circuit would be awesome, for the amount of power and control, then stack on separate stages for steering, loader, and accessories (because you're going to want this thing to run more than just a bucket, right? Mower, snowthrower, post hole digger, grapple, thumb...). Separate pumps is likely easier to set up than one big pump and a priority divider or rotary divider.

But yeah, a real hydrostat is more expensive than an auto transmission.

You could counteract the heat load in an auto some by adding a bigger cooler. I _want_ to say the coolant lines run a low(ish) pressure, so something like a heater core may be up to the task?

As far as making things compatible, the only real reasons to stick with a matching 80's ranger 4x4-auto transmission are 1. mounting locations, and 2. running without needing the ECU. If you are thinking about welding up a loader, number 1 should not be a big issue, especially for something that runs low speed off-road. 2 is probably a good reason.

If you are looking at using one of the "transfer case doubler" setups, you could use whichever transmission you could find to match whatever transfer case you make the doubler section out of. Also, they made a LOT of rangers/bronco ii's/explorers, and I want to say more autos than manuals? I guess it's possible that in the last 30 years all the good parts are gone, but I find it a little hard to believe.

I know some of the manual transmissions crossed into the F150, I wonder if the autos did too? Biggest hangup might be getting the bell-housing bolt patterns to match between a v6/v8 model and an i4 2.3...even then, I think you can get the older/simpler carb/tbi 2.3 to bolt onto some of the newer 2.3 autos? I would be very surprised if there wasn't some hotrodder control box somewhere to run one of these with an older engine.

 

[rScotty]

It's very hard on the starter in the winter to crank it over with cold hydraulic fluid. Very hard, but it starts down to -5F, but barely. Not too bad in summer, though.

My Kubota with a Hydrostat transmission (HST+) has a foot clutch. Using it makes a noticible difference in cold weather starts.
rScotty

 

[aczlan]

My Kubota with a Hydrostat transmission (HST+) has a foot clutch. Using it makes a noticible difference in cold weather starts.
rScotty

Our Kubota B7500 with a HST also has a clutch. If you dont push it in, the starter wont turn on.

Aaron Z