Installing a New Holland backhoe on a Ford 850

Cvans · Oct 1, 2013

Couple of weeks ago I purchased a New Holland 757C backhoe and installed it on the Fordson Dexta. It has become apparent after using this combination for a few hours that the Ford 850 with the loader might be a better home for the hoe. I plan on using a PTO pump to run the hoe and would like the use the tractors hydraulic reservoir. I can return the oil to the fill port but I'm wondering if you folks would have suggestion on where would be the best place to attach the supply line at the tractor. I could use the drain plug and extend a tube up into the reservoir with a intake screen but I may need to enlarge the hole for a better oil flow. This fitting would be very susceptible to damage though.
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Cbrown9064 · Oct 2, 2013

This may be considered "farmerizing", but could you use the PTO shifter/dipstick plate? This would be easier to drill than the main housing and you would only have to replace the plate if you ever wanted to return it to stock. You could take out the dipstick and drill out that area and have a 90 inside the plate with a short piece of pipe (3"?) pointing down. The trick would be figuring out some kind of bulkhead fitting to attach to the plate.

Alternatively is there a way to use the filling port for both the return and supply lines? It is a pretty big hole and then you would only have to modify/eliminate the cap. Maybe a length of pipe to serve as a pickup tube?

Soundguy · Oct 2, 2013

IMHO.. i'd get a seperate sump. the hyds sump on an 850 is good for about 3g MAX, 2g nominally. My 6500 woods hoe on a ford 850 has a 5g tank on it. remember that that oil voloume is for cooling.. not just working the cyls.

the drain port COULD be a place for a pickup.. but I would ward it with a cover plate fabbed up to protect it.

lastly.. don't run it as a straight 3pt setup. fab up SOME kind of extra support. even if it is just tieing in some areas on the axle trumpet fender bolt area, and the axle trumpet to center section bolts / top cover bolts under the seat. Hoe put huge forces on a tractor and you want more support than the toplink and 2 trumpet pins. Lastly. I would make up a bracket at the toplink that basically fixed the toplink connection solid.. otherwise the hoe forces are gonna jerk the toplink in and out and ruin your draft control linkge. On my 850 I made up a small upper bracket that used many of the top cover and seat bolts and made up a fixed cover for the toplink and top connection.. top link is still used.. but with the bracket in place. it no longer moves. side bolts from the trumpet to center section were used.. as well as beams over to brackes on the trumpet fender bolt areas. digs good now.

Cvans · Oct 2, 2013

Thanks guys for the suggestions and the part about the tractors sump being only 3 gals. is an excellent point.
The buy I bought this from had a separate diagonal brace running from under the seat brace to down by the draw bar that really stiffened things up. As this project is just in the trial stages nothing like this has been incorporated yet.
Soundguy I don't want to be a pest, but sometime when it is convenient do you think that you could take a couple of photos of how you mounted your hoe. It would be a huge help and I don't believe in reinventing the wheel.
Thanks again for the suggestions.
Chris

Soundguy · Oct 2, 2013

see if these help any.

warning. fabrication is a hair crude... she's a worker .. not a parade queen. I can dell you she digs good though.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-tow-behind-small-backhoe-100_2838-large-.jpg

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-tow-behind-small-backhoe-100_2840-large-.jpg

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-tow-behind-small-backhoe-100_2841-large-.jpg

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-tow-behind-small-backhoe-100_2842-large-.jpg

Cvans · Oct 2, 2013

That really turned into a nice looking combination. I hope mine turns out half as nice.
I don't see anything at all wrong with your work. :thumbsup:
I'm hopping the lower end of mine will be fastened to the loader frame. The loader is a Superior so the lower frame comes back to the axle on both sides. Your fixed third link is similar to the one that came with my hoe except that it ran down to the draw bar which we don't have. Yours looks like it would work just fine also.
I really appreciate you taking the time to post the photos. After I get the stuff put together I hope to post photos of the progress. Maybe should start a new subject in the hoe section.
Thanks again.
Chris

Soundguy · Oct 3, 2013

good luck.

if you have a superior frame tot he rear axles.. deffinately connect to them.

I have a superior laoder on another tractor and thought very seriously about making that one the TLB.. but decided to do it to the 1-arm loader .. as the other tractor i use doing hay.. etc.

Cvans · Oct 3, 2013

Here is what I have to hook onto. Looks like an excellent spot for it. The frame will extend forward of this point and attach there also. I can tell you one thing for sure, the tractor sure steers nice with the backhoe hanging on there now.

Soundguy · Oct 3, 2013

yep. mine is plenty heavy with it's oil tank..e tc. and yeah.. I like the superior laoder under axle brackets. very beefy. will keep / help, from breaking the tracor in half if you hook a big rock or root.

Cvans · Oct 15, 2013

I was looking over your photos again and am wondering if your 3 point lower arms are still attached to the hoe?
Is your lower frame coming back from the axles angle iron (size?) or square tube?
I now have a PTO pump and a Farmhand oil tank from an F10 loader. I also plan on using the suction filter if the cartridges are still available.
Here is a photo of a similar hoe showing the third point attachment.