Need Some Help With 445A Bucket Auto Level Rod Measurements

[aircommuter]

Aircommuter,

That is one sweet tractor!!

I LOVE that roof. I wish i could find one like that. I actually saw a real nice sims cab and called them. They said they stopped production...just my luck!

Anyhow, that would be great if i could get all three measurements. I must confess that i tried to get the adjustment correct without the measurements and wound up breaking the cast piece that connects the long top link to the short vertical rod. I am going to either buy a new one or make one from steel. I was busy watching the linkage near the bucket (while raising) when i heard the pop of this part breaking.

Did you repaint this whole tractor? If so, what kind (spray cans, cup gun, etc.) of paint did you use? Also what brand and color? Someone sprayed mine a non industrial color some time in the past. I was told by the guy i purchased it from that he thinks it was a municipal tractor when it was new. I have plans to someday repaint it, but first i want to work out all the bugs (3-point hitch problems, shuttle trans problems).

My tractor is a real diamond in the rough. It only has 1300 hours on it, and starts and runs as new. I think most of the hours came from the original owner (i think a municipality). The second owner put a tree spade on it. He used it infrequently, then sold it to the guy who i purchased it from. He sold the tree spade off, and i bought the tractor. So, the low hours, coupled with a tractor that was stored indoors, give me a great tractor to work on restoring.

Sorry i blabbed so much, but i am excited to see that someone else has a 445a in this forum.

Here are the dimensions for the level system. The rod that goes to the bucket arm I made as it was missing. It is 43" C to C, with adjustment available both ways. The second one is 2 piece, the portion from the your part that got broken is a piece of pipe. The clevis is welded to the pipe and it is 48" from the center of the clevis pin to the end of the pipe, the second piece inside it has a clevis welded to it that attaches to the same pivot as the bucket rod, the rod portion is 45" plus the clevis, the third and shortest rod thats sits verticle and attaches to the broken piece is 15 5/8" with adjustment available.

The paint is Ford/NH part# M5771ASE2DS quart number. It works well with DuPont 8034S acrylic enamel thinner, 4oz to a quart. I painted the whole thing with gravity feed hvlp gun. I plan to get more pictures of the restoration on here and descriptions.
If you need a closeup of the assembly let me know.

 

[86Ford]

Aircommuter,

Thank you so much for the measurements! I am having a hard time understanding the measurement on the top long rod that goes from the broken piece to the pivot. I understand that it is a 2-piece rod with adjustment, but I don't understand the overall length from the center of the 2 clevises as it sits. The measurements you supplied (48" and 45") added together seem a bit long for the space that I have.

That is great info on the paint.

I cant wait for the restoration pics! How long did it take?

Thank you again!

 

[aircommuter]

I worked on it about 5 months off and on. There were so many terrible repairs, and I rebuilt the Gannon box too.
The 45" rod goes inside the 48" pipe and that is a sliding part. It has to be able to slide when the bucket dumps because the travel is too great, maybe that is how the piece broke.

 

[86Ford]

Aircommuter,

Only 5 months...WOW! My tractor is a long term project, and a first for me at home. Years ago I worked as a mechanic for a local utility that had a lot of Ford 555 TLBs. I split many of them in order to repair transmissions, replace engines. I have also removed the axles to replace a lot of brakes due to the fact that our workers drove the tractors to the job site and burned up the brakes all the time.

I have never worked on 3 point hitches. I am getting my experience now. I removed the cover the other night. As soon as I got it off, it started to rain. I had no where to put it, so I put it back on. The 3 point hitch has no operation but do have pump pressure and flow.

Now as for the rod. I had no idea that it slides inside itself...Definitely why mine broke...I just went on the Ford site. I see exactly what you are talking about with the 2 pieces. I may have to purchase the inner rod from Ford. Geez...The arm that I broke is $136 from Ford.

 

[aircommuter]

The inner rod is 1/2" with threads on the end for the clevis. The outer is just 1/2 black pipe, loose fit, I guess they did not want it to seize up. You could get schedule 80 then it would be tighter, does not matter in that application.
I poste some restoration threads but more to go. There is also some pictures over on Garage Journal with the same screen name and under my albums.

 

[86Ford]

Aircommuter,

The DOM tube that I initially purchased will work just fine to make the outer tube. 1/2" rod will slide right in, not that loosely, but not too snug either. I will get some 1/2" rod in the next week and try it out. I was able to download the picture you submitted and then zoom in. I see clearly now what you were talking about. I am soo mad that I didn't see that I was binding the arm up before I broke it, but I was soo busy looking at the rods that I had installed and adjusted. Again, I truly appreciate your help on this!! I would have never known that the linkage should be sliding and would have broke another one.

I did go to the garage journal. You posted a lot of pics. I have a good taste of what you were doing during your restoration. Those bucket pins were a mess. Really like how you replaced the outer rim and welded in the old disc.

That gannon box was a real mess, but looks sweet now! I like that you signed and dated it...30 years from now that will still be there!

 

[aircommuter]

I am glad to help. I like putting time capsules in my house foundations, maybe someday they will be found. Did you see that starter for the 3 cyl. Ford? That might be good for those cold winters out your way.

 

[86Ford]

Aircommuter,

I did notice that nice shiny new high torque starter. I may have to get one in the future. I have plans for a block heater to go in the cup plug that is right in front of the starter. This tractor starts real well. I can tell compression is not an issue. When I looked at it prior to purchasing it, it was the coldest day of the year, and she started up with a little help from a heater under the oil pan for a couple min.

 

[aircommuter]

Just so you know the front loader cylinders and pins are all metric. Does yours have the air intake heater? Mine has one and the previous owner put in an aftermarket starter switch so it was on all the time. Probably lasted 10 minutes ,years ago or when ever they did it.

 

[86Ford]

Aircommuter,

No, my tractor does not have the intake heater option. I have seen this option on some of the Ford 555s that i worked on in the past. Most of the Ford 555s that i worked on had a button on the dash with a solenoid operated either injection system. Mine has nothing currently. What make is that gear reduction starter? I saw some on the web from Rareelectrical.

I am very surprised that Ford was using metric pins in the 80s. Although they did have that connection to England. Anyhow, that is good to know. I went on the parts look-up and i see that Ford is not selling these pins any more, so if they are worn, make we must. The bushings look like they are available tho. I am surprised to see that the links for the bucket curl are not made any more. They have always been a high wear item on the 555s.