Finally Got my Loader Tractor- 450 with F-11 Farmhand!

Well folks, after years of looking and waiting for the "right" tractor to come along, I finally bit the bullet and got what I was looking for, a 450 with an F-11 Farmhand.

Probably paid too much, but it has 90% rear tires, fast hitch, and came with a snow bucket and a grapple fork bucket, which I need to move round bales. Also has two sets of weights on each rear wheel, new seat, and runs really strong under load and idles nice too.

Downsides are- front tires are about gone, grille/nosepeice is beat up(not worried about that much), T/A is out, and it does seem to smoke a little at idle before it warms up...nothing serious, and clears up fine when it"s warmed up.

A few quick questions to start off with....

The throttle linkage, although the tractor runs and works fine, has a bunch of play at the throttle lever from about the idle position up to where half throttle should be. Linkage is tight up to the governor housing, all the play is in there....what"s likely needed to fix this?

And... on the Farmhand loader hydraulic tank, what"s the proper level for "full"? I do plan to get manuals for the loader if possible, as well as the tractor itself, just haven"t got "em yet.

And, if Allan is reading this- what size front tires do you have on your M? And would my stock front rims be wide enough?

Thanks in advance!!!

One more fast question- who has the best deal on the 3-point adaptors for the fast hitch?

Previous owner had them on it but didn't leave them with the tractor, it does have the mount for the top link, just need the prongs that go in the lift arms.

Ron, The ones listed for 450 right here on Tractor Parts look good. Good place to start at least.

Like your 450 and Loader.

Bill

My 300 had a grill like that, it can be unbolted and removed and you can work on it with a big rubber mallet and some chunks of wood and get it to look fairly decent without much effort, unless the metal is torn. Looks like a really nice machine.
Zach

I just recently bought an F11 to put on my M. Mine is not nearly as nice as yours. In fact, I spent the better part of one week just making repairs so it could be mounted. It is now on the tractor, but I have a long way to go before everything is the way I want it. Most of the repairs I made, and have yet to make, consist of un-doing repairs made by a previous owner, so that I could do it right. Some folks should not be allowed to own, or have access to a welder.

I would imagine, with all the cylinders retracted, full should be full on the hydraulic tank, or within a few inches of the top to account for heat expansion. Full retracted is where the maximum amount of oil is in the tank.

Hi Rusty, the deal with this particular tractor and loader, as I found out after a 3 hour drive to go look at it, is that it appears lots nicer in pictures than it really is!

The left arm of the loader has been repaired, and although it looks like a solid, professional-quality repair, when you sight down the arm, they didn't get it perfectly straight.

The top pivot pins at the rear of each arm along with where they mount to the uprights look to have been replaced too, a top-notch repair job it looks like.

Also, the U shaped cross peice between the uprights has been apparantly broken clear off at some point. The repair job on it, however, leaves alot to be desired, with different sizes of angle iron used for gusseting.

Although I'd like to find a good one to replace it with someday, I took that U shaped crosspeice off and redid some of the welds that were cracking, and also put it back on so that it angles forward and up like every other F-11 I've seen. For whatever reason, they had it mounted horizontally.

Lastly, the hard hydraulic lines that run along the left arm to control the bucket cylinders and grapple fork, are grey galvanized pipe, and they are held in place by plumbing strap wrapped clear around the arm with the pipes wrapped in inner tube. Works fine, looks a little cobbled.

All in all, I'm happy with it. Everything works great, and someday I can get the looks spiffed up. I've always preferred seeing 'em in their work clothes however, so it may be awhile before I get to the appearance end of things!

Yep, I had to remove that U shaped part and make some serious repairs, and then had to straighten up the brackets it bolts to because both were bent severely backwards. Also had to remove some welding repairs to the main axle mounting brackets and then heat them with a torch and hammer the bends out. I'll never understand how someone could manage to bend a hunk of iron as heavy duty as those brackets are.