Vintage Tractor Engineer

Hi, I have a ford 4000 diesel, and I want to fit a front blade which has a push pull ram fitted, the tractor has an external hydraulic connection point which operates thru the spool valve fitted from factory, but as I wish to operate a double ram there is no where for the oil to return to the diff housing.

I have bought a double spool valve but the only place I can see a way to return the hydraulic oil is is back thru the filler plug on the rear axle. Is there something I’m missing and would this be ok.

Thanks, Ross Kerle.

Hi Ross,

I’m not that familiar with the 4000, but our neighbour has a Ford 5000 with a similar system fitted at a Ford main dealers to operate his front end loader. This 5000 tractor has the oil return routed back in through the filler cap just as you were thinking and it works fine. So if there is no other obvious return point then I would use the filler plug.  The photo below shows the adapted filler cap with the integrated oil return on the Ford 5000.

P.S. The simplest solutions are sometimes the easiest and the best!

Steve.

From 1964 to 1972, Glen Monroe from Didsbury, Alberta started to attach two tractors together to provide more pulling power.  Vintage Tractor Engineer saw this video and found it great viewing.

It reminded us of the Doe Triple D machines that were manufactured in England. Here’s a video of a Triple D in action with a plough.

The Does’ look more compact and manoeuvrable than the Monroe, but of course the Monroe tractors were working in the large fields in the USA. The Doe has a turntable mounted on the underneath of the tractors, where as the Monroe appears to use a pivot which does not seem to offer so much of a tight turning circle. The turntable can be seen quite clearly on this Doe 130.

Another one off tractor is shown in the next video clip. Here 3 Farmall F-20 engines have been attached together and share a single clutch, transmission and rear axle. Also we see another version with just 2 F-20’s linked together.