Buying Advice Is this even a 445?

[MAli]

Hello everyone,

I am interested in buying a Ford 445 that's for sale in my area. I wanted your input on a few different things.

The tractor doesn't have PTO or 3 point hitch. Is it even possible for these tractors to NOT have 3 pt hitch?
The tractor weighs 13,000 lbs. is that correct?
Without influencing your thoughts, how many hours would you consider to be "too many" hours for this tractor?
What are some of the things I should look at before buying it?

I am a total noob when it comes to tractors and your help is greatly appreciated. I have attached a few pictures for you to look at.

thanks,
Ali

 

[Peter 315]

Its a Industrial tractor not a farm tractor TractorData.com Ford 445 industrial tractor information

 

[Hay Dude]

We used to call that a Pippin
Its a backhoe chassis without a backhoe.
It could easily weigh 13,000lbs.
Really only good for doing loader work on good traction surfaces, like loading hay in barns, scooping gravel pushing dirt on parked or stone parking lots, it is a very stable, heavy loading platform. That thing weighs as much as my 135HP 4wd farm tractor with a loader

Too many Hours? Without knowing the price, or if it’s a diesel, that is a tough question to ask. The previous owner(s) determines that. You would have to know if it had regular oil changes, filters and how it was run & stored. If it were me that tractor is probably worth 5-8k with 4K-8k hours. If it were DIRT cheap, you can pretty easily find another engine.
I do know this- in the era that tractor was built, manufacturing was still somewhat married to the idea of making machines that would last a lifetime. Unlike today where it is expected they will be traded in not unlike cars are every 5-10 years.

Obvious things to look at but not everything
Engine smoke at start up
How does it shift
Clutch
Brakes
Tires (cracks/dry rot)
Look for leaks under tractor
Pull dipstick, look for discoloration of oil
Look in radiator at fluid

 

[MAli]

so pardon my ignorance and I will try my best to describe things.

I am not sure if this tractor has a clutch. It has a two-pedal brake and one pedal behind the brake pedals that you use with your heel and that's the acceleration pedal. There is a throttle lever that's behind the steering wheel on the right-hand side. There is a Forward - Neutral - Reverse level on the left-hand side and then there is a lever in the middle that's for gear selections. I did not see a clutch pedal unless its there and I missed it. I test drove it but all I had to do was put it in forward.

A little background. I purchased my dream home last year and then made a stupid decision of buying a brand new Massey Furgeson GC1710. I really like my 1710 but its too small for what I want to do. I want to clear few more acres of my land and move a really long 3 ft wide rock wall. needless to say that Massey is just not build for this kind of work and I won't even want to try. I thought about renting a dozer and a skid steer for a week but then came across this machine. I am really interested in buying it vs renting and just keeping this machine for tasks that require a lot of power such as moving rocks, moving lots of firewood around and perhaps plowing my .25 mile driveway. Is this the right machine for what I am hoping to do with it?

is it possible that this unit had a backhoe and the owner sold it? Can I add my own 3pt hitch if needed? I was hoping to use a rear blade in winter to plow my 1/4 mile driveway. My MF GC1710 can barely move 10 feet if it snows 6+ inches and I have a 5 ft blade .

Also there are no active leaks but the engine does have this black dirt/grime/oil on it. Is that normal or is that a red flag? The owner had me touch the machine to confirm that it was ice cold and started it for me. It started fast and compared to my GC1710, it feels like I am operating a crane.


thank you so much for putting up with my silly questions . This forum is awesome!!

 

[Hay Dude]

so pardon my ignorance and I will try my best to describe things.

I am not sure if this tractor has a clutch. It has a two-pedal brake and one pedal behind the brake pedals that you use with your heel and that's the acceleration pedal. There is a throttle lever that's behind the steering wheel on the right-hand side. There is a Forward - Neutral - Reverse level on the left-hand side and then there is a lever in the middle that's for gear selections. I did not see a clutch pedal unless its there and I missed it. I test drove it but all I had to do was put it in forward.

A little background. I purchased my dream home last year and then made a stupid decision of buying a brand new Massey Furgeson GC1710. I really like my 1710 but its too small for what I want to do. I want to clear few more acres of my land and move a really long 3 ft wide rock wall. needless to say that Massey is just not build for this kind of work and I won't even want to try. I thought about renting a dozer and a skid steer for a week but then came across this machine. I am really interested in buying it vs renting and just keeping this machine for tasks that require a lot of power such as moving rocks, moving lots of firewood around and perhaps plowing my .25 mile driveway. Is this the right machine for what I am hoping to do with it?

is it possible that this unit had a backhoe and the owner sold it? Can I add my own 3pt hitch if needed? I was hoping to use a rear blade in winter to plow my 1/4 mile driveway. My MF GC1710 can barely move 10 feet if it snows 6+ inches and I have a 5 ft blade .

Also there are no active leaks but the engine does have this black dirt/grime/oil on it. Is that normal or is that a red flag? The owner had me touch the machine to confirm that it was ice cold and started it for me. It started fast and compared to my GC1710, it feels like I am operating a crane.


thank you so much for putting up with my silly questions . This forum is awesome!!

Take my word for it. Just buy an Old full size Case, deere or NH backhoe with 4WD for 10-12K, do all your bull work with it, then resell it when your done, or keep it if you feel the need to. You wont regret it. As long as it runs and shifts OK, you should be fine. If it drips a little, park it somewhere where it wont matter or over stone/wood chips.
That machine is OK, but you'll get so much more from a 4WD backhoe. remember, youll probably sell it for about the same as you paid for it if youre only talking 1-2 years and a couple hundred hours of use.
Easy for me to spend your hard earned money, but thats my best suggestion. Even a 2WD full size backhoe would be better.

 

[fried1765]

Take my word for it. Just buy an Old full size Case, deere or NH backhoe with 4WD for 10-12K, do all your bull work with it, then resell it when your done, or keep it if you feel the need to. You wont regret it. As long as it runs and shifts OK, you should be fine. If it drips a little, park it somewhere where it wont matter or over stone/wood chips.
That machine is OK, but you'll get so much more from a 4WD backhoe. remember, youll probably sell it for about the same as you paid for it if youre only talking 1-2 years and a couple hundred hours of use.
Easy for me to spend your hard earned money, but thats my best suggestion. Even a 2WD full size backhoe would be better.

^^^^^^ AGREED !!!!
The loader only 445(?) is a one trick pony, and will be very hard to resell.

 

[4570Man]

No backhoe, no 4wd, no QA on the bucket, probably no AC in the cab. It’s not something I’d want. It is tough and strong.

 

[4570Man]

^^^^^^ AGREED !!!!
The loader only 445(?) is a one trick pony, and will be very hard to resell.

Well you did manage to sell that ford backhoe for a big price. I’d a lot rather have this to it.

 

[MAli]

so I absolutely agree and would love to buy a bigger machine with a backhoe but I purchased a home last year and then spent money as if my last name was GATES. I haven't used my Massey backhoe as much as I thought I would and don't have the budget to buy a 10K-15K machine.

The gentleman selling this machine comes across as a really honest man. He recommended that I bring a mechanic to perform an inspection. The machine has 1800 hours and We agreed on $4,000. I will likely not sell this machine and just keep it around for spreading mulch on a few acres. I guess I am asking for some validation since I absolutely resent my purchase of GC1710 and wish I had taken my time to get advice from experienced individuals such as yourself. Oh well, you live and learn .

 

[Peter 315]

It's a great loader only machine.....good luck:thumbsup:

 

[4570Man]

For 4,000 that machine will do a lot of work. It looks like it’s in pretty good condition and the back tires look pretty new.

 

[Peter 315]

In post #7 you were crying about AC .......^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[4570Man]

In post #7 you were crying about AC .......^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Personally I wouldn’t have a cab without AC. I do the vast majority of my work in the summer and a cab without ac is a greenhouse on wheels. An open station ( which all my equipment is ) is way better.

 

[LouNY]

Ok, that is an old torque converter drive in that tractor they have a tendency to get pretty sloppy and loose over the years.
It is not feasible to add a pto, a three point hitch could be added but if you remove that concrete block that tractor will be almost helpless in snow or mud.
Also I don't know your location but with it being fluid drive your brakes are all that stop and hold that tractor, if the brakes are not good and the parking brake is not real good she could be hard to stop and real hard to park on a hill.
It sounds like it may be in good shape and that is a very low amount of hours for that age machine.

 

[Peter 315]

Personally I wouldn稚 have a cab without AC. I do the vast majority of my work in the summer and a cab without ac is a greenhouse on wheels. An open station ( which all my equipment is ) is way better.

Ya so you can yell at the guys working for you easier...........LOL

 

[MAli]

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to weigh in. I feel a lot better making this purchase. I will share updates once I get it and do some work with it. My test drive was both terrifying and exhilarating because my only point of reference is my GC1710 and the Ford feels enormous.

 

[fried1765]

Well you did manage to sell that ford backhoe for a big price. I壇 a lot rather have this to it.

I may have missed something here.
Will this dig a 2' wide, 10' deep trench?
And.....where is the thumb?

 

[4570Man]

I must have missed something here.
Will this dig a 2' wide 10' deep trench?

No but it’s about 25 years newer, a good bit stronger loader, shuttle shift trans, and half the price.

 

[Hay Dude]

Buy it if all you want to do is scoop material or push heavy objects in good traction areas.
Adding a 3point or PTO will require a lot of expense/work.
You could get a Case 580 2WD backhoe for 6-8k.

 

[MAli]

You mentioned good traction a couple of times. Are you saying that this machine doesn't perform well on surfaces that aren't paved? I am planning on using it on a 3 acre orchard/garden. I requested a utility management company to drop free mulch if they could and they dropped about 100 yard of mulch in one day and moving it with gc1710 was painful to say the least. I tried looking for case 580 and the cheapest machine around me was 14k. Thank you so much for your input.