Ford 4500 backhoe brake arm rod snapped

[williamhutchinson44]

Its me again.....I was trying to replace the brake road seals and this happened (see attached photos) when I went to remove that rod nut that's fitted into that clevis It got tight and snapped. I suppose the last guy cross threaded it or it wasn't supposed to come off. I'm not sure how else I could of swapped this without taking it off. Now I'm in over my head I think. I'm not sure how to fix this. I'm assuming that axle is going to have to come off to attach a new one inside, how ever that attaches. Any advice?

 

[Harry in Ky]

If you plan to replace the broken rod, then yes, the axle will need to come off.

If it were me, I would deal with the messed up clevis first. Get that apart, threads cleaned up and repaired as needed because that's the brake adjustment. Once past that, I would replace the seal, put the washer and retainer back on. Find a piece of tubing, maybe a 1/4" or 3/8" pipe coupler. Something with an I.D. close enough to bore it out to 7/16". Slip that over the two broken pieces of shaft, then weld or braze them back together. Actually, come to think of it, if the O.D. of the sleeve is small enough, you might be able to do all that first and slip the new seal over it. The surface where the seal rides when in place is somewhat larger than 7/16.

I guess you could also try threading the broken end of the rod then custom engineer some sort of threaded coupling to join the two parts back together. Depends on whether you're more comfortable with trying to cut straight threads or with welding.

 

[Wolfy]

If this is a backyard special I would put a die to the parts and get a threaded coupler nut. They used to be common at hardware stores but nowadays I order them off Ebay.

 

[M59]

william...

Couple options come to mind short of disassembly.
1 Thread the existing piece, still attached, and then add a threaded coupler and a short section of threaded rod

2 Weld an extension onto existing piece and then thread it .

Both are less intrusive and don't require opening up a new can of worms.

 

[Wolfy]

Id not opt to weld this. If the 4500 is like my 3550, that rubber boot needs to be able to slide off for replacement. That will be impossible if its welded. Besides, the heat from the welding will destroy the rubber boot.

 

[williamhutchinson44]

If you plan to replace the broken rod, then yes, the axle will need to come off.

If it were me, I would deal with the messed up clevis first. Get that apart, threads cleaned up and repaired as needed because that's the brake adjustment. Once past that, I would replace the seal, put the washer and retainer back on. Find a piece of tubing, maybe a 1/4" or 3/8" pipe coupler. Something with an I.D. close enough to bore it out to 7/16". Slip that over the two broken pieces of shaft, then weld or braze them back together. Actually, come to think of it, if the O.D. of the sleeve is small enough, you might be able to do all that first and slip the new seal over it. The surface where the seal rides when in place is somewhat larger than 7/16.

I guess you could also try threading the broken end of the rod then custom engineer some sort of threaded coupling to join the two parts back together. Depends on whether you're more comfortable with trying to cut straight threads or with welding.

Well comfortable with neither haha. I can't weld but I do know folks around who can. I feel like threading the rod and adding a coupler/extension would be easier I'm just not sure with that limited space how well I can do it.

 

[williamhutchinson44]

Any ideas about how to secured that rod so I can keep it steady while I thread it?

 

[TractorTech]

You could take the guard and boot off, shove a vice grip into the hole and tighten on the rod. It won’t turn because it is fastened to the brake linkage internally.

Also, you don’t need that flat washer guard, so don’t worry about reinstalling it.

Harry’s idea is about the best, but I would take a 1/2” tube, weld it to the threaded yoke piece and then weld a 7/16” nut on the end of that. Then, thread it onto the stub. Welding can be done on a bench and the modification isn’t drastic.

 

[Smokeydog]

Any ideas about how to secured that rod so I can keep it steady while I thread it?

Sure enjoyed using my 4500 backhoe for twenty years. Heavy rugged machine did us a lot of good.

Need to sand the paint off the rod stub and measure to pick the best die to use to cut threads for coupling nut. Hold the rod with small Machinist vise, clamp to steel block or vise grip. Aligning the die to cut straight threads the trick. Bevel the rod end to to start die square. GearWrench has a ratcheting die T-bar that helps in close quarters. Maybe hex die and deep well socket with spacer? Doable but a challenging repair.

Find out real quick knowing some basic welding skills helps maintain older equipment.

 

[WranglerX]

I would go with what others have said, thread existing shaft and install thread coupler nut.... Available at most farm supplies, bigbox and hardware stores....

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Piers-CRO-Z38-3-8-Zinc-Rod-Coupling?utm_source=google_ad&utm_medium=Shopping_tm&utm_campaign=Shopping_TM_New_users&gclid=Cj0KCQiAxbefBhDfARIsAL4XLRotwOHn95SJ2UliyNIiQ_Nf-XI9s7c1nsexDLg1-gObMG23lV-XjYwaAp8SEALw_wcB