Hydraulic Fluid for Ford 4000 HD Industrial

[Altenbrauch]

I have a Ford 4000 Heavy Duty Industrial with backhoe and 712 front end loader. It's Frankenstein's monster of parts, but I think it was originally a 4140, buff and blue, with select-o-speed, although the transmission has been replaced. It's an old machine, but it's new to me and I don't have that much experience with it.

A hydraulic hose on the loader was leaking around a rusted fitting, so I replaced it. It lost some hydraulic fluid in the process, and now the loader gets really slow as it reaches maximum lift, and it makes kind of a screeching noise from the hydraulic pump. I've read conflicting information about where the hydraulics should be filled at, and the manuals I bought on eBay don't seem to be any help. I've looked for a fitting to remove on the loader frame itself, but can't seem to find it. I did add fluid to the rear differential, but it didn't seem to help with the screeching noise or slow lift. I tried working air out of the lines just by using it, but a half hour of work hasn't seemed to help. I'm worried about the screeching noise and am afraid of damaging the pump. The pump is located under the cast iron nose cone, and I think I would have to remove it to access it.

Any suggestions for where to add hydraulic fluid?

 

[RNeumann]

I have no ford experience but a lot of machines share the fluid with the transmission. The hydraulics use that as the reservoir.

Follow the lines from the loader control valve.

 

[ovrszd]

Don't run it til you figure this out. That screeching is life off your pump.

Some used the loader frame as a reservoir. My 555 has a tank behind the grill in front of the engine radiator.

 

[Altenbrauch]

Found it, in plain sight. It's on top of the pump, which is in front of the radiator.