International 4500B Forklift

[Binderdan]

As most of you may know I have a problem. I seem to buy silly things, then fixing them becomes an obsession. Well, I have done it again... But this time the machine I bought is probably more practical than most I have. I had been looking for an International 4500B forklift. I found one at auction in northern Wyoming a few months ago that had the options I wanted and I won the auction. Since we all love a good story,  pictures, and information, here we go!

The International 4500A and 4500B forklifts are basically an International 454 Ag tractor that has been turned around backwards and modified into a forklift by Harlo. Harlo is a rough terrain forklift manufacturer that over the years has taken IH, Ford, John Deere, Massey Ferguson, Allis-Chalmers, and probably more tractors and converted them to forklifts using Harlo masts and other parts. These forklifts were sold through the respective dealer networks as that company's forklift. Harlo is still in business but only builds rough terrain forklifts branded as Harlo but utilizing John Deere drivetrain. Most were 4,000 lb capacity but up to 6,000 lb capacity was made, with varying reach height.

International 4500A and 4500B forklifts had C157 4 cylinder gasoline engines, or D179 3 cylinder diesel engines, and could have a clutch gear drive transmission or a torque converter transmission. I had wanted a diesel with a torque converter transmission. A deal I had been working on for one in TX fell through so I was looking and somehow stumbled upon an internet auction with one in Wyoming. Still not sure how I found it because it was advertised erroneously as a 130 model because it had "130" on the side, likely as a unit number from a previous owner. It's listing said "main hydraulic seal leak", whatever that means. I assumed the mast cylinder was leaking.

I won the auction and got a local towing company to move, and store it for me until I could come get it. Months later I finally got to make a trip to Wyoming to get it. At 925 miles each way I am probably a fool, but whatever, I was excited! I made the trek with my truck and trailer, stayed the night, and picked up the forklift in the morning. When I arrived I found that the headlight switch and key were left on leaving the battery completely dead. Ugh! They had a jump pack that almost started it, but with a sniff of ether it took right off! I could see a oily spot under the mast where it had been leaking, but it was so low on hydraulic oil nothing worked! I had anticipated this so I had brought 5 gallons of cheap universal tractor oil from O'Reilly's. But this wasn't enough so I had to run to O'Reilly's for another 5 gallon bucket, and some diesel because it was almost out! I dumped 3 gallons of diesel in the tank, and the other 5 gallons of hydraulic oil into the reservoir and the hydraulics came to life. Unfortunately the mast cylinder leaked down as fast as it went up! Spraying hydraulic oil everywhere! What a mess! So I had to be quick. With the trailer ready and the forklift in low gear it pulled itself onto the trailer well, although the transmission was noisy.

 

You can see the puddle underneath the trailer. That's how fast it was leaking out before I lowered the forks and shut it off! This thing needs the mast cylinder rebuilt bad!

Finally all loaded up and started my long drive home. The forklift weighs about 10,500 lbs so not exactly light. I was reminded of this on every hill! Made for a long drive, and a real workout for the ol 7.3 Ford, especially on the Raton Pass into New Mexico!

 

[hardtail]

That looks pretty clean really, big counterweight hanging off the front back 🤔 another IH happy to be heading to the southwest for some rejuvenation and retirement 

[Binderdan]

After getting the 4500B home I put the battery charger on it for a couple hours. With the booster setting the engine started. It backed off the trailer but hydraulic oil was spewing out the lift cylinder so fast I didn't have much time to get it moved to where I planned to do repairs. I gave it a good looking over to see what all I needed to do to it.

The battery was a less than a year old Group 24 from O'Reilly's and it was toast from being completely depleted for 2+ months. Unfortunately O'Reilly's wouldn't honor the warranty because I wasn't the original buyer of the battery. So I went to NAPA and got a Group 31 battery for it. The front battery cover is missing but I have located a NOS cover at FP Smith.

The biggest hydraulic leak was the mast cylinder, but the steering cylinder was also leaking. The mast cylinder seal kit is an IH part number 108092C91, which is supersedes to a CNH (Case IH) D82792 and is still available for a mere $430!! I tried to find the Harlo part number and order it through Harlo but their dealer network doesn't seem to know much of anything, even what a Harlo is. 😒  So I had to order the expensive seal kit through CNH.

The steering cylinder is the same as the ones for the IH backhoes. The seal kit for the steering cylinder is 536314R92 which is available through Nationwide Parts 1987 on Ebay who sells a kit. Luckily I already have a spare kit.

Unfortunately I noticed the range shifter was missing. I pulled up the floor and it looks as if the shift lever was completely removed. And the linkage moved freely as if the range shift mechanism is broken inside the differential housing. Ugh! I called a salvage yard that claimed to have dismantled a 4500B but they said they couldn't find one. Although I don't believe them, I think they just didn't to go look and just wanted to check the part number in the system. In the photo you can see the block with an eyelet in it where the shifter and spring attach. A friend has a 4500A that I might borrow the shift lever off of and make a copy from his.

I had ordered filters for the machine through Fleetguard so I swapped the air filter (Fleetguard AF4061), fuel filter (Fleetguard FF167), oil filter (Fleetguard LF3532) and did an oil change with two gallons of Rotella straight 30 oil. Looked like it hadn't had an oil change in some time. Very sooty oil and not very slippery. It actually ran smoother after the oil change.

The fender lights are missing and two tractor lights have been added on top of the ROPS, and one of the flasher lights is missing a lens. I may upgrade all to LEDs but I'm undecided. Need to get the leaking and transmission corrected first.

[IHRedRyan]

I hope there will be a YouTube walk around! Great looking machine! I agree diesel and torque converter is the optimal combo , too bad about the pricey seal kit. 
 

Should make for a very useful machine once you give her some TLC. 

 

[Rawleigh99]

If you take your parts to the hydraulic shop they may be able to match it up much cheaper from that parts bins.

[louie figone]

Is the 100 finished?

[Binderdan]

On 7/12/2024 at 2:41 PM, louie figone said:

Is the 100 finished?

Been working on an update on the 100C now that I'm home again. Hoping to reinstall the engine next week!

I reached out to Harlo directly since their dealers hadn't been much help. Much to my surprise they said that this mast system hasn't been made in 30 years and they no longer support it at all. I figured with so many still in use they would still support parts for at least the mast since it was used on so many machines. Certainly disappointing.

I went ahead and ordered the superseded part number D82792 through Case IH. I figured it was probably made by Harlo and CNH put a CNH decal over the harlo decal. We will see when it gets here. Hopefully its the correct kit, if not I'll be heading to a hydraulic shop to match them up like Rawleigh99 said if there is anything left of the originals.

[Phil R]

Range lever just needs to go forward and back on torque converter machines.  Not sure why they designed the shifter with the side to side pivot.  Had a professional hydraulic shop rebuild the mast cylinder (twice) on this one with their own sourced seals.

[Binderdan]

Phil R, thank  you for the photos! Gives me a better idea what I'm looking for in case I need to make a shift lever. Can you measure the diameter of the shifter rod? Looks like 1/2" rod maybe?

Well my $430 + shipping seal kit from Case IH showed up and what do you know! After removing the CNH outer plastic the inner plastic clearly says "Harlo Products", just like I thought. Guess the rep from Harlo was blowing smoke up my butt or doesn't know their products. The kit clearly shows a Harlo part number 43492 which is for the 4" diameter piston rod. I'm curious how much less it would have cost directly through Harlo now that I have the part number.

The good news is at least I have the proper seal kit. I initially thought I would have to remove the entire lift cylinder and dissemble it to reseal it. However after reviewing the service manual much to my surprise, and relief the cylinder can be resealed remaining installed in the machine. There are not seals on the bottom of the rod like most hydraulic cylinders. The only seals are at the top of the cylinder. The manual says to raise the forks about 6" and put a block under the mast, and to put C clamps on the mast sections to hold it up. The directions included in the seal kit lay out a similar procedure. Then remove two allen bolts at the top to release the cylinder rod from the mast. Tilt the cylinder forward a bit and the gland nut can be removed.

Removing the gland nut took a hammer and punch about 1/3 of the way off then I was able to use a 36" pipe wrench to remove the rest of the way. Directly under the nut was a large brass ring, then the large seal. I am thankful I didn't need to match anything up because the old seal was completely disintegrated. It came out in small chunks with a pick, nothing measurable. The manual suggests starting the machine and using hydraulic pressure to sort of blow the seal out. Mine was too far gone for this to work on the seal but did work for the ring, just made a mess trying to get seal to pop out.

The new seal kit only came with three pieces. The main seal (yellow), the outer dust seal(black), and a curved aluminum piece for tamping the yellow seal down into its proper location. Above you can see the large brass ring, and the gland nut. The yellow seal pictured installs with the black O-ring side down(opposite in picture).

Below you see I'm using the supplied tool to tamp the yellow seal into is position below the internal threads of the cylinder barrel. Be gentle here so the barrel threads don't damage the seal on the way in.

Then comes the brass ring, with the groove facing up. Lubricated with Hy-Tran as it goes together.

Then after cleaning the gland nut I installed the outer dust seal onto the gland nut, with a bit of Hy-Tran for lubrication.

 

The gland nut is ready to install. I lubed the threads with some Hy-Tran, started the nut by hand, then used the pipe wrench til I had to use the hammer and punch. Rotating the nut til the teeth were against the barrel top. Then I threaded the top bolts in and used them and a ratchet handle to rotate the cylinder rod aligning the bolt holes in the top to the holes in the mast(best eyeball alignment).

By the time I had got this far it was dark. I ran the engine and raised the mast cylinder to match the 6" raised mast and reinstalled the two top bolts securing the cylinder rod to the mast. The cylinder would then need bled at the bleeder screw at the top just below where the new seal is positioned in the cylinder. But I will be changing the trans/hydraulic oil so that will wait til tomorrow.

[mmi]

Naturally harlo outsources that kit and likely only contracts it to IH.

They did a case booboo and hoarders wild ,tossing alot when the oldsters passed on. Like he said only 12-15 x yr,do they get contacted about allied installs ,as owners go to appropriate color are told NLA or $400 for $4 part and give up.

60 yr + gone for  add ons and 35+ for IH , not green/inhouse full units

[Binderdan]

I may reach out to Harlo dealer with that number and see what they say. But mmi may be right about it only being contracted to Case IH.

The next morning I drained the transmission/hydraulic oil and changed the filter on the side of the transmission. As with my backhoes and tractors there is three drain plugs. I got a decent amount of moisture out of it. No signs of rust or concerning metal pieces in the oil that came out. I let it drain for a couple hours and I changed the filter (Fleetguard HF6000) and the small and large O-rings provided with the filter. The bypass screen in the end of the old filter was pretty dirty and I cleaned it well before swapping it onto the new filter.

After reinstalling the drain plugs and new filter I used the 510 Payloader to bring my 55 gallon drum of Viscosity Ultraction (Formerly Hy-Tran) over close enough to pump directly into fill tube on the 4500B transmission. This was so much more convenient than my usual 5 gallon buckets and a funnel method. I had bought this drum of Viscosithy Ultraction for the 100C crawler loader, but after looking at capacities It should be just enough to take care of the 100C and the 4500B.

Once full I started the engine and ran the transmission through cycles with the new oil, then topped it off again. The new oil and filter had worked wonders. No more whining, shaking, and jerky movements. Transmission and pumps were now quiet and smooth. I think the biggest issue before was how plugged the filter and bypass screen were causing pump starvation and cavitation.

Then the 4500 got put straight to work unloading the little trailer! But I wanted this forklift functional to use for reinstalling the 100C engine. I think it would be safer to use than the 510 Payloader to install an engine, much more precise movements. Used the 4500B quite a bit the first day, it is going to be very useful. Still have plenty more to do to it but now its at least functional.

I have a new seat on order, and a much better steering wheel to install. More to come!

[Rawleigh99]

Wow, that is fantastic!  Thanks for the writeup and pictures!

[Dirt_Floor_Poor]

You must have close to enough to open the IH Payline Museum by now?

[Phil R]

Binderdan, I took some pictures.  Shaft is a beefy 7/8".  It is necked down for a knob like the hydraulic levers have.  The bends are under 90 degrees.  Height of bend above clevis is 4.5" on left side to 5" on right side.  Inside to inside for vertical is 3.75".  That should get you close.   All the spring does is hold the shifter in the notch for Neutral on the floor plate.  It does click slightly when shifted from low to high, but doesn't take much effort at all.

 

 

Edited July 24, 2024 by Phil R
add picture

[Binderdan]

Thank you so much Phil! That should get me pretty close! Great pics and measurements!

I take it you did the parking brake on yours? Looks shiny!

[Phil R]

Yes Binderdan, did the parking brake band.  Had a cable shop build a cable, and found a lever online and that was a close match.  Has an alarm buzzer wired in with the parking break light!

[Binderdan]

I bet the parking brake cable isn't a fun job. But since I'll have to have the diff cover off anyway I may be wise to do a parking brake band.

Now that the forklift is able to be used a few creature comforts are in order! I ordered a new seat. The original style seems to be NLA so I found a nice substitute. The new seat comes with adjuster slides and the original seat adjuster is still on the machine. So I modified the original seat slider with a couple pieces of angle iron to accept the new seat slider bolts. And painted the pieces to match.

Then mounted the seat, which made for a nice look and fit. Although slightly higher than it should be, I'm tall enough it doesn't bother me.

So I have a pet peeve about nasty steering wheels so this nasty, cracked steering wheel that turns your hands black has to go! A friend have me a very nice original steering wheel from a IH 915 combine that was parted out that is the same one that fits this!

As per usual, the removal of this original steering wheel was very difficult. The steering wheel puller was no match for it. So as I often do I had to take a hammer and break apart the center plastic to expose the metal center, then heat it with a propane torch.

The steering wheel finally gave way and came off. The used combine steering wheel even had a nice, and correct center cap. Its so much nicer to drive now that it has a proper seat and a steering wheel that doesn't turn my hands black.

 

[mmi]

BTDT combine wheels and not exact center.

[Binderdan]

10 hours ago, mmi said:

BTDT combine wheels and not exact center.

What does "BTDT" mean? Both wheel and center have same part numbers between 915 combine and 4500B per the parts manuals. Either way, fits good and looks good. I do see the picture in the operators manual looks like the 56 series Farmall center cap, rather than this one.

Picked up some 7/8" cold rolled round stock and some 1" strap steel 1/4" thick to build my shifter.

The shoulder bolt (#14), and spring (#8) I have located NOS so I'll order them, the knob (#6) is available new, and I'll form the shift lever (#1) out of the steel I got today.

 

[DWF]

BTDT= Ben there done that.

DWF

[mmi]

Posted 2 hours ago

BTDT= Ben there done that.

DWF

every type of pinching ,stained  hands for a week IH Stuck galled wheel from f-12 to 856.

Combines were the best (close) replacement the rest '80-15+ were junk excepting ...may be (darst) here was redoing them for '30-65

[Binderdan]

Haha! I should have known that!

[Binderdan]

one of the remaining annoyances with this machine is the engine doesn't return to idle when you let off the accelerator unless you pull up on the pedal. So after looking under the machine I found a broken throttle return spring. The part number for the new spring is 386991R1 but I checked all my sources with no result at all. I assumed this spring must be a Harlo part so I searched my parts books in the equivalent Case, and John Deere machine but neither uses this spring. So I found a similar spring at an industrial supply place and I tried it, but it was heavier and didn't stretch as far as it needed to.

The other issue was the accelerator pedal was  very worn out and flopped around bad. I assume this was contributing to the issue. After removing the pedal assembly I could see that the hinge pin on the pedal assembly was badly warn. The hinge pin was welded in place so I took a hack saw and cut the pin releasing the stationary part of the assembly. The pin and the hole were both badly worn. My options were to weld the hole shut and re-drill, drill out and make a bushing, or drill larger and put in an oversize hinge pin. The original hole and pin were 3/8" and I was concerned I may have to go much larger. Luckily I was able to clean up the hole pretty well with a 7/16" drill.

I found a piece of 7/16" round stock to become the new hinge pin. I took a Dremel with a cut off wheel and cut away at the original weld holding the pin on until it broke off cleanly. Then put the pin in place and welded the pin in place like the original 3/8" pin. This worked quite well and was a nice tight fit and moved smoothly.

I then reinstalled the pedal assembly onto the forklift. It fit well but the larger pin shifted the pedal slightly to the rear causing a small clearance issue with the floor pan not allowing the pedal to return all the way to idle. A little Dremel grinding on the floor to clearance the pedal and it was back to free travel through its full range.

The forward pedal assembly mounting bolt is adjustable to act as a mechanical stop. This prevents someones heavy foot from riding the little stops on the injection pump. I adjusted the pedal stop to stop the pedal just before the stop on the injection pump would stop it.

Unfortunately this didn't solve the problem entirely as there was still no throttle return spring so the engine still didn't return to idle without pulling on the pedal. So I took measurements of the original broken spring and consulted McMaster-Carr's online catalog. Based on the dimensions there wasn't a perfect match but the original really seemed almost too short. I found one that was a half inch longer in the relaxed position that met all the other criteria. It was part number 5108N675 in the McMaster-Carr catalog and was sold in a set of two. Of course shipping cost more then the two springs, but still probably cheaper than buying a new one from Harlo if I could.

The longer relaxed length shouldn't be an issue because even at idle the original spring would be very stretched. I got one of the new springs installed and it fit very well. Good pedal resistance, good idle return, and a good fit!

Now the forklift drives very well with no fear of hitting something due to it not returning to idle properly. Its a very easy driving, reliable, and useful machine now. Still more things to do to it but every little thing I have done has made a big improvement.

[Rawleigh99]

Good work Dan!

[Binderdan]

Thanks Rawleigh!

I need to pull the cover off the differential to determine the cause of the high/low shifter issue but with limited time before I leave town for a while I don't want to open a can of worms I can't get back together before I leave. So I will get the parts on order while I am gone and tackle that when I return, along with the missing shifter. Although my battery cover and shifter parts arrived from FP Smith!

The NOS battery cover part number 71380C1 will get blasted and painted Case IH IronGuard 483 Federal Yellow. I still need to order the "J" bolts for the cover, 2x part number 393161R1, and nuts 411597R1, and washers 120393. The 5/16-18, 10.25" long "J" bolts are readily available aftermarket and usually include washers and wing nuts, as opposed to the original hex nuts. I am fine with either one.

The other parts in the little bag taped to the cover are the NOS high/low shifter parts. Spring #8 in the diagram, shoulder bolt #14, and 4x washers not shown in diagram all NOS from FP Smith. I also got a new shifter knob #6 delivered from an aftermarket tractor company, same as many AG tractor shifter knobs such as Farmall Cub.

When I pull the differential cover to inspect the problem I suspect I will find #9 broken like I found on my 260A. Thankfully it's still available new through Case IH but not cheap.

I also ordered a set of fender handle rubbers 388940R1 which were readily available aftermarket. I got two but when I installed them they fit VERY loosely in the holes. Not sure if my fender grab holes are worn much larger or if there really is another size. They fit perfectly on my 260A which calls for the same part number. I cant imagine the holes wearing and not becoming oblong or out of square too. They look like they fit nicely but when you grab them they feel like they will fall out.

I also ordered a decal kit from QuipCal. They don't have it listed on their site but they do have them. Unfortunately it is not a complete set, just hood sides and fenders. They look very correct. This guy had them made for his that was a beautiful restoration! I will work to get what decals I can find scanned and ready to make a complete set someday including shift decals, the IH logos for mast, and "PAY LIFT" for the hood sides. I don't have current plans to "restore" this one, just make it look decent and get everything to work properly.

Well, that brings me to the point where I leave for a while...

While I'm gone I will be searching for parts and ordering what I know I need for my return. Such as differential cover gasket, rear tires, and a seal kit for the steering cylinder.