Farmall Cub

Hey everyone, great forum here.
Been looking for a tractor with a loader to use around the house and came across a decent deal on this. With my limited knowledge i believe its a 504 utility or could it be a 2504? Its a gas motor that starts easy and runs strong.
This is a picture of it on my way home from buying it.



The 3 point lift is very strong along with the tilt on the loader however the loader lift is weak. I have been using it for a couple months like this waiting for the weather to cool down so i can work on it. I have been gathering parts i am going to need, my plan is to take the body panels and loader off so i can soda blast and paint them and make it easier to work on the hydraulics. I am an avid car guy and can do everything from body work & paint to building engines so i am not afraid to take anything apart. I know very little about hydraulics but am willing to learn. Sunday i was clearing some land and while pushing over some small maple trees i blew one of the steel lines, heard a loud pop and shot fluid all over.
Here is the line i blew, it sprays fluid when i hit the bucket tilt lever.



Unless i am wrong i believe if the 3 point works well along with the bucket tilt the pump is working properly, especially if it had enough pressure to do that much damage to the steel line.
I decided it was not worth fixing the line and putting new fluid in without doing the tear down to repair-replace everything including a new filter and fluid. So last night i started tearing it down. First step was to remove the loader and make room to work on it.
This is my progress so far.





Where do i begin on trouble shooting the hydraulics besides filter and fluid change? I assume the loader control valves are simple to tear down & rebuild, am i correct? I have read about another valve that is a pressure relief or bleed valve, where is that and is that also simple to rebuild?
I did get a manual on CD but honestly i am more of a hands on type of guy.
Looking forward to sharing my progress and getting help from all you experts out there.

Oh, you lucky dog! You are almost next door to the Deep South CubFest, held in Sneads! You're right close, I have to drive 16 hours to get there. It is sure worth the trip. Check it out right here http://www.dscubfest.com/.

Got so excited that I failed to welcome you. Welcome to the forum. Enjoy the ride.

The hydraulic gurus will be along shortly to help you out.

Bill

Wow! Your zip code says Tallahassee, Florida. Welcome to the forum.

As Mr. Bill said, we extend to you a welcome to DSCF. Would love to have you here.

Hope to see you soon.


Roy

Thanks for the welcome and invite.
Yes Tallahassee is where i call home, i live close to Havana. Sneads is not far, i used to work with a girl that was from there.

Looking forward to getting this fixed up and working like new.

Got a little time in on it tonight, started by draining the fluid. Is this the color it is supposed to be?



Took the cover off to find no filter.



Is there a lower point on the unit to drain from? Looks like the tractor is on a slight angle towards the back so a bottom drain at the rear would be nice but i didn't see one.

Also tried to take off the cover where the gauges are, the temp sending unit is the only thing stopping me from removing everything. Is there a way i can un-hook it from either the gauge or water housing?





Last question for tonight.
There is a 6 wire plug going up to the gauge cluster but where it plugs into there is an additional pin sticking out, any idea what it is supposed to go to?

I have a regular 504 gas tractor,-- plus I have a 2504 diesel ,--2000 loader and a tile digger on the back for putting in field tile.
The 504 is currently waiting for me to get its motor back together and set back in.
Your hyd oil is contaminated super bad and you will need to drain all the cylinders and get the system as clean as possible, then install the new filter and oil.
The steel lines dont break unless ramming into trees too hard ,--just remember you are NOT driving a D-9 Cat. thanks; sonny

You are also missing the bypass screen that goes in the hydr filter.

danmcdonald wrote:You are also missing the bypass screen that goes in the hydr filter.

Yes i found that out thanks to E-Bay, i was searching for parts and came across one.
After some more research and found out mine was missing.
Man are they proud of them, guess its because its hard to find.
Work has been crazy so no time to work on it however i did find time to spend a bunch of money on parts.
Got the filter screen, tach cable, starter solenoid, headlight switch, sediment bowl & oil filter.

Hopefully this weekend i can get some more stuff taken off and start soda blasting the metal.

Whats the best way to get all the fluid out of the cylinders?
Is there a drain plug under the trans or at the rear that is lower then the filter housing?

You already have the cylinders off with the hoses disconnected push the cylinder in and out it will make a mess. You will never get all the water out Hytran is good at suspending water also if you use the tractor a lot it helps by getting it warm and remove the water. Under the transmission is a drain plug if you have a shuttle shifter there is another plug further up.

Thanks, i will do some more digging into it this weekend.

Does anyone have a picture of what the battery box cover looks like?
I would like to fabricate a new one.

I got some more stuff removed.





I pulled the drain plug under the rear and got the rest of the fluid drained. While crawling under i found this:



I am assuming this is just an inspection cover so i should be able to flatten it out and re-use it, doesn't look like it has a gasket.

This looks like another drain plug but its in pretty bad shape, don't know if i can get it out. Do i need to try to get it out or will the rear drain plug let enough of the fluid out?



These are the disconnects for the loader, should they be bolted in anywhere? They are just sitting there right now.




I would really like to put lights in here, does anyone have a picture of what the OEM ones look like?

Yes that is just an inspection cover to keep dust out. Yes remove the plug to get the rest of the oil out. To get the parts break down for your headlights go to the Case IH web site they have full part break downs of your tractor. This is a great site but mostly geared for Cubs you may want to try Yesterdays Tractors forums also on that site you can search photos of your tractor.

Yours is a 504,--2504 has a very heavy front on it and says INDUSTRIAL across the front. If you need pics I could probably get some of mine or my 404,--same front on them and both have lights! --- let my know! thanks; sonny

Pictures of the headlights would be great along with the battery box cover.
Thanks for the info, i will check out both places.

Now i am at the point of no return.
Here is tonight's progress.





This large valve in the middle, should i take it apart and clean / rebuild it?



The the pump in here?



Or here?

Battery box cover is pretty simple and the light holders are just spring held on in the brackets'---you may have to order the light hardware, but the cover can be made! I will try to get over to the farm and get front end pics! thanks; sonny