1960 towmotor forklift- water in hydraulics?

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We have at work an early 60's towmotor 4000lb capacity forklift. because of a recent electrical fire on the machine, it was left outside for several weeks. the electrical issue has been repaired, however water must of gotten into the hydraulic system somehow. after fully raising the mast when it was repaired, almost a gallon of fluid came out of the cap on the side of the machine. so we will be changing the fluid and filter. i dont think we will be able to find the filter, so we will have to mount a new filter and mount. What size and flow hydraulic filter would you guys recommend? also what weight fluid? id also like to the tranny oil and diff oil. it is a manual tranny with a conventional clutch. not sure if the clutch is oil bathed. any recommendations on these oils also?
 
You're really going to have to poke around and see exactly what it's got in the engine bay first in regards to lines, filters, etc, Towmotor has been out of business for something like 25-30yrs. Those old beasts are bears to drive. Nothing...nothing.. then GRABBY clutches, no power steering, super ergonomic controls. YUK. We had a few 1950-60's units at the last place I worked. Heavy old iron.

Joel
 
Towmotor was bought by CAT, CAT should still have parts. I know they do for nearly all of our old Towmotors. If they are maintained an old Towmotor is nearly as nice to drive a modern forklift.

Without knowing which setup your towmotor has I can't say what to use for the trans/clutch oil, need to find out if it's a wet clutch or not. A regalar AW hydralic oil will do fine, probably a AW46 or so. Could go a bit heavier if you want.
 
I have spoken with many dealers in the past about getting parts....usually they just laugh when you tell them how old it is. The CAT dealer around here, HO Penn, does not deal with forklifts at all, let alone a Towmotor.

It is a great machine though....The fire was the only major issue we've had with it...and we've had it for 25 years!
 
If there are any numbers visible on the old filter, then somebody somewhere can probably cross-reference it. I'd try Cat forklift dealers and local industrial suppliers. If it's a canister-type filter, then go ahead and remove the filter and wipe it clean. You might be surprised to find visible numbers still on it. I've got lucky several times this way dealing with old obsolete equipment.

If you have to make another filter work, then just be sure to err toward getting a larger filter than necessary. Northern Hydraulics sells cheap hydraulic filter heads with varying flow ratings. I don't have any way of knowing exactly what flow that equipment pump would put out, but I am pretty familiar with similarly sized skidsteer loaders (Case, Deer, Bobcat, etc.). The smaller machines (similar in size and horsepower to that forklift) usually flowed 10-15 gpm. I'd be surprised if your towmotor flowed even that much. So just to be safe, if you go with a filter that's rated for at least 20gpm, then you'll be fine.

I rebuilt the engine in a similar forklift a couple years ago, but about a 1970 vingtage, I think. Had a 4-cyl. flathead Continental engine. We were able to get most of the parts from the Cat forklift dealership here in Wichita, and the rest from a machine shop that they recommended. No manuals were available, but I found all the critical torque specs on assorted parts supplier websites. Last I heard it's still running (used daily at the John Deere dealership where I worked).

This forklift had a clutch that was similar in design to what you'd see in a pickup, but the disk had different friction material... and it was a wet clutch. Had a separate reservior with a dipstick, with a pump to circulate clutch oil through a cooler. It was filled with ATF. Nobody could give us a definitive answer on what oil SHOULD be in there, so we just topped off the ATF with dex III, and it worked fine.

Can't tell you anything about the tranny and diff... I didn't mess with either of those. I'd probably pull the plugs and try to identify the oils by smell/feel. Odds are that they both take 80W90, but hydraulic oil is also a possibility.

I agree with others here that any AW46 hydraulic oil should work fine. As would AW32, but I'd probably go with the thicker oil since this is an older machine. Since this is a hydraulic-only application (no wet brakes or anything like that), you don't need anything fancy or specific... but UTF would also do the job. In my experience, hydraulic oils are not problematic when it comes to mixing. The only systems that I've seen that are kinda picky are those that involve friction materials like clutches or brakes.

Depending on how much water got into the system, you might have to change the hydraulic oil twice. I would just look at the oil after running it a while and getting it hot, then make a judgment call.
 
I retired 8 years ago from working at a forklift dealership [worked there 18 years ] and parts should be available for the Towmotor. You just got [censored] parts people. 1040 and onions advise is right on!!! I personally like the newest model forklifts over the oldest models.
 
Originally Posted By: 1040 WreckerMan
..If they are maintained an old Towmotor is nearly as nice to drive a modern forklift..


I dunno about that. Try a real oldie with a clutch and no power steering, trying to maneuver a ~3 ton pump package around a tight shop. A world of difference over a modern lift truck.

Joel
 
CALL THESE GUYS

Parts R Parts
Oakley, CA 94561
925-679-9396

They have parts for every obscure forklift made. They get me parts for my 1960's baker towable forklift, my baker York, and and every other forklift I own including the late model hysters and Yale's.

GREAT GUYS!
 
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but forklifts are never discussed here
anyone seen one of these in person? They look like they'd be awesome in a warehouse.
http://www.airtrax.com/vehicles/sidewinder.shtml
make sure to watch the video.
 
Those are pretty slick but the price puts them outta this world. I was really interested in one of their man lifts but at the time i was told they were over 25K for a 19' manlift that i can buy all day long for 4,500
 
I worked at a forklift dealership for 17.5 years and what I found out was in any piece of equipment simpler is better .There was an electric forklift that was before its time in that it had regen braking[still had to change the battery at the end of the shift so what was the return on investment?] Had an automatic parking brake that would apply when the operator would get off the seat, a good idea but when the thing broke the forklift would be stuck with the brakes on untill the service guy would get there, usually the warehouse guys would be able to move the forklift out of the way and get on with busisness. Had this hydraulic pump that would regulate its speed to the amount of load put on it,used a couple of devices to do the regulation of the speed which would give problems on ocassion , the battery still had to be changed at the end of the shift. Eventually we lost the these people as custoners due to the repair cost as most busisness aren't on the sloptrough of the taxpayers. Like Scotty said on one of the Star Treck movies " the more plumbing there is, the easier it is to clog up the pipes."I told the salesmen that if you try to sell certain equipment I would go to the costomers and warn them not to buy it. AS the costomers are the ones that allow me a pay check.
 
Quote:
in any piece of equipment simpler is better


Very true, especially as equipment gets some years and wear on it. Bells & whistles are fun when everything is new and in good working order... but the more complicated a given piece of equipment is, the more of a money-pit it becomes as it ages. Eagle buses and older John Deere 4wd tractors are two examples that come to mind. I've seen people spend tens of thousands of dollars on repairs with equipment like this and STILL be plagued by minor breakdowns.

Even when evaluating my own vehicle purchases, I look for simple designs and off-the-shelf components as opposed to bells & whistles with proprietary components.
 
well in their defense if you actually look at their design it is pretty robust and not as tech heavy as you would think.

But i am DEFINATELY from the K.I.S.S. School of buisness. simple is better.
 
Originally Posted By: Steve S
I have a John deere 4310 I wonder.


I should've been more specific... though Deere would generally refer to your machine as "mechanical front" rather than 4wd.

I was referring to the old 8XXX 4WD tractors, 50-series and earlier. I've had these scattered across the shop quite a few times- down nearly to the last bolt. Twice as many parts & pieces as a comparable Steiger or Versatile... and each one of those parts costs twice as much.

tractor.jpg


They were an awesome machine when new, but these days they're a money-pit. Deere saw the error of their ways starting with the 55-series, and went to a more conventional external frame design (like Stieger and Versatile had been doing for decades). Those are a VAST improvement over the old cast iron machines.
 
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