Rebuilt Case Makes Ideal Blower Tractor
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Derek Jenkins wanted a big snowblower to clear the snow around his farm and at the local airport. He didn't want the pain of looking over his shoulder as he backed down a runway. His solution was to reverse the cab on a 4490 Case and hang a 110-in. Schulte blower on it. His converted tractor works even better than he expected.
"With a light wind to help, I can blow snow from one side of the 75-ft. runway into the ditch on the other side," says Jenkins, a member of a local flying club. "With the engine behind and the blower in front, I have excellent visibility and maneuverability."
Jenkins' first problem was finding a tractor cheap enough to justify use as a dedicated snowblower. He also wanted one with a cab that could be easily reversed. When he heard about a 1980 4490 Case for only $5,000, he bought it sight unseen.
The price seemed too good to be true. The cab was fairly symmetrical, so Jenkins could see how it could be reversed. The previous owner had traded the tractor for salvage price after it broke down in the field, unable to lift a cultivator or move.
"The owner figured it couldn't be fixed," says Jenkins. "I found that a spline on the shaft that runs from the flywheel to the transmission had been stripped. It powers hydraulic pumps and the pto."
After getting the tractor running, Jenkins detached the wiring harness and other controls. He then lifted the cab off the support cross bars and turned it around. He reattached it to the crossbars on the frame 7 in. farther back, enough to clear the engine head.
"The wiring harness was one big, 20-wire square, multi-pin block," says Jenkins. "I had to drill a new hole in the floor for it and add 7 ft. to each wire. I just did one wire at a time so it wasn't too bad."
Reattaching the steering was easy, as the power control unit stayed with the cab. All Jenkins had to do was lengthen one hose and reverse the connections to accommodate the reversed position of the steering wheel. Other controls also were fairly easy to accommodate.
"I labeled the four hydraulic hoses for supply and return and ran them through a bottom corner window," says Jenkins. "The throttle and range shift were all up on the console beside the steering column. The power shift had been on the right side of the seat, but now was on the left side, so I put it on the side console with the hydraulic controls."
Jenkins' biggest challenge was to reverse the drive. He started by taking the wheels and final drives off and pulling the side shafts out of the differential. He then undid the crown and pinion carrier, rotated it upside down and bolted it back in place.
"One side shaft is longer than the other," explains Jenkins. "Once I turned the differential, I had to swap side shafts front and back to match the reversed spacing."
Mounting the blower was easy compared to modifying the tractor. Since the 4490 had no 3-pt. hitch, Jenkins had to fabricate one.
He built a square framework out of 4 by 4-in. steel tubing with quick-tach mounts for the blower. After removing the existing drawbar and its mounts, he used four hydraulic cylinders and a set of support arms in place of top link and lift arms.
The upper set of cylinders was mounted to pin eyes welded to an existing 3/4-in. plate below the hydraulic outlets. The rods on these cylinders attached to the top of the square frame. They filled the top link function and also provided a tilt option.
The second set of cylinders was mounted to pin eyes also welded to the plate 6 in. below the first set. These cylinders extended down with their rods attaching to the bottom corners of the square frame. Steel arms fabricated from 2 by 4-in. steel tubing were pinned to the same lower corners, as well as to the frame of the tractor. Together they functioned as lift arms for the 3-pt. action.
"The lift arms give me about 15 in. clearance for normal maneuvering," explains Jenkins. "Using the top cylinders, I can tip the leading edge of the blower back and up so it has about 30-in. clearance. That helps if I have to load the rig on a trailer for transport."
The 4490 was equipped with duals and older 20.8 by 34 tires. Jenkins replaced them with single 18.4 by 38's, which gave him a narrower wheelbase.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Derek Jenkins, Box 308, Shoal Lake, Man., Canada R0J1Z0 (ph 204 759-3367; cell 204 365-7033; derekjenkins@mts.net).
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Rebuilt Case Makes Ideal Blower Tractor SNOWBLOWERS Snowblowers Derek Jenkins wanted a big snowblower to clear the snow around his farm and at the local airport He didn t want the pain of looking over his shoulder as he backed down a runway His solution was to reverse the cab on a 4490 Case and hang a 110-in Schulte blower on it His converted tractor works even better than he expected
With a light wind to help I can blow snow from one side of the 75-ft runway into the ditch on the other side says Jenkins a member of a local flying club With the engine behind and the blower in front I have excellent visibility and maneuverability
Jenkins first problem was finding a tractor cheap enough to justify use as a dedicated snowblower He also wanted one with a cab that could be easily reversed When he heard about a 1980 4490 Case for only $5 000 he bought it sight unseen
The price seemed too good to be true The cab was fairly symmetrical so Jenkins could see how it could be reversed The previous owner had traded the tractor for salvage price after it broke down in the field unable to lift a cultivator or move
The owner figured it couldn t be fixed says Jenkins I found that a spline on the shaft that runs from the flywheel to the transmission had been stripped It powers hydraulic pumps and the pto
After getting the tractor running Jenkins detached the wiring harness and other controls He then lifted the cab off the support cross bars and turned it around He reattached it to the crossbars on the frame 7 in farther back enough to clear the engine head
The wiring harness was one big 20-wire square multi-pin block says Jenkins I had to drill a new hole in the floor for it and add 7 ft to each wire I just did one wire at a time so it wasn t too bad
Reattaching the steering was easy as the power control unit stayed with the cab All Jenkins had to do was lengthen one hose and reverse the connections to accommodate the reversed position of the steering wheel Other controls also were fairly easy to accommodate
I labeled the four hydraulic hoses for supply and return and ran them through a bottom corner window says Jenkins The throttle and range shift were all up on the console beside the steering column The power shift had been on the right side of the seat but now was on the left side so I put it on the side console with the hydraulic controls
Jenkins biggest challenge was to reverse the drive He started by taking the wheels and final drives off and pulling the side shafts out of the differential He then undid the crown and pinion carrier rotated it upside down and bolted it back in place
One side shaft is longer than the other explains Jenkins Once I turned the differential I had to swap side shafts front and back to match the reversed spacing
Mounting the blower was easy compared to modifying the tractor Since the 4490 had no 3-pt hitch Jenkins had to fabricate one
He built a square framework out of 4 by 4-in steel tubing with quick-tach mounts for the blower After removing the existing drawbar and its mounts he used four hydraulic cylinders and a set of support arms in place of top link and lift arms
The upper set of cylinders was mounted to pin eyes welded to an existing 3/4-in plate below the hydraulic outlets The rods on these cylinders attached to the top of the square frame They filled the top link function and also provided a tilt option
The second set of cylinders was mounted to pin eyes also welded to the plate 6 in below the first set These cylinders extended down with their rods attaching to the bottom corners of the square frame Steel arms fabricated from 2 by 4-in steel tubing were pinned to the same lower corners as well as to the frame of the tractor Together they functioned as lift arms for the 3-pt action
The lift arms give me about 15 in clearance for normal maneuvering explains Jenkins Using the top cylinders I can tip the leading edge of the blower back and up so it has about 30-in clearance That helps if I have to load the rig on a trailer for transport The 4490 was equipped with duals and older 20 8 by 34 tires Jenkins replaced them with single 18 4 by 38 s which gave him a narrower wheelbase Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Derek Jenkins Box 308 Shoal lake Man Canada R0J1Z0 ph 204 759-3367; cell 204 365-7033; derekjenkins@mts net
