# Ford 4610 series 11 (1988) Hydraulic rear axle oil check and fill locations?



## Ballydehobby (Apr 20, 2021)

Hello, a newbie to both this forum and tractors. I have a Ford 4610 series 11 (1988) with a front loader and it would appear that where I would normally find the hyd. fluid dipstick on the rear axle housing there is another hose leading to a unit with other hoses leading to the arms of the loader. My question is with the above arrangement how do I check the hyd. fluid level and fill it up if necessary? Can I remove the hose or is it under load? I attach a picture and hope someone can offer advice. Thanks very much.


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## Hacke (Feb 22, 2011)

Hello there Ballydehobby, and welcome to the party!

Just to be sure:
The tractor has a cab, right?

Look at this:





(4610) - 3 CYL AG TRACTOR ALL PURPOSE (1/81-2/90) (04C02) - CENTER HOUSING & RELATED PARTS - 335, 2810, 2910, 3910, 3910R, 4110, 4610 New Holland Agriculture







avspare.com





4610 has two filler plugs (#35), one on each side of the draft control spring (I learned that now by looking at the dagrams). That is pretty clever since you can run the external hydraulics return line into one of the holes and use the other when you fill the rear axle, without having to bother with the return line. So, the rubber hose you see under the trailer socket is a return line, and with the machine at rest you will only encounter some drippage when you remove it.

However, I do not think there has been a dipstick in the hole were the rubber hose is. The dipstick handle should be there, but the dipstick (#58) goes in a tube (#57) down the side of the rear axle. Check if there are any remains of the tube.

For tractors without cab, there is a level plug (#45) that you use. Do not quote me on that plug, these plugs have been moved around depending on equipment and market. If you have a cab, the plug can not be reached anyhow.


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## Hacke (Feb 22, 2011)




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## Ballydehobby (Apr 20, 2021)

Many thanks Hacke! Excellent stuff! Yes, it has a cab. 35 has a hard metal pipe attached to it so I'll release the return pipe to fill. There's no dipstick or pipe coming from the filter connection. Any ideas how I might check the level? If I take the filler nut off with return pipe should I be able to see fluid? Really useful help, thanks!


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## Hacke (Feb 22, 2011)

I doubt that you can see the level from the filler hole. I do not know much about these, to me, modern models but on the older ones the level is about half way up in the round center housing. When checking the level, all attached cylinders need to be fully out.

If there has never been a dipstick, it must be a level plug somewhere.

You need to identify the tractor. There are 4610 variants, parts and specs varied during the years and from market to market. Check if there is an identification plate on the underside of the hood, over the battery. Look at the video. The place to look is the same on yours, but the coding is a bit different. The numbers on the lug behind the starter may be difficult to read since you have a loader, cab and what not, but they are more likely to be correct (hoods may have been swapped).

Once you have the numbers, come back and we will sort it out together.

I stole the picture with the filter elbow from an ebay-ad some time ago. I have a 4000 and was thinking about the option to attach an external filter. 4000 has a pretty daft solution where you need to lift the hydraulic lift cover in order to reach the filters. Anyhow, now I discover that the ad is from an Irish breaker company:
https://cmstractorparts.com/
Situated in Cork, where the European Ford history started. Apart from having parts, I think those guys can help you with tips and advices regarding the level question.


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## Hacke (Feb 22, 2011)

By the way, the red dot in this picture shows the plug location on a 4600 (a younger sibling). It is about where your right heel is when you are in the seat. How does it look in that area?


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## Ballydehobby (Apr 20, 2021)

Hacke said:


> By the way, the red dot in this picture shows the plug location on a 4600 (a younger sibling). It is about where your right heel is when you are in the seat. How does it look in that area?
> 
> View attachment 72245


Hi, Sorry for the delay. I found a dipstick in front of the Hi-Lo gear shift on the floor and underneath a panel that is removed by two bolts. They couldn't have done a better job hiding it! Thanks for your help.


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## Hacke (Feb 22, 2011)

Ballydehobby said:


> Hi, Sorry for the delay. I found a dipstick in front of the Hi-Lo gear shift on the floor and underneath a panel that is removed by two bolts. They couldn't have done a better job hiding it! Thanks for your help.


This dipstick?









That is for the transmission oil level.


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## Ballydehobby (Apr 20, 2021)

I did wonder if it was...thanks for letting me know.


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