I’ve been both excited and terrified for this day to come… but today, I’m learning how to drive and operate my 1974 International harvester 574 backhoe. Oh, and by the way, it has no brakes…….
getting the brakes working will help! Thats why tractors have two brakes, one for each wheel...so when your goin/pushing and one starts spinning give it a little brake to even out the traction and give the one not spinning more power.
Ok the two pedals on the right foot are , turning cutting brakes, the one e on the right will stop the right back wheel , and the left is the other wheel, it would help you turn out of a pinch, ok thanks BigAl California.
I'm sorry, but I was wrong on the comment last video. Your backhoe is older than the one I remembered.. Anyway, it's in a rouh shape, hydraulics drooping, no brakes, no many other details, it's still quite useful although it has some annoyances built in. You have to keep an eye on the previous tracks you left, when crossing, since you can fall into one on one side and with raised bucket, the center of gravity raises. Also the rear hoe is a counterweight to your steering wheels, so keep the hoe close in at all times, otherwise you'll have steering troubles or "floating" front.. What kind of a property did you pick? It's like some spoge covered swamp.. I'm a bit concerned for winter to spring, with all the snow melting and rain... Make a really good plan on drainage. Other than that, I think your neighbors already know you had so much fun... 😁You're a pretty fast learner, although that backhoe needs a lot of TLC (as amerikanci say). Could it be itself a project for you in your new workshop? 🤩I'm looking forward to! Keep on, keep safe, mind your surroundings, but don't overheat your brain too much. 😅Cheers!
Thank you @darkfactory8082 ! There will definitely be maintenance needed on this beast of a machine lol! It'll be so great to have a proper shop for all the projects to come!! The property is made of peat - very very fertile soil but it is very soft and boggy. It needs a lot of tending to before we can build on it lol! I'll be doing a video in the coming weeks on the land and what we're going to do to it! Have a great week!
your doing a great job Meg but you need to fold up the back hoe and turn or left or right so its tight up to the Machine and it will make it more stable to operate
What about your well? I waited a whole week to see the uncovering of the well and well I still don't see a well. 🚰 Nice job on the Interntional though, now get out there and find that well 🤣🤣
Thanks for checking in on that! I will be doing an update on the well search in either this Saturday's video or next. It's been an insanely busy couple of weeks lol and lots going on all at once. So I wanted this video to be focused on a particular project - being learning the backhoe, rather an update. But stay tuned... there have been some new discoveries...
Hey Meg, Great work considering what are clearly some major issues with the International. I'm going to recommend Dan and Rachel's tractor repair channel www.youtube.com/@DanGingell. They're a father, daughter repair and instructional channel that mainly work on Ford but the principals are the same. Your backhoe doesn't have tracks or a pony motor, It's really just a deasil tractor with attachments and I think you could learn a lot about fixing it yourself from their channel. Not the least of which getting the breaks to work and the hydraulics stabilized. Tractors, especially old ones, were made to fix in the field incase they broke down. I think you'll find it's easier to work on than your truck except the parts are heavier. 😁 Oh and one more thing, great thinking lowing the tire pressure. That was truly the cheapest solutions for the greatest gain.
Thank you so much Scott, and I appreciate the channel recommendation, I'll check them out! There will definitely be some maintenance to do on this machine and I also have heard they are 'meant' to be worked out there in the field so hopefully it won't be too intense of wrenching work haha! The aired down tires have been working AMAZING. It has definitely been a lot easier to get around since we did that. Have a great week!
Who needs a carnival ride when you can just buy a 1974 International backhoe and look for a water well on 3 acres of land????? Another fun video Meg, and as per usual you've taken another item off your bucket list of things to learn. Proud of you kid
Oh my goodness, it was such a rollercoaster ride lol!! Glad you liked this adventure and I'm stoked for all that's to come in the coming weeks! Appreciate the support Rob, you're awesome!
Learning to operate one of those is challenging enough when using one that's 100% operational. Yours has marginal hydraulics, a damaged cooling system, and no brakes. I'm very impressed with you, Meg. Rock on wit yo bad self!
This journey of yours is going to be so much fun to watch. Mike's patience and your willingness to learn is outstanding. Nice to see him get more involved in your little channel. It really highlights more of who you are in true Canadian fashion. Ever find the well?
Thank you Curtis! Really appreciate that! Mike is super patient lol, great teacher too! We have not found the well yet.... 😳 I'll be giving an update on it next week or the week after! Have a a wonderful week!
It’s progressing very well. Like to see you from struggling with the Intl. in the beginning to get more familiar with it. You’ve got a good tutor next to you. He’s very relaxing in teaching you to handle this thing, that is in front of the camera at least. I’m curious how the layout will be of your new home. Good luck!!! 🍀 ps. Did you find the water well?
Thank you Roy! Yes, things are coming along and I definitely have an amazing teacher! I'll be doing some updates on the property development as well as my well hunt very soon! Hope you're having a great start to your week!
Supper Meg getting the work done, well slow, butt she will forgive the Backhoe for making her Scare.. will yo take all of the soft dirt up to beable to drive on it? U will have to do that to put a home on ur land..
your a young lady who can turn her hand to anything even driving a international with issues ie.....brakes! the view from your property is amazing, i must admit when you were high up in the bucket and Mike was jerking the bucket i was laughing
Meg the backhoe on that model must not have a quick disconnect. It must be bolted up to the tractor. The boom on the backhoe should come way up and have a locking lever to keep it in the center. Only reason I say this is thats the reason it feels like it will tip. The weight would shift to the front of the tractor.
I enjoyed this a lot - it felt genuine and authentic, and it was fun seeing you work as a team. Yes, it is all sensory overload, and yes there are so many new muscle skills to learn, but that will come. I can’t help but feel there might need to be French drains in your future 😊
Thank you so much Kev!! I'm going to be doing a video in the coming weeks on how we're going to tackle this soft soil so that we can build on it! Hope you have a great week!
I feel like I missed an episode. Last time your land was full of brush and you were mowing it down to find a well. This episode your land seemed to be cleared of the brush and no mention of finding a well. Did you find the well?
I will be doing an update on the land clearing and the search for the well finding either this Saturday or next! There's lot of activities I'm doing at the same time like mowing and still searching for the well lol (it has not yet been found). It's been a crazy couple of weeks getting moved and I wanted this video to stick to a particular topic - this week being learning the backhoe. Thank you for watching!
One thing you learn from driving racecars that I feel like applies here... You don't want to be using your controls to hang onto the car, you want to use the controls to actually control the car. I feel like because of the soft ground and the absolutely required squishy tires, that having a seatbelt and a harness to hold you to the seat would be helpful, of course it would help if you could actually be in the seat too.... It's all bad!
I've run tractors almost that big before but only for mowing grass, so I can only imagine how difficult it would be to manage all those extra controls. It was fun watching you learn and get it done even though it was a bit scary, and you are so determined to learn new skills that I know you'll be much more proficient in no time. Well done once again.
Well done ! That is one beast of a machine to learn to use on that terrain. I also love the fan cowl repair in the spirit of the Apollo 17 rover repair !
lol 😂 it was a rollercoaster ride for sure - fun but terrifying! and oh yes, there sure will be some wrenching to do on this beast! thanks for watching!
Tractor brakes are not that hard to replace at on the ones that I did,the backhoe that I replaced the hardest part was access .on top of the rear axle next to fender there is a steel plate with bolts on both side and both ends that’s your brake access shores are adjusted and replaced thru there no wheel removal like cars and trucks you need a service manual to become more familiar with your backhoe. But your doing great for beginner have fun.
This tractor has hydraulic wet Disc Brakes according to what I can find so not all that easy to service or replace. If the pedals are going all the way down first up would be checking brake fluid and brake fluid leaks or a rusted/broken brake line. In reality most likely needs new master and wheel cylinders as well as lines at the minimum. For the starter issue I would bet there is a starter lockout on the transmission, most tractors have them, even ones that old. Either the clutch has to be in or the transmission in neutral for the starter key to work. My old Ford 3000 and IMT 560DV tractors had it on the high/low ratio lever, the David Brown 885 had it on the main gear lever. The David Brown one got a bit sticky at one point and you had to rock the gear lever back and forth a bit to get it to "click". Thankfully it was an easy part to pull off and clean.
So Meg catching up on previous episodes and this was was a Block Buster. Whilst you we’re learning to drive the International I could not stop smiling as you were trying to locate the controls. The view of your right hand coming towards the camera was acs. You have what I call an Inner Commitment to ensuring the job gets done. Loved Mikes patience with you, that helped enormously especially as the International is a Mature Women with some parts in need of some TLC xxx💖
IF IT EVER TILTS TO EITHER SIDE - DO NOT JUMP - I REPEAT - DO NOT JUMP - GRAB ON TO THE STEERING WHEEL AND HOLD, YOULL BE OK. NOW FIX THE D**** BREAKS IMMEDIATELY AND CHECK THE CHANNEL OF Sabia and Loren TO SEE WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO AN NON-PROPERLY TRAINED OPERATOR. I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL I WANT YOU TO BE OK.
