I have a john deere 90 hp 555g crawler on a1000 acre cattle and timber farm in missouri..i was looking for a 4 in 1 mp bucket to replace the gen purpose bucket thats in good shape on it...i found a 4 in 1 multipurpose bucket only used as a demo in great shape with no wear.. it was bought by a guy and it has sat for 20 years and was never mounted and the man sold the larger 120 hp 655b Crawler.. ...concerns are cutting mounts and positioning for my smaller crawler and 2) it weighs 1000 pounds more than a mp bucket made for the 555g.........3500 lbs verses 2500lbs...any words of wisdom? Thanks
I'd look for the proper bucket. A 655B and a 555G are entirely different animals. 1000lbs. heavier bucket weight and also that much more capacity not to mention it will be harder to load an oversize bucket with a lighter machine. If you do get it loaded you need to worry about tipping forward. A 655B is about 11,000lbs. heavier than 555G.
Apart from size/weight issues....I think there are Geometry issues to consider ,when mounting a (non original) 4in1 to any machine. A 4in1 adds much versatility to your machine.I hope you find one.
The weight alone will make that machine handle so much different. When they’re nose heavy and up on the idlers they suck!! Ask DMiller about the one that used to be on his Allis! The right bucket is handy. Would building a grapple to add on the existing bucket help? Endless possibilities if you can cut and weld.
I was thinking about dmiller's bucket. I wonder if it wouldn't be a better fit size wise, than what he's looking at. I don't think he's using his anymore. If he's got to weld lugs on anyways.....
I think he scrapped it and I’m pretty sure it would have been too big. It was insanely heavy and overbuilt.
A 555G is a nice reasonably modern machine. I think a slightly smaller bucket would be better than an overly large bucket. I have a 4 in 1 on my 931B and it is light in the back with a full bucket of clay when I have the hoe off. Without the hoe it would normally have extra counterweight. A bucket off an older 555 or maybe a 941 Cat would be a better option. Maybe even a 450C or 455 JD bucket.
I really appreciate the quality input from all responses...its really nice.. thank you...with that said. I have a really nice 655 b bucket for sale...its really nice..never used only demonstrated....im looking for a 555g bucket that is not junk...i found one and it was scrap.... thanks again
Check with Schaefer Enterprises ph#(800)626-6046 they may have what you need.
I called them...they are looking....thanks
I found a bucket off of a 455....does a 555g take the same bucket as a 455 john deere...the seller thinks its the same...does anyone know....thanks again....you all are great and very helpful
Check your local dealer they should be able to tell you.
The 455 bucket is a little smaller, 1.3yd compared to 1.5yd and 77.7" wide. 555 bucket is 84.9" wide. 555 is listed as 77" across tracks so could work but mounts will likely have to be changed.
I would suggest that you measure the outer track width of your machine. A bucket that is narrower than the tracks may be undesirable. I can't imagine how you could dig or grade with that situation.
Tons of 555G units out there and in the yards that will have MP buckets on them, The guy that installed my Ground source HP system used one from cutting the lay in trench for the piping had a MP on it was not so bad for weight on the front as Mine was. He had a clam cylinder go to leaking to get the retainer pin out was a press fit took dealer tooling to get it out. Would seriously look to the bone yards if really interested in finding one, check with Zimmerman in Versailles see if he might have one. As a indicator, the MP I pulled from mine weighed in at 6K, was a nose heavy POS with it on it.
I think my 931B 4 in 1 is a little over 1300lbs. so a 555 should be in the 15-1700lb. range. 6000lb's ? That bucket must have been designed for a 983.
Is a gawd awful heavy POS Was no feel as to getting a load in it as the tractor was already nose heavy Hydraulics did not like lifting it and breaking out virgin cut May have been closer to 4500 but still way overkill heavy for what it was Ulrich Mfg bucket Overengineered and overly complicated Old Allis dances with a full bucket with the GP as less than 1/3 the weight empty Put it this way My allis farm tractor could maneuver the GP on forks had to use the 7G to pick the MP to move it down the hill Tonnage
May want to reweigh that MP on your 931 as my GP might be close to that
I have a brochure somewhere but it's only a 1yd. bucket. I think it's 1350 lbs. or close to that.
1.5 yd simple cat MP is over a ton Do not know why Ulrich built this monstrosity of so much 1/2” steel and so many extra pieces in comparison to the Cat systems The replacement GP I rebuilt is around 1300-1500 lbs. 1.7 yard Just the 1/4” steel in it is close to 800 lbs. 1” cutting edge is over 220 lbs plus all the side edges 3/8” double floor and 1/4” rear support structure
1-1/2yd. JD 555g 4 in 1 is 2320lbs with 8 bolt on teeth. I found the brochure for my 931B and it lists the MP bucket at 1367lbs. and another 88lbs. for 8 bolt on bucket teeth (1455lbs.) or 1502 lbs. with the 3 piece bolt on cutting edge. GP bucket is 750lbs. with nothing added.
Still nothing like the pile of iron I had. Is only two others I am aware of, of this make, one on a 955 that writes on here and one on another Allis in CA they took off to add forks for logging, same issue I had just way too obnoxious heavy.
Like I said 6000lbs. would make sense for a 3 1/2 or 4 yd. bucket.
For a Conventionally built yes, JY saw this hunk of excess Iron, just a Mass of 1/2 and 1" steel, only light part is the back mold board, Side pivots 3/4 and 1", base 1/2", pivot points and shoes 1/2" all the reinforcements and brackets either 3/8 or 1/2". Found the day I moved this POS, I took it down to the local quarry scale, unloaded then weighed again. Don't know if its filled with water in the base of the clam but this monster weighed out just under 6500 lbs. A full GP of dirt is close to as heavy as this bad piece of engineering empty. All that crap on the sides Moves, is ALL 1/2 to 1" thick, Fairly certain the floor of the clam is 1/2" bottom skin and 3/8" upper with a 12"x1" cutting edge with all the ground tools on it. Cylinder encapsulating mounts are 1/2". Is a block of steel counterweight on the back of my machine estimated weight 2400-3000 lbs that did not help much even empty bucket.
I kind of get the impression that you didn't like that bucket at all.... The way it's built really doesn't seem to make sense for your size machine, unless you were just ripping out concrete all day long and didn't have to carry it anywhere
Thought it was a typical 4/1 when I bought it, had some other running/steering issues so never worked the bucket until got it running better then saw how that damned thing worked. And yes, Gawd Awful heavy to almost useless. Dug the hole for the house with it, graded out at our highway frontage with it but never comfortable with it as it was just so hard to handle. Hydraulics leaked down quite a bit, thought was mainly old cylinder seals, does not do so bad nowadays. Thinking by a friend that dealt with these in MO was it was an old City Demo Machine, he said he could have sworn this series AC was in service around Farmington and points South back when he was working tearing out streets. A decent 4/1 is easy to grab a post or down tree, this frickin critter you have no sense of 'Feel' with, either not tight to the stub or cuts it in half. I needed a dirt bucket, ended up with the remnant off a second 7G parts machine and rebuilt it which is on the tractor now. BTW I only gave $2000 for this running and loaded on a trailer. Have spent likely $9k to $11k on it to keep it functioning.