Hello all, I bought a 550 Backhoe at auction and by the time I was ready to work on it, the steering wouldn't work. I noticed a leak on the left cylinder where the T's thread into the cylinder. One hose fitting was crushed into a T. The other T was loose so I removed the two lines between cylinders. Then I had a new hose made to replace the one with the crushed fitting and now I'm unsure about the way the hoses connect between cylinders. My manual has a photo that shows the top hose on one side goes to the bottom of the other side. I have an illustration that shows top to top and bottom to bottom. Any help?
Well, I figured it out. 550 fords are very similar to 555 fords by the way. By looking at the illustration VERY closely, the hoses from the left cylinder to the right cylinder are crossed, meaning top on the left goes to bottom on the right. That agrees with the photo also. And the second hose from the right looking at the 4 lines coming from the steering box goes to the bottom T on the left cylinder. I experimented with different arrangements and had to go back to the illustration. There must be a dozen ways to connect these hoses wrong and I think I found every one of them!
Glad you got it fixed. Wasn't sure of the cylinder style on your 550, but have messed with the 555s.
Apparently, I was too quick to congratulate myself. It is still acting odd. When I turn the steering wheel, the tires move the right direction for about 1/2 inch and then I feel a push back the other way. ??? The lines are connected like the diagram shows, but I'm at a loss. s