I,am considering buying one of these 2 machines for farm work and I need someone who has operated both to help me make a decission. I,am a old fella and my legs dont work good anymore in fact I use a cain to even get around so my question is which machine would be the easyist for me to operate with leg problems ? guys getting old in body is very tough so enjoy your health while you have it because most likely it will fade and if your like me and enjoy a good days work it makes you feel like a slacker because you cant do like you you,st to do. all help is appreciated bob
Just my opinion , I'd go for the 953B. The steering pedals are a little more user friendly , some 955 steer easy , some you got to stand on. You could also weld on similar steps and handles like on the late 53C , there is a step on the loader arm and a grab bar on top the lift arm to aid in getting on and off. I don't care who you are or how old these things help.
953B would be my choice any day.
all imput is appreciated fellas
Pedals are easier on the 53 and they really aren't that tall to get in. I worked with an older gentleman who carried a short aluminum ladder with him to get in trucks and equipment. I know what you mean, in my mid 50's and can see the wear and tear of being on equipment and tractors since I was 5 years old. You can probably find someone with both machines that would let you run one for awhile to see which you like. I ran a 955k for years, good machine but you knew you had set on it all day. I had a 53 for a few years and really liked it. Good luck
As a 955 current owner I would say get the 953. I like my 955 but don't like sitting in it all day as gwhammy mentioned. The good thing is I can fix about anything on it, cannot say the same with the 953. If it breaks it can be costly from what I've read here on the forum. Good luck
DOESNT THE 955L HAVE sleves in the engine ? I,ve been told the 953 dont. theres a real nice 955l,1982 model 1 owner fairly close to me I,ve found for asking price of 18,500.00. its has a 4-1 bucket also
You are right. The A model has the same motor as the 55's. The B has a 3116 throw away motor. I like the older motor, they are basically a 3306 with two cylinders gone. Fairly dependable if you keep oil and water in them.
Is the pedels on your 955 hard to push down ?
Not if everything is working right and adjusted. Just finished fixing my breaks and now she steers pretty easy. have not driven a 953 so I have no comparison. Just bought new chains and sprockets to put on mine in the spring. Then replace the track tension springs
Cant you get wide pads for the 955 ? I dont want to tear up my pasture any worse than I have to.
Pretty sure you can, just takes money. While mine is not a LGP they don't tear things up much doing to havening what most call "street tracks", they don't mess up asphalt either. The down side is they don't dig in as well
I,ve noticed alot of guys take the guards off the 955 track spring area. why ? all the crud goes where it isnt supposed to be...
When I bought this one years ago it didn't have one there, prior owner said it had rusted away. It would be better as you say IMO to have it replaced. As part of my rebuilding I'm thinking about replacing it. or make one and install my self.
theres a 955 that is being parted out in louisville on craigslist.
Send a link and I'll have a look, I'm real close to TN and when I bought mine I saw one up there and it was in real bad shape, might be the same one
sorry its in frankfort,ky. http://lexington.craigslist.org/hvo/4815800219.html
Doesn't look bad for it's age, and says it runs and has heat and air. Has to be something wrong (trans final drive my guess) with it if he is willing to part out. Might have to give a call to find out what the issues are
i,d at lest get the gaurds you need. who knows you might get the whole rig cheap
Called the guy and he sold it last week. oh well just the way it goes
wow, bet it went cheap
heres a pic of the one i found locally http://boone.craigslist.org/hvo/4805642806.html
The chains look pretty worn. Need to check out the idlers, rollers and the like. If you call get the serial number and we can look it up for you.
Yes I noticed the chains ans sprockets etc. he,d have to adjust the price for this some. I,d take it straight to heavyquip in knoxville and have em get it up to spec,s. once on the fart I dont want to have to do heavy maint work on it. what ideally I,D like to do is have cat do a complete refurb on what ever machine i get.they told me about 100k and it would be as new.
100 grand is a lot of dough , but in comparison to a new off the lot 953D its a steal. I think the new 53D is around the 275 range. The thing is , the 953s are user friendly but if you really opted to do a CCR on a 955 it would most likely give less problems.
i dont want any machine that has a computer especially a "D" it uses the cow pee exhaust additive. how many hours is the hyd. pump on a 53 rated for ?
I know of that B I had rented , it had 9600 hrs on it. Seemed pretty dry and in 20 hrs never put a drop of oil in it. The C model I use to rent has almost 15000 hrs and had to replace one of the pumps under the floor. I don't know if it was hydraulic or drive , If I seen it I could point it out. The pump didn't actually fail , t began leaking pretty bad and the mechanic and owner decided to put in a reman Cat pump.
bet them pumps are expensive especially if your core dont meet there spec,s.
It was a 2ZN prefix , they had to remove the cab as a unit. It cast 5500$. That's a hit for sure but it could have been 20 grand or more. One thing , If a 955 had to have an extensive transmission rebuild , what would it cost? My guess would be upwards of 20 grand.
Have ran and worked on a 1969 955k for years I would have to say if you plan on doing your own work on machine if she breaks down it’s much simpler and less expensive. I have cleared lots, dug basements, stripped top soil, knocked down houses, spread top soil even though I had a D4D if it was busy, and loaded trucks. Worked with my Grandfather who started business in early 50’s, My Dad and me. Taking on help when needed. I have spent 10 hr days on her a day sometimes. Lots of power for anything you need. Can push over most good size trees without having to dig around. In 20 years only did 1 complete undercarriage. We ran in first gear only and took good care of all machines. Go with old school will never let you down
I'm sure the OP has decided on a machine sometime in the last 11 years.