My Ford 555 backhoe has been split to prep for removal of the shuttle for rebuild. Can the shuttle be pulled separately or is it linked internally to the gear box? The manual has me pulling gear box and shuttle as a unit. Any help is much appreciated
If you've separated the engine from the transmission and you're thinking of removing the transmission to rebuild the shuttle, you're working too hard. Disassemble and rebuild the shuttle from the front of the transmission (bell housing) per the shop manual.
So, you're suggesting that I access the guts by removing the front pump assembly and top cover plate(s), then going in for the kill? My copy of the shop manual doesn't refer to that approach. Can you point me to some resource that outlines what you're suggesting? Any way to get out of having to pull the entire shuttle and trans would be MOST appreciated! When researching sources for a rebuild kit for the shuttle I was asked if I had the 10-disc or 12-disc shuttle. I couldn't say unless I had torn the shuttle down. I should add that the reason the shuttle died (mostly) was because the trans cooler at the bottom of the old radiator had rusted out enough to let water go into the hydraulics, and H fluid to flow into the cooling system. My past experience with automatic transmissions taught me that friction plates and disc materials are often applied with a water soluble adhesive and that water in the fluid will cause delamination. This tractor sat for over 10 years with water in the trans. I drained and filled it with diesel fuel to help reduce and displace as much water as I could. All hydraulics (extend-a-hoe and bucket) and the motor worked perfectly, but the wheels would barely budge when put into forward or reverse.
With the converter out, you remove the pump and oil distributor to get to the clutch drum. Get a Ford Service Manual and follow the procedure for a "front end overhaul". Something like this. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-550-5...m=222982421346&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 You're not going to find a rebuild kit. Ford sells every bit and piece individually. There's aftermarket parts out there but you're going to have to search by part number to find them. This requires a Ford Parts Manual or you can go to Messicks.com and look up your parts online. You have to decipher your serial number to determine which clutch drum you have. You believe your 555 is early 80-s. If so, you should have the late model shuttle found in the 555A and B. There was a 555 advertised as a 555B on Sacto CL last winter with a bad transmission. I don't suppose this is the same machine. I hope she's not full of rust. Ford transmission parts are extremely expensive.
Your guidance is almost the best thing that has come my way this year. Many thanks. No, My tractor came through my son-in-law from an equestrian property where he and my daughter trained and boarded hay burners. I earlier sourced a rebuild kit for the converter from Joseph Industries (p/n 574330 for the 12 disc, 574332 for the 10 disc) which go for under $900 for either The kit includes all seals and gaskets, and some hard parts such as the discs. I'm in the machine so far for around $1000 (which includes the new radiator that I bought) and it ran good and strong when I got it running with fresh oils and filters. So spending money on the shuttle parts, a couple of new tires, and replacing some hydraulic hoses as a precaution still make this a bargain. I have it inside my shop with all the tools and equipment I need, as well as my 7k Clark forklift, so I couldn't ask for better conditions to get this baby to work for my small placer gold and gravel operation. I downloaded a shop manual for it online last year which guided me through the split, so maybe I missed the part about the shuttle, or perhaps it isn't covered with this manual? I'll check again and alsocheck out your eBay link I can't thank you enough for the help and guidance. Many thanks!
I don't frequent this site much anymore but will check back from time to time to see what you're doing. At $1,000 you're in a very good position. Before you remove the oil distributor, remove the cooler line and transfer pipe, left side (right side facing the input shaft) and the cooler return on top of the case. The transfer pipe (left side) has to be pulled out before the oil distributor will come out. You'll may also have to back off the sleeve nut on the control valve (right side of valve) to get the control valve to unhook from the bellcrank (linkage). With the control valve unhooked and the cooler/transfer pipe out, the oil distributor should unbolt and come out. (Forgot, pull the pump first.) I think Joseph sells reman converters also. I didn't know they sold clutch drums and frictions. There's going to be some items that have to come from NH. If your bearings on the vertical linkage shaft are bad, those can be had aftermarket. Check the sheet metal plate between the converter and flywheel for cracks. They're available aftermarket and cheap to replace now. Hopefully your shafts are good. You'll have to replace the cast iron sealing washers. Watch out going back together as they like to crack. I think that will get you started.
You're a rare gem of input and guidance. Again, Many thanks!
Not sure what's in Joseph's kit. Here's something I found a year ago that might be of interest. http://www.crosscreektractor.com/pr...ISSION/FORD@@2fNEW HOLLAND POWER SHUTTLE.aspx
The Joseph kit picture shows what might be the iron seals that you referred to as part of the kit, but I'm not sure and can always ask if and when I place my order. And if you ever find your way out west in Northern CA, let me know so that I can treat you to the finest hospitality that I know of! Your help has been immense. I have to do some shuffling around in my shop work space to get at the tractor but should be close by mid-week to pull the front pump and guts out.
FWI - I have a YouTube video of a 20 minute tour of our gravel/gold operation. Search for "iowahill" and load the one vide "Mine work". There you can see how badly we can use the backhoe to supplement the gold and gravel recoveries.
Tom. Did you get anywhere on your project.
I bought the shop manual that you referred to on eBay and have read through the procedures. I should be able to get into the guts of the shuttle sometime during the week. After looking at serial numbers on the trans case and the build plate I'm thinking that I have the earlier 12-disc shuttle. Seems the later 10-disc was introduced around 1983. I should know for sure by the weekend. Again, Many thanks!
The 12 disk ended production 2/1981, switching to the 10 disk 3/1981. If your machine is built in Feb or Mar, there's no way to know for sure until you tear it down. Otherwise, your manufacturing date code should be dispositive. It's too late to tell you to remove the bucket. Takes a lot of weight off the overhead. Hope you have one or both loader cylinders secured with a spacer designed to keep the loader frame up, the subframe on jack stands and a stack of blocks (or better) under the transmission behind the shuttle. I forgot to tell you to mark the power steering lines. Some guys use wire, some zip ties. You only need to mark 3 of the 4 lines. I put one zip tie on either side of the fitting on one line, two on the next and so on. The first time I used a white pen to mark the lines, the paint came off and I hooked up two of them backwards causing the hoe to steer the opposite direction intended. If you haven't emptied the diesel tank, you might want to do so before you take it out. It heavier than you'd expect. That's all I can think of so you won't have to ask, "why didn't you tell me that before I started."
The bucket support arms are secured with the factory brace, the tractor has been split, and I have stands under the front arms to help support the weight, though with the extend-a-hoe weight at the rear I doubt that there's much weight, if at all. I don't have the transmission supported as it looks pretty robust mounted to the rear axle. I DO have a 3000 lb transmission jack that I bought in anticipation of having to drop the entire unit but doubt I'll need it.
I was having trouble deciphering the date codes from the shop manual, but perhaps you CAN! The cab plate reads: Transmission: C664135 Model: DF311F Unit: 1C18B Engine: 1B25A Transmission: 1B05B Rear Axle: 1B06B. The numbers stamped into the case on the right side to the rear of the starter confirm the tractor number, transmission code, and unit number. My guess is 1982?
CORRECTION: Tractor number is C664235, not transmission. But then, you already knew that!
Use colored zip ties for identifying the hoses. One on the fitting the hose came off of and the same color on the hose.
From your Unit Production Code, I'd say your 555 was built March 18, 1981, day shift. Model code DF311F indicates you have a 555, Diesel, no PTO and 4x4 w/TC. The production dates for the engine, transmission and axle all indicate they were built February 1981, engine 2/25/81, transmission 2/5/81 and axle 2/6/81. Your unit code build date of 3/18/81 sounds correct. So, now the dilema. I've always used the tractor build date (in this case the unit code date) to determine a part number change. It's going to be interesting when you tear her down. Is the transmission date code dispositive, in this case February and 12 disks, or is it the unit date code and a March build and 10 disks. As for your transmission, it's cantilevered out there without any support. Some guys put a jack stand or jack under it. I always used a stack of blocks. Anything which will support it will do. In the event you want to pull it out, you can remove the support and wheel your tranny jack underneath easy enough. If you're leaking fluid between your transmission and center housing, there's a trick to simplify the repair that you might want to do before you reattach the engine. More on that later if you want when the shuttle is done.
Yes, if you have them this is much easier. I find I only have black so it's multiple ties on each side. Still cheaper than getting it wrong.
Tom. Check this out. I was looking for something else. Didn't find it of course but this was way more interesting. https://www.alexanderstractorparts.com/transmission-parts/torque-converter-trans-parts.html
I have this terrible affliction of buying more things that I seem to be able to get done. But I suspect I'm not alone in this! Per your earlier input regarding finding a shop manual I gave my new copy of the shop manual to a buddy who also has a 555 in need of love and care. But my newest replacement copy just arrived today. I finally cleared enough out of the way in my shop to get the hydraulic pump off and the bolts for the oil distributor out. Also took off the modulator valve which shows some discouraging rust between ports, but I'm not going into panic mode yet. My obstacle at the moment is trying to get the clevis pin between the control valve and the linkage out. Can't seem to get enough clearance to disengage the link from the valve, and can't get the loose distributor out more than maybe a 1/4" because of it. I'm reading through the manual now to see if I can figure it out.
Great link! Many thanks. If I can figure out how to get the control valve linkage loose I'll soon find what evil lurks behind the oil distributor!
Back to Page 07B03. https://www.messicks.com/nhc/48653 Part No. 38. Looks like a sleeve nut. Back the nut out and the valve will allow the bellcrank to swing away from the bellhousing far enough that you can remove the pin. The valve block on top of the oil distributor that you removed is a source of irritation for any tractor that's been sitting for a while. Those pins tend to freeze up, preventing the horizontal valve spool you're working on from moving back and forth in the oil distributor. Look for damaged pins and broken springs. Don't forget to pull the tube out the right side before you try to remove the oil distributor. I have two shuttles to tear down. One has been waiting a year and the other more than two. You're way ahead of me.
Yes, I was thinking that the hex fitting on the left end of the control shaft had something to do with getting it out. I should know in a couple of hours. Not sure what you mean about the tube on the right side. Is this something I'll see as I'm pulling the distributor forward and out? Is it the filter pickup? The valve assembly might not be too bad as what looks like rust is more emulsified fluid and water mix. A brass scratch brush and a dunk in my solvent tank should help quite a bit. The control shaft seemed to slide to its detents without any effort, so it may turn out that the pins and springs are okay. Again, I'll know for sure later today.
This from an earlier post; "Before you remove the oil distributor, remove the cooler line and transfer pipe, left side (right side facing the input shaft) and the cooler return on top of the case. The transfer pipe (left side) has to be pulled out before the oil distributor will come out. You'll may also have to back off the sleeve nut on the control valve (right side of valve) to get the control valve to unhook from the bellcrank (linkage)." (Above picture) Those pins in the top of the oil distributor will have to come out. If your valve still doesn't move after backing the nut off, gently remove those pins as they're the culprit. Review Page 07B11 on the Messicks parts site. Remove the cooler lines before pulling the oil distributor. Part No.-s 20 & 26 protrude down into the transmission case. You'll find a tube (thin wall pipe about 10" long) under Part No. 26. I thought I was having a senior moment as I couldn't find it on the parts diagram, but no, it's just Ford. They like to hide the ball to keep you thinking. Check out Page 07B01, Part No. 15. The cast block from the cooler line is repeated as Part No. 17. When you remove No. 26 (Page 07B11), look inside the hole. You'll see the tube. Try not to scar it up when you grab onto it to pull it out. Keep track of the orings.
Facing the distributor, I've taken off the oil line (1/38) bolt. I'll next fo for the top case line. I see a 3/8" line behind the front plate as I can move the distributor out about 3/8". I'll check out your references and try to get my head around how this animal is put together. As always, your help and guidance is immensely appreciated,
Okay, I've looked at the diagrams and think I have everything sorted out EXCEPT... pulling the tube out that was hidden by part @26. Because the case is still in the tractor I have very little clearance between the case and the left side frame. I really can't look directly into the hoe but DO have a bore scope. I'll finish taking off the top cooler line then see what I can do with the p/m 15 tube.
I'm going to end up abandoning you in a few minutes. I don't use a smart phone and won't be able to get back to the forum until late afternoon. It's been a long time but there's a way to move the transmission case up to clear the loader frame. If you blocked the transmission case, remove the blocks and put a floor jack under the transmission. Can you raise the transmission enough to get the pipe just over the top of the loader frame so you can pull it out the side. I don't remember loosening anything on the rear axle to enable the transmission and center housing to pivit as an assembly. You have to pull that tube in order to remove the oil divider. Don't pull on the oil divider before you do or you might bend the tube.
Okay... got the distributor off. Initially it looked pretty good inside, that is before I turned the clutch housing 180 degrees and saw the rust that accumulated over 11 years of having water from the bad radiator cooler tank in the trans fluid. The rust is pretty moderate though it might clean up enough to still be usable. Next step is to pull the clutch pack assembly to see if its a 12 disk or the later 10 disk.
From what I can see, the drum is ok. That will clean up. I can't tell if the discoloration on the input shaft is an illusion or not. Critical surfaces so far are the bore through the oil divider (which should have been out of the water), and the the input shaft. You might find there's nothing wrong with the clutch packs believe it or not. I don't see how you transmission would have functioned with those pins stuck in the oil divider. You're going to be happy if all she needs is a reseal plus hard parts you want to replace because you can't examine them (like the converter).
I just enlarged your picture. Didn't notice the corrosion on the bearing. Maybe the discoloration on the input is more of the same.
The shaft looks fine. Just gave it a quick spray of brake cleaner and most of the old emulsified oil was gone. A good cleaning in my solvent tank and a Scotch Brite pad should have everything looking like new. I'll pull the clutches as soon as I finish lunch and send an update. And from what I'm seeing so far things look pretty good, Probably a new torque converter and maybe a pump would be in order, though I see that there are rebuild kits for the converter available fromMessiks.
One other issue came up when we brought the tractor to my shop from where it sat for 11 years is that the manual transmission shift was frozen. After I had drained all of the old oil and water I overfilled the trans with red kerosene, which has been soaking the insides of over 3 years now. I may have to pull the floorboards and pop the shift cover off if I can't get it to shift. I'll try that after I get the clutch pack out.
I didn't want to interrupt your momentum with negativity but more than likely the crash box behind the shuttle looks like the clutch drum. Possibly a gear is frozen to a shaft or a detent isn't moving. Could be the shifter is frozen within the top cover. I forget how large of a hole there is in the floorboard around the shifter. I think you can see enough after removing the floorboard and transmission top cover to figure out what's going on. Leaving the office finally. Won't be of any help the rest of the day.
Got everything apart, and the shifter is good between 2 and 4. throws over to the right okay but can't catch a shift up or down into 1 & 3. I'll worry about that later. The input shaft front bearing looks okay but I might err on the side of caution and replace it now because splitting this tractor a second time is not something I relish. It's a 12-disk and the bronze friction disks look fine. The only thing I'll do in that department is polish the steels up before assembly. The clutch pack housing should clean up with some wire brushing and a dunk in the solvent tank. Time for me to make up a parts order. After 3 plus years I'm beginning to see daylight on this project!
Is there a single source for the reseal gaskets, o rings, etc for this tractor or do I have to order ala carte? And looking at over $2500 for a rebuilt torque converter seems over the top. Mine was working, though I never performed a pressure check. Thinking of either cleaning it all out (I've had it filled laying flat with red kerosene for 3+ years) and there's no wear or damage to the spud, or looking for a local rebuilder. I came across a torque converter rebuild kit while browsing a few days ago but can't find it now. It was probably either Alexander or Messiks where I saw it.
You can go deeper. There's more bearings and a thrust washer on the input shaft you'll want to look at. Remove the four bolts on the casting that supports the rear input shaft and remove the casting and reverse gear. You'll need to replace the sealing rings on the rear input shaft also. You need to disassemble your clutch drum if you haven't already. Remove the snap ring that holds the spring retainer to the drum. One per side. Don't get hurt in the process. You need to rig something to depress the spring retainer and spring so you can remove the snap ring and release the pressure off the spring safely. Blow the pistons out with compressed air if they don't want to come out. There's orings in the pistons that need to be replaced and the pistons need to be cleaned and checked. There's a number on that bearing. Alexanders sells the bearing but a local bearing house or ebay might sell it for less. Buy a name brand bearing made in USA, Japan or Europe. There is no torque converter rebuild kit but I figured out the reason for your comment. Alexanders labels their friction, pump, seal and gasket set a "Torque Converter Kit." They're just referring to a kit for tractors with 4x4 T/C transmissions. If your frictions and steels are good, then all you need is their Gasket/Seal kit. I would call and verify what all is included. I've always bought my parts from CNH but now there's selected parts being sold by online sellers like Alexanders and Cross Creek Tractor. You found Josephs. I'd ask them what they have before ordering from CNH. If CNH is unavoidable, I've found that Messicks is better than the local dealer. There's exchange reman T/C-s out there from $350 to $600 but I don't know who's doing the reman. You mentioned you talked to Joseph Industries. I'd ask them what they want for a reman T/C first. Alexanders says to call for a price. Ask them for the country of origin and name of remanufacturer. There was a local rebuilder in San Jose years ago. They still may be in business but I heard some negative reports for their automotive converters some time ago so I'd be hesitant to recommend them. I don't think there's anything special about the Ford converter. I cut one open once and nothing unusual caught my eye. If you exchange, you need to determine whether you want a low stall or high stall converter. I prefer the low stall. More power at lower rpm. Best for the owner operator. When a multitude of idiots are operating the machine, a high stall converter makes it more difficult to tear up the shuttle.
Got the disassembly done, but havent tried taking the spring out of the clutch housing yet. It looks like the housing can be turned either way, or is there a front and back?
You got me on that one. I don't remember if both sides are the same. I think they are but would have to look at a drum to refresh my memory. I was trying to remember how we took the pressure off the spring to remove the snap ring and realized we used a spring compressor. It looked a lot like the ones you see used for automotive transmission clutch packs. The problem with working on these things is life usually interrupts and it's days before you get going again. You're taking lots of pictures so you should be fine. Figure out which way your clutch drum came out (rust picture) and don't worry which side goes where for now. You still have work to do on the rear input shaft and there's a couple of bearings in there that need to be evaluated. The clutch drum is a stand alone subassembly. Yours looks salvageable from what I can see. Many time all you save are the pistons, springs and retainers as the lip has a tendency to break out from operator abuse. That's all for now. I'll check back tonight.
We have a converter rebuilder here in the Sacrament region (PDQ) that I was thinking of, but as mentioned I might see how clean mine is after flushing. It's been sitting for the past 3+ years with red kerosene in it since when I split the tractor. The original fluid was a brown mix of water and fluid that got agitated when I first fired the sleeping beast up. All was drained and the kerosene filled in to displace as much water as I could. And the left side pin on the modulator valve was firmly stuck in its bore, but I was able to finally free it. Right side pin came out easily I pulled the thrust washer and bearings behind the clutch drum and so far things look good. I'll pull the four-bolt cover behind them tomorrow and see how the crash box input shaft bearing looks. Now that things are moving after three-plus years I ordered a pair of new tires for the front (11L-16's) for about $350 with free shipping. The rears are the 16.9-28's. One of the rears is a very good Firestone and the other is a used worn Firestone that I bought because that side of the tractor was the one facing south as the tractor sat outdoors for about 11 years and rotted the original to the point of being junk. I probably won't get back to this until Sunday as I start compiling my list of parts needed.
I've been sidetracked for the past week with a couple of other projects but finally called Joseph Industries this morning to ask about availability of a shuttle reseal kit with gaskets and o rings. They got em! Part number for the earlier 12-disk shuttle is 502250, and price is $87.01 plus UPS shipping. I'm still on the fence about exchanging the torque converter, and Joseph touts itself as the largest re-builder of these things in the U.S. and Mexico. I'm going to see how clean mine looks and do an internal inspection with my bore-scope to see if there's anything visible that might set off a flag or two before deciding. It looks like all of my hard parts and bearings are looking good though, and even the front pump is looking good. Guess the water, being heavier than the oil, stayed below the critical levels and spared me a major disaster. Just received two new 12-ply front tires (11L-16, about $360 for the pair with free freight on eBay), so I'm getting excited about finally getting this machine back to work. Still have to have a few new hydraulic hoses replaced, but have a buddy that owns Rocklin Hydraulics a few miles up the road from me, so shouldn't get skinned too bad! And I have to replace close to 20 zerk grease fittings that are either broken or clogged. Some of the pins are loose, but none that I inspected when we first got the tractor up and running seemed to be excessive.
Did you pull the casting and the rear input shaft. There's a bearing in the back of the shaft and more on the shaft. Thrust washers to evaluate also. Below the rear input shaft is a reverse idler gear. There's a bearing inside it that also needs to be evaluated. It's low in the transmission case and may have water damage. Cheap to find out now that reverse is compromised. I don't know what to tell you about the T/C. Chances are it's in the same condition as the rest of the shuttle. Just another risk you have to decide whether to take. If the bearing in the reverse idler gear is pristine, maybe all you are dealing with is a bad cooler and someone who decided the repair solution was to park her for ten years until they could convince management to buy them a new one. When she goes back together, I'd advise you to bolt the flex plate to the converter and install the converter in the pump first. This is the hard way. A lot of guys like to attach the converter to the fly wheel and shove it back together. It's safer to go through the starter hole and bar the flywheel around as you install the flex plate bolts than it is to risk damage to the pump, T/C and seal doing it the easy way. If you decide easy is the way you want to go, you'd better make some guide pins out of long bolts to help align the engine to the bell housing during reassembly. More later. Let me know how you're doing when you go as far as you're going to go and start backing out. .
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Just pulled the casting and the gears. Things look good, including the bearings. Used my old valve spring compressor to get the shuttle drum springs compressed and the clips removed. After pulling the aluminum piston heads out things looked ugly with debris and deteriorating o rings. But nothing that a light cleaning could hold me back. Bought a used bead blast cabinet with thoughts of using that to clean up the rust on the drum, but with thoughts of having hidden debris and blast media, decided to try using the electrolytic method of rust removal after washing it good with an industrial cleaner. Used the washing soda as recommended and filled a plastic tub with about 6 gallons of water and about three or four scoops of the washing soda. The fine Belgian beer works as a catalyst to aid the procedure! Used a scrap piece of 16 gauge steel to use as the anode and a bent piece of steel flat stock to set the drum on as the electrode. Connected up to my battery charger set at 12 volts and saw it start out pulling about 2 amps, then climbing to about 8 or 9 amps as things began to clean. The scum on the surface showed me that the part is getting some deep cleaning. I'll leave it on overnight then take a picture of the part in the morning for comparison. You can see the progress in the photos.
Looks great. I figured you were busy and I was too so I decided not to ask how things were going. The pickup screen is down in the bottom of the case. I forget how it comes out. It would be a good idea to pull it out, give it a look see and reseal it when it goes back. I think those piston seals may have been the beginning of the previous owner's problem. Your frictions aren't damaged but it's hard to believe those pistons were applying if the seals were shot. It doesn't matter now. Clean her up, clean her out and take your time going back together, to the point that its better to read the manual 2x and check your work 3x after the install of each piece. You can air test that clutch pack after you reassemble to make sure the pistons are working. Lube the frictions with 134A or ATF before installation.
As mentioned, I put the heavily rusted shuttle drum into the washing soda electrolytic tub last night and hooked things up to my battery charger. The heavy rust could have been taken down with a wire brush, and even with a fingernail as it was that thick and scaly. But I wanted to see how the electro approach would work. Bear in mind that I didn't do anything more than just give the part a quick wash with a cleaner, thinking that since the washing soda is is a surfactant that it would do most of the work in removing residual oils. After about 12 hours in the charged tub this is what it looks like. First the "before": And the "after" Note that the dark area is where it once was red! So what happened to the rust? It migrated to the sacrificial piece of scrap steel that served as the anode, and some fell to the bottom of the tub as is scaled off the anode.
And the anode is still serviceable after scraping the crud and rinsing it off with a blast from the hose. The washing soda solution is still reusable, but can be put into a sewer or septic system as it is non-toxic, though in CA it likely would be labeled as "hazardous waste". Better to seek forgiveness than permission! Here is the process about an hour into it: ... and this morning after about 12 hours: The anode showing where the beef is: ... and the anode after scraping it off and washing it, ready to be used again: I'm going to do a light cleanup of the grooves with my blast cabinet to ensure that the clutch packs slide freely. The beauty of the electro derusting is that it gets into hidden and inaccessible areas that no other means could. This is how they do rust removal on larger things like car bodies and machinery, though with larger tanks and heavier power supplies. More to come as I start putting the beast back together.
Lots of great pictures. What are you blasting with; glass, soda??? Won't be long now before she's back together. Check that pickup screen to make sure it's clear. She might need a dose of washing soda. Sorry about not getting back here sooner. Too much work, not enough play.
I'm using the glass bead material that was in my blast cabinet when I bought it. It's probably grade AD and smaller. A good cleaning prior to assembly will get rid of any remaining bead. Here's a picture of the drum. What looks like rust is actually something going on with the way my phone camera is processing the light. It's actually completely clean, but the PB Blaster that I sprayed the drum with to protect is refracting the light in some strange manner: This is what the gasket kit from Joseph Industries looks like, and it has everything I need: The aluminum pistons show what the insides of the clutch drum looked like when I tore it down. A quick wash in my solvent tank, then a quick blast in the cabinet if needed should have them looking like new. Unless unexpected circumstances arise I should be reassembling the shuttle by mid week. I'll take a good look at the torque converter and the front pump tomorrow to see if I think they are usable. From the looks of things I think I might get lucky! I have to look at the manual to figure out how to get the screen out for inspection. I can feel the loose screen under the filter housing. Don't know if it's supposed to float freely, or whether it's come loose. One more thing to look at tomorrow.
I don't remember the screen floating freely unless you're feeling the entire assembly moving a bit on the oring seal. I thought it was bolted in. If any of the screen is rusted badly or missing, you'll need to repair or replace it. The front pump comes apart. Look for scratches on the gear and housing. If there's no scratches or wear marks, it should be good. Does the gasket kit have the cast iron sealing rings for the shafts. I tried to get an answer out of Joseph and Alexander but they didn't know.
Yep! The kit looks pretty complete for about $90 delivered.
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Screen removal and inspection, as mine was loose at the screen. I had originally missed the rebuild chapter section of the manual earlier but finally saw hat a single screw in the front of the case releases the filter assembly for removal. Watch out for the o-rings!!! If you ever have to go into the shuttle assembly for repair You MUST have the factory reprint of the manual to guide you through the procedure. And make sure of your tractor's date codes! The early March 1971 and previous seem to be the 12-disk models with the modulator valve assemblies as I have. From 3-1981 and after, they appear to be the 10 disk models according to BUILD DATE. MAJOR DIFFERENCES! Know what you're working on!
"Know what you're working on!" You can say that again. I can't seem to figure out how to send a PM with this new format. When you get a chance, send me an email to [email protected] I'd like to give you a call when you have a minute.
Found the screw that holds the shuttle filter behind the oil distributor gasket. It's a 5/16" Allen: After pulling the filter back and out things look nasty. It's a pleated filter that rides loose under the filter housing, no clip or other restraint: The later filter used on the 555A has a spot welded clip that keeps the pleated filter in place and looks like it's just an improved version. Here's another shot of my original: I ordered a clean usable one for the later version off eBay for under $100 with a 30-day return option if it doesn't work out or isn't acceptable. I think I'll do okay with it though.
Happy to say that I finally got the old beast back together and running after going through a nightmarish rebuild of the shuttle, replacing all the springs for check valves and other odd bits that arose as I went through the job. This tractor sat in a field for over 10 years with water in the trans and hydraulic oil in the cooling system due to a bad radiator. I brought it to my shop about 4 years ago as a project that I only recently was able to complete due to lack of time and/or money. New tires on the front and 11 new hoses are among the items replaced, but the motor runs strong, hydraulics are perfect (even the extend-a-hoe). But now I have to replace the bushing and seals on the end of the dipstick. I have a bushing on the way from Amazon, but am curious as to whether or not to install the seals and the correct pin. The current bucket pins are solid and don't appear to have seen grease since Clinton was in office! Any leads on cheaper after-market parts or kits? And advice is always welcome!
Good job iowahill! Your skills as a millwright are certainly evident in your project. Thanks for the update.
Thank you!
After taking the bucket off and removing several of the pins it appears to me that an O-ring would suffice in place of the original pin seals to hold some of the grease in and keep dirt out as long as I periodically grease everything (as I plan to anyway). The previous owner just slammed the pins in without seals or spacers. I'm not going to be entering this in the State Fair!
I have the extendable dipstick on my tractor which requires TWO bushings at the bucket end. They were about $60 each from Amazon. And I found the correct replacement pin (OEM) from Joseph for about $55, compared to over $150 from elsewhere. Sadly, I got the last one in stock. Otherwise I'd have gotten two. But at least now I will be in great shape for the business end of the backhoe. I DID find that I should/need to replace two hoses the dive deep into the upper end of the dipstick that are not going to be easy to access short of pulling the dipstick from the boom. I might be able to do it without removal and will give it a try. At least they're relatively short and will cost me around $200 for the pair. Doing the job while I still have it in my shop is the good part, much better than doing a field repair.
I paid 500 for a reman TC direct from new holland 7 years ago, havent had any problems with it at all. My TC metal flex plate/coupler exploded and destroyed the old converter, it was all beat up and dented from flying around in the bellhousing. The flex plate/coupler cracking and breaking seems to be pretty common on these machines btw. I bought another beater ford 555a with a trans that wont shift, the shuttle valve is jammed thats where im at with it right now, tore into it this morning taking the hood, tank, top plate shuttle access cover out. Not sure if I will have to split it or not yet - it might actually just be a jammed shuttle Also one thing i will say about the clutches is that they are the same ones in the ford tractors that use these shuttle shifters, you can buy them for around 12 dollars a clutch plate and 4 dollars for the metal plates, the new holland prices on the clutchs/metal plates are a joke. If you search on allstateag website and match up the part numbers with the new holland ones, they cross reference over. I dont find splitting these machines very hard, to me the most annoying part is taking the hood and tank out, once you get to that point it is just some disconnections, remove the starter, the bellhousing bolts and the flywheel bolts. I made a plate that bolts the the back of the engine to wheel the front away with another machine.
After going through my shuttle and replacing many parts I'm happy to report all is working perfectly now for over 4 years, being our main workhorse at my mining property. My 555 was built at the cusp in 1980 when they changed from the 12-disc clutch to the 10-disc design (Mine is the 12). Thanks to the expert guidance and knowledge offered up by members of this forum I was able to handle the job with relative ease, and a seal kit from Josephs. The most worrisome part was when I pulled the clutch disc housing and found heavy rust throughout the spline portion and half of the outer housing, caused from water that had gotten into the hydraulic system from a bad radiator and sitting in the tractor for over 10 years. I did some online research of electrolytic rust removal, set up a large plastic tub filled with water and washing soda, hooked up my battery charger to the case and sacrificial steel scrap for a day and miraculously found all rust gone and insignificant pitting, thus saving my bacon! Your shuttle shift problem might be broken springs on the shuttle selector at the front top of the shuttle case. There are two, one on each side and held in by the large hex fittings going into the case. If you can get access you should be able to carefully unscrew each fitting and use a small magnet to fish out the broken spring(s) and the ball bearing that is behind them. Both of mine were found to be broken and likely were when the previous owner was using it prior to final breakdown. Having the shop manual is a necessity, as well as sticking to this forum for support. Good luck, -Tom F.
Thanks for the information, yes I do have the manual and I agree you need it to do this job. Luckily I have already done this job before on another machine so it is still fresh in my mind, but I never had to get into the shuttle valve before. I too have not had any issues since I did this repair on my first 555a 7 years ago. I also used the hydraulic transmission pump from gulfsouthequipment (aftermarket) and have not had any issues with it. I will continue to disassemble the shuttle area and try to find the issue on this new machine I have, it may be just what you are saying. (After looking at the manual I will likely have to split the machine to get to these detents, etc.) Oh well I am about 70% of the way there at this point anyway. Time to break it down and check everything.