Hey guys my buddy's dad bought a Ford/New Holland last year and all he has so far had to do was replace the crankshaft and rebuild the engine. He rebuilt the engine mostly as a precaution and said that the top end was in pretty good condition, but figured while he had it apart might as well check everything out and clean it up. He said he couldn't understand why the crankshaft was in such a poor state especially with only around 6,000hrs on the machine. He's planning on putting the rest of the machine back together (rad, coolers, etc.) over the winter and will then put it through it's paces to see if there are any other bugs that need to be worked out. So other than having to overhaul the engine and clean up the cab he says everything seems to be in pretty good shape. My story is I've been wanting to go solo for a while and was wondering if you guys have any experience with these machines? He says it's an early nineties machine, it has four wheel drive, and extendahoe, and I'm wondering if it would be an okay machine to start out on my own? He figures he's going to ask about $20,000 for it.
with that history and price keep looking
Well thought I'd bring this old thread of mine back up, the engine has been completely overhauled and runs and sounds beautiful. If I can get some work I'll likely buy the machine to start out I've got a few contacts that need some work done this summer and though I'd much rather have a small excavator like a EX70 I don't have a truck and trailer to tow it around. With that being said the loader could come in very handy with snow removal work in the winter and this year would of been a good year for it too. I'm thinking of sourcing a used 4 in 1 bucket for it but I'd have to plumb a third valve for it, plus I'd like to find a pin-grabber coupler for the back if there is one available for this model. But one thing I'm wondering how do I change the control pattern to an excavator pattern? i.e. The boom control is on the right instead of the left, and the stick is on the left instead of the right??
I don't have any valuable advice for you, but I have the same machine, (with side shift hoe, and it doesn't look that good). Also, mine has boom on the right and stick on the left, but at least I'll be starting with that pattern. Anyway, at least with some manual pages, I could help you if you ever need it.
I agree. walk away, fast:exactly
I used to run Ford backhoes daily. I liked the 655C model but the reliability became suspect when they began to be made by NH (started with the C models). Small issues mostly. Keep an eye on the steering slave cylinder (at the bottom of the column). I have yet to see one that does not leak. I used to use Gannon buckets. That high capacity bucket (the one mounted in the photos) looks goofy (just an opinion). I would be suspicious of a machine that has had to have so much work done to it with so few of hours. Add in the lack of care appearing on the bucket (missing teeth and/or shanks) and you begin to see a picture of how the machine has been cared for. Unless you have a job, that will require the 4-n-1 loader bucket, and third valve, I do recommend trying to get one installed. The used market does not support it. In other words, you won't get your money back out of it if you sell the machine. That stuff is not very cheap either. Maybe you have a local salvage yard where you can get those components with out too much cost. While I'm not 100% sure, I don't think that pin grabber couplers were available for those units. Wayne-Roy couplers were just coming into my market (So Cal at that time) when the C models were available. If starting out, I would recommend that you keep the unit "as-is" to keep your bottom line low. Worry about getting everything you need, in a hoe, after the business has become more successful and it can support the overhead. I would laso think that transportation would be a way higher priority. I can't imagine doing hoe rental without being able to mobe yourself. Most jobs are small so one is moving a lot.
Thanks for a decent honest reply it's getting harder to get one on this forum all the time. I don't like the rear bucket much myself and have never really liked the Ford/New Holland backhoe buckets to tell you the truth. Once I have a decent opportunity to properly demo it I'll make a proper decision on whether or not I want it, as for buckets there is a pretty good equipment wrecker not far from here where a customer is free to room the aisles for treasure and the owners have a very good selection of backhoe or excavator buckets to choose from, as for the loader bucket I won't buy anything new I'll likely keep it as it is except for maybe a new cutting edge of course but if I do come upon a 4 in 1 for the right price I won't hesitate. As for transportation I'll get a truck and trailer after I've made some money and most of my potential customers (farmers, land owners and the like) are a short distance away.
Pretty Pricy for the age. For an extra 5 grand you can easily get into a 2000+ year model backhoe, which means you have gained 10 years on the machine for only 20 percent. For an extra 10 grand (30 percent) you can probably find a 2005/6/7 with comparable or less hours and then you are looking at a machine thats just a little over 5 years old. Look harder, plan your purchase to when machines are being upgraded by large companies.
Yeah He dropped the price considerably and now he's talking about keeping it for himself. So maybe I posted to soon. I have seen a few other backhoes that are newer and priced equally and in some cases better.
The booms on the "C" models had metallurgy issues and are prone to cracking. Not one of Ford's finest. That issue got fixed with the "D" models. The machine is not worth $20K. Equipment seems to bring a higher price where you are but if that machine was on the West Coast it would not bring more than $10K. The Mid West a bit more. If you decide to buy it anyway, make sure the front axle was greased and lubed. You can't buy the planetary gears for $5K. When a planetary sprung a leak, many people ran them dry thinking the leak had repaired itself. I know this isn't what you were hoping to hear but I think the seller is taking advantage of you.
No he simply said he was thinking of selling it and was doing work to it to make it "sellable" and it ended up needing an overhaul on the engine, you can't blame him for trying to make some of his money back.
If you refer to the steering motor... YES, I've been there. About 20 times. After becoming exasperated by it, and when I was ready to give up, I realised that the leak was due to an aluminium plug, visible after you take down the top of the motor. I had suspected anything else but that, and after I replaced the oring for that plug... VICTORY! No more leaks. So if you really want to see one that is dry, please, be my guest... I am thinking that maybe that motor has run without oil, as for mine it happened once to have a blown hose which conducts the engine oil to be cooled in the radiator. When realised that and I stopped the engine, it needed around 4 liters of oil to fill in. So, maybe it was the same in this case. I would not discard the machine just for that reason, and considering the engine was rebuilt. Sorry for my english...