Hello, I'm fixing to purchase a backhoe for use on our property. This will be my first thing bigger than a truck. I am looking at a 99 Ford 555E 2wd and just wanted some opinions about that model and the price I may pay. It is in very nice shape as far as paint and overall condition with no cracks/welds... It has 2100 hrs on it and cranks up immediately. Tires are approx. 50% frt and rear. All cylinders have been re-done with 0 leaks. Asking price was 17K but he said he would go ahead and take 16K. Does that sound reasonable? Is this a good year and model for the 555? I think it has the new Holland 4cyl diesel called a Genesis... Thanks, Daniel
Welcome. That sounds reasonable to me. You could find a lot of backhoes cheaper, that will end up costing you a lot more in the long run. I don't know anything about Fords. In general, I'd want to know the history of a machine in that age. What were the prior owners, what was it used for, why so few hours? Are those tires original? might have a date code on the tires. original tires would be a good sign. On the other hand, I'm slightly suspicious of all new hydraulic cylinders on a '99, why was that needed? Are the rods scratched up? Aside from the engine, transmission and hydraulics, one of the bigger items is the pins and bushings. A sloppy backhoe from worn pins and bushings is hard for a beginner to operate well. Extend the backhoe straight out to the back with the bucket a few feet off the ground, shut it off and go back there and rock the bucket back and forth, that will help show you how much play is in the joints. You can do the same thing with the backhoe near vertical but not locked up tight, all of the cylinders near the end of their stroke, but not at the end of the stroke.
He bout it from a local dealer 3-4 yrs ago. They bought it from an auction where it had been repo'd from a equipment rental company that shut down. The tires are the originals. As far as the cylinders he said the large one was 550.00 to repair and he had two smaller cylinders leaking slightly so just went ahead and did them all as he is a bit ocd bout his machines and or cars... The pins and bushings seem tight from others I've seen and heard. It does not have all that clunking around noise I've seen on a few. All the joints have red grease coming out of them. He mentioned that he had replaced 2 teeth on the hoe and had the other replacements for future in a box. Another note is that this one has what I think are called 2 wobble sticks for the hoe. Most I've seen have 4 levers. Is this preferred?
It sounds nice and the price is "reasonable".. Just do some basic engine checks first.. Check the oil. that model has a habit of puking the front seals on the injection pump and filling the crank case w/ fuel. Its nothing to shy away from but it does happen.. Check the radiator and overflow bottle if it has 1.. for rust or oil. Hang the hydro's mid air and shut the engine off and see if they leak down FAST.. Check the brakes.. check transmission stall by pushing a tree.. Other than that and the things you've checked.. get it for 14 and you stole it.. Have fun..
Most operators like the wobble sticks better than the Ford 4 lever; the 4 lever is pretty much obsolete except for us old timers. Spend an hour and get it hot, all the oils, like the engine, trans, hydraulic, rear axle. If you read this forum, lots of hoes will work when cold and then crap out when up to temp. The thin oil starts leaking past worn bits and it's no go. Hopefully you've got some place to test it, to actually dig, and front load, and shuttle back and forth just like you would if you were using it. I was lucky the local Ford dealer let me drive it 5 miles home and let me test it for a weekend. That was in Jan '89 and I still got it, and it still runs. If you buy it, one thing you'll like is Ford parts prices tend to be a lot cheaper than the rest of the yellow stuff. Of course the local dealer sets his markup, but before I bought, I checked what a pivot pin and bushing set for the hoe cost at Case, JD, and Ford. It was almost half at Ford. You'll have a lot of fun with a hoe on property, my neighbor has a 70 hour a week stressful job and he spend 10 hours a weekend pushing rocks around to vent. Better than drinking for him....
Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on it. The only other thing you could do, if you get to work it till it's nice and warm, is then take oil samples to send in for testing. Engine, transmission and hydraulic oil test could show something. It helps to know how many hours are on the oil, but even not knowing that, it will show if something catastrophic IS happening. Go to the Cat dealer and get SOS bottles, unbelievably cheap for something so useful that comes from CAT. It's not psychic, but worth the extra time and $ if you're concerned about anything.
Don't wait tooo long to buy it if you do decide you want it . I don't think the owner will have any problem selling it.
Also I think 16 is his bottom dollar. A local dealer valued it for retail at 22k a few years back and that stuck in his mind....
Someone that knows him from church this morning says he was brokedown with it a while back. I asked him about that and he said while in the hospital for a year it got water in the fuel. He had to clean out the water separator and fuel and has run fine since then. Does that sound reasonable.
Yes, that sounds reasonable. I'd guess it was more than a year though, maybe it was building up a little water for a while and then sat for a year? The tanks are sized to be able to work a shift and fill up every day. When you have something like this sitting around used a few hours a week/month, the fuel ages more than it should. And you either keep the tank full to keep the condensation out, or you let it get low enough to get rid of most of the old fuel and risk the condensation. 16 sounds reasonable, 22 sounds low for retail to me. Only you know how it's advertised, and for how long, to know if you need to jump on it, or if you can take your time.
Thanks for all the tips and help. I went for another look today and checked a few things. The anti freeze looks good, oil does not look creamy or smell like gas, hydraulic fluid is more than 3/4 full in the small tank window. Don't see any leaks. I can see where the cylinders were heated up to repack them. All but one or two have been redone including the two at the foot of the hoe...maybe swing cylinders? We used to be neighbors and it turns out that he drove it to his new home. It was about a 11-12 mile trip. He said it goes about 20MPH and had no issues during the trip. Is it ok to drive one that far at high speed?
I bought a 99 555E two wheel drive extenda hoe with 1800 hours this summer. It's been great. I drive mine that far regularly as I don't have a trailer for it yet. I gave considerably less then 16k for mine but bought it from a friend in the tow business for a tow bill he never got paid. The only thing I wish it had is 4 wheel drive for loader work. I bought mine on a Tuesday, drove it to a job and laid 800 feet of storm sewer. It's one of the best purchases I've made in equipment. Good luck John
It'll go 20mph, it'll even go 25mph; you won't do it a second time! They bounce, and once they start bouncing, only way to stop the bouncing is to slow down right now. Real white knuckle time with a hoe and any kind of speed. Don't do it on a long down hill like I did it the first time, wimpy brakes won't do much with 10 tons rolling down hill. Sounds like a good deal, get a deposit on it.
I keep that in mind and drive it slow fer sure. The reason I am buying one is this; I've had grading work done over the years and it seems like every time I get a bid for a job it turns out double in the end.I've got some property and we want to build a small home. It will be 28x28 with a full walkout basement. Our driveway is 1000' long. Here's what needs to be done. I will need to slope the upper bank of the road which is vertical 6' right now. Nothing fancy but a slight slope is in order. I will need a ditch on one side 1000' long. Install 4-5 crossover pipes for drainage. dig septic tank and 3-75' lines spread 7-8 loads of gravel Cut out a 40x40 chunk from the side of the slight hill for a basement Remove stumps for septic.lines and basement area ranging from 12" diameter stumps-2-1/2' stumps.Probably only half dozen of the 2-2.5' stumps Tear down a hundred year old barn and misc. stuff. The grader friend I took wit me to look at the hoe is a little aggravated that I want to do this myself. He's telling me that this hoe can't remove the stumps and do the work I need done. I think he just doesn't want to loose a big payday. What say you guys? Can a ggod condition 555 do the work I've listed with a little time?
In 1990 I did everything you just listed with a 1974 2wd 580 Case backhoe & had never drove one before hand. My development was on a mt. side with a lot more rd. just to get to my building site. Big learning curve but enjoyed every min. of it. By the hoe and have fun.
For digging the basement, don't try to dig hard dirt. Use the backhoe to pull it down and use the loader to pick it up and move it. Same with the big stumps, scrape your trenches in thin layers. Don't try to rip right through big roots. Leave the trees standing for more leverage if you're aware of the dangers. A contractor wouldn't use a backhoe for stumps that size, but you can do it with a lot of patience.
As long as you can get to most of the way around the stumps, you can dig them out. Just takes some more time, which you not being on the clock, have. Having a 12" and 18 or 24" buckets makes things easier. If you have tough digging, install the small bucket, puts the same force in half the teeth and that will do it. I rented a 555 and we needed to dig percolation test holes for the septic. I'm on a 3 million year old volcanic ash bed, and the top foot or so is really tough to dig. The air and water turns it to a low grade concrete. The 18" bucket wouldn't break it up, so we buzzed back to the Ford dealer and got a 12" and that did the job. Backhoes are a lot of fun on acreage, where you got some room to turn and move around without always the near misses you get in town.
A neat trick when digging trees and stumps out is to place a pile of dirt on the side of the tree where you are going it to push to. When the trunk lands on the dirt pile the stump will come up part way out of the hole. That makes it a lot easier to remove the dirt from the root ball.
How are the brakes? Those are very expensive to repair if leaking in the axle.
Thanks to all again. The brakes are good but he said the parking brake does not work. He drove it over 11 miles to his other property recently and I know there are many red lights and stop signs between. He told me today that he knows where my property is and I should just drive it instead of hauling...so that gives me confidence as my place is 8 miles from where it sits. I fully intended to go and purchase it today but...He said he wanted to remove a few saplings from his yard and cover a hole where he removed a stump over the next few days :Banghead I can't get it til Friday and the clock has slowed to a crawl in my mind. I feel like a little kid. I can't wait to get it to my property.
If you have land, a backhoe is the opposite of a boat; glad the day you bought it, really regret the day you had to sell it.
I'm in a quandary; I can get a 99 Ford/New Holland 2wd 555e in nice overall shape with 2100 hrs for 17K (Plain loader bucket and 36" hoe bucket. New stuff is 6 or 7 repacked cylinders) OR a 2001 Cat 420D IT 4WD with 4 N 1 loader and 24" + 18" hoe bucket it's a little weathered (Paint mixed with surface rust) with 4500 hrs. 18K (New stuff is new head and gasket ) What say you guys?
you're on your own....
I promise not to hold anyone responsible but myself... Opinions greatly appreciated. By the way the cat has changed to another model he has for sale. It's a 2004 420D IT 4wd with plain gp bucket and 24" hoe bucket. It has 5500hrs and has the joystick type control's. I can get it delivered for 17500.00
The Ford NH sounds like a clean solid machine at a fair price. The Cats sound like a higher hour, little less well cared for, "bargains". A lot of people will say 4wd and a four way bucket are essential on a backhoe. Depends on what you want to do with it? do you need 4wd enough to be worth the extra repairs? No big downside to the four way bucket. I'd be inclined towards the Ford, maybe you can get a better price vs the competitively priced competition?
I'd be inclined to go Cat. Seems like a good price given the condition. Parts availability from Cat is by far the best. I manage many different brands of machines and it's rare they have to order something. Assuming it's been maintained the 4wd shouldn't add to your repair list. See if there's a history on it at the local Cat house as well as the current owners maintenance records. Around here the Cat will bring more when it's time to sell it. A 2wd TLB is a tough sell. Having run them as loaders quite a bit a 2wd is a little bit of a pain. Digging doesn't matter so much. Having the quick attach is a huge help too if you anticipate multiple attachments. Pin on forks suck. Hope that helps. Either one beat a shovel! Junkyard
I have to go with Delmer on this one 2100 hrs. is like a new machine it should be many years before anything would require more than general maintenance. 4 wd is nice but certainly not a necessity unless your working on very steep ground. Good luck with what ever you choose.