Hi hope everyone is doing well, just an update on my New Holland 555E that I purchased at Auction in Orlando, Had it transported down to my freight forwarder in Miami I then had to cut the roof off in order to get it in to a 40' HC shipping container. it was half the cost to shipping on a flat rack. Finally made it to Barbados. Welded the roof back on, I then decided to remove the complete cab as it was the only area that has corrosion and for easier access to the hydraulic hoses. 90% of the hoses need to be replaced, will get new seals for all of the rams and rebuild one time. To do: degrease and pressure wash Replace Hyd hoses Abrasive blast and repair the cab. Replace all fluids and filters, belts etc. New thermostat Replace the brake Master cylinders (working fine but figure at this age and ease of replacement with cab off) As we don't need the heater here I'm going to remove it, should I blank the inlet and outlet on the engine or is it best to run a bypass hose? Would appreciate any advise on other jobs I should do at this stage, I ran it for a couple hrs clearing some land before I striped it down, and all systems worked well, aim is to have the machine reliable as we have a couple of construction jobs planed.
Any recommendations on an online parts manual and good parts suppliers for the 555E?
Man that's a clean looking cab and fenders. Check your private messages.
amazing access! I too would replace ALL of the hoses. Just 1 with the cab on sux.
Put a bypass hose in as it will circulate better. Looks clean.
That's the same year as mine. I just replaced the master cylinders. They finally gave out. Having a vacuum bleeder helps a lot but it will certainly be easier with the cab off.
I would try to find a Newholland dealer close to where you bought the machine with a good service department and try to find a knowledgeable tech. They could have some insight into specific working conditions in that area it was in (e.g. salt corrosion in the northern tier) but also their sample size on machines is much higher. There could be an issue that only effects 5% of machines of that era they may know about, but isn't that well known to most owners/operators because it only effects a handful. A 20 min phone call to the right person can literally save you thousands of dollars, and most of the time they are willing to share their decades of knowledge for free; just like this forum. Not to say that a Newholland dealer would be better than everyone here, just a different source.
X2 on finding a good dealer contact. It doesn't necessarily have to be one near you or where the machine originated. My machine originated in Texas and I bought it from a person in Arkansas and had it shipped to FL. I was able to find out the date of manufacturer, in service date, and the origin details from a parts guy at Alma Tractor in Alma Arkansas by giving him the serial number. Fun fact, I was born in Alma Ga. I also had brief contact with a forum member that knew the person that bought my machine used in Texas and moved it to Arkansas but he didn't hook me up with that owner to get info from. None of this really helped a lot but it was good to know and document.