HELP....I inherited a Ford a 555

[jakal01]

HELP!!! My father-in-law purchased a Ford 555 backhoe 10 years ago, and used it a ton around the land to move trees, pull stumps, and what not. It was his baby, and although he let me "drive it" ocassionally, he never taught me the basics of it. After he passed last summer, I inherited the machine. I know very little about tractors. I know enough to start it and use the hydraulics to move things.
The machine comes in handy on the in-laws 200 acres of woods, but I need to learn more about it so that I can better use it. I want to keep it around as there are many times that it is needed, however, I am completely clueless on most of the controls on the dash.
It is now 0º here in MN and the thing will not start. I am not sure if it has glow plugs or a thermostat. I do need to figure out how to start it so that I can park it in the shed for the winter. I believe that it is a 1983 model, but not 100% sure. My mother-in-law can find no manuals for it. I do not even know how to find out what year is it.

Any help, instructions, or details would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

Jakal

 

[gusbratz]

not familiar with that machine but there should be an engine block heater on it somewhere, hunt around on the engine and look for a regular 120v ac plug and cord hanging off it somewhere. Maybe coming from a soft plug hole on the engine or in line with the heater hoses. It will warm the engine up in an hour or 2 so you can get it going.

 

[jimg984]

help i inherted a ford 555

a 12 volt preheat heater is located on the intake manifold.. it is activied by furning ing key counterclock wise one postion and holding for a few seconds and the turning key farther and engine should start cranking and running.....should work if all is in tact need a good, strong battery

 

[d4c24a]

not sure but that model could have the excess fuel button on the side of the injector pump , its in the centre of the stop lever

 

[willie59]

Welcome to HEF jakal01. :drinkup

If the machine has a 3 cyl engine, it would be either a 555A or 555B, the 555C and later models have a 4 cyl engine, this at least narrows things a bit. If you can't find a block heater on it, or if it doesn't have glow plugs or intake heater, i've warmed up dead cold machines using a fan forced space heater. Warms things up enough to get it cranking and started.

 

[gusbratz]

i have warmed up cold machines with a 500 watt halogen work light pointed straight up under the machine with a canvas tarp thrown over the whole engine and font end. it is amazing how well that works. another tip along the same lines is if you have to work outside in the bitter cold take one of those work lights and point it at your hands and what you are working on, not only will it light it up very nice but the radiant heat from the lights keeps your hands nice and toasty.

 

[jimg984]

the 555 also has the three cylinder engine



http://www.tractordata.com/backhoe-loader/000/1/0/101-ford-555.html

 

[oldseabee]

If you have a Ford/New Holland dealer close, take the S/N to them and they can order a shop manual for around $80. I got one for my 555A about 9 years ago. There should be a plate on the left side of the dash console with the S/N.

 

[mitch504]

Another good source of manuals is Jensales, though if the dealer can get a service manual for $80, that is cheaper. Most of the service manuals I've gotten from the dealer have been more like $300. Jensales also has the operator's manuals for $37.99. The operator's manual should give you basic maintenance info in addition to operating instructions.

http://www.jensales.com/Ford-Tractor-Manuals_c_126819.html

If you post your serial number on here we should be able to help you determine the year and the letter series. With equipment, the letter series is much more important than the year.

BTW, I believe the 555, 555A, 555B, and 555C all had the 3-cylinder; I think the 4-cylinder came with the D model.

 

[bowen]

I suggest you clean the thing up as best you can to find every sticker, nameplate etc. Take off any engine panels off so that you can see everything possible.
Make pictures of all these identification plates so you learn what all the parts are.
You may find plates for the engine, loader, hoe, transmission whatever.
Pay real close attention to find all the fluid check, fluid fill, and fluid drain points. You need to become familiar with every one of these.
Make SURE the antifreeze is good enough for the cold days ahead.

Be prepared to spend some money.
I got a hoe last year from a similar circumstance and I am up to about $4000 in parts now, but I have a nice machine to use.
If spending money is not an option and depending on the condition you might consider selling it now.
You might want to get someone out to look at it and give you an idea on what all (if any) repairs will be needed.

I started with a battery, then an alternator, ait filters, fuel filters, oil/filter, large wrench sets, hydraulic fluid/filter, fan belt, tach/hourmeter repair, engine mounts, injector leaks, parking brake, electrical parts, cylinder rebuild kits, lights, oil cooler repair, radiator repair, shuttle fluid/rebuild, hydraulic lines replaced, and the list continues. I have really enjoyed the learning process but it's not cheap buying these parts and it's a lot of work.

Looking back and if I had not had the time and ability to do the most of these projects myself, I would have sold it right after I got it to run.
I could NOT have done this without help from this forum, and for this I am very thankful.:notworthy

One last suggestion is be BE CAREFUL working on it. Heavy machinery can be dangerous both in use or repair situations.

 

[lobo]

You need to access the tractors general condition. If pins are real sloppy cylinders leaking pump is weak motor blowing blue smoke transmisson slipping it may not be worth putting money into. If you are not at all mechanical hire a mechanic. If you get it running and warmed up at an idle see if the front bucket will lift the front tires off the ground. Then see if the hoe will lift the back tires off the ground. At this point all four wheels are off the ground. Shut the motor down and see if she stays up or drifts down quickly. If she goes up and stays up hydrulics are good. Be careful if you get out with wheels off the ground because that is a big step down. Pins can be checked by appling down pressure to that section and watching for play. A little bit of play is no big deal, you will see if there is too much slop. Change all fluids and filters unles you think your father in law was up on everthing. Grease every zirt. I bought a 1992 JD 310D about 5 years ago. She was a pretty good tractor but they all need some TLC. I think John Deere website let me download a operators manuel at no charge or maybe I paid a small fee. An operators manuel is all you need for now. I know from reading here that the Ford 555 was a good tractor. I also know first hand that if you can only own one machine its a TLB. You are lucky to have found this website. There are a lot of good men here with a ton of knowledge. I want to thank everyone here again that have helped me in the past. I also want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and sorry about your father in law.

 

[98zx9r]

This doesn't help with starting but might help identify year made. Mine is a earlier model but to find the year built may be the same. Look on the left side of the steering console and there should be a tag with several numbers on it look for the unit number.Example 9B10B the 9 is the year made 1979, the B is the month Feb. (A thru H and J thru M the I was not used), 10 is the day of the month, and B is the shift made A=midnight, B=day, C=afternoon.

 

[oarwhat]

Jimg984 is correct on the pre heater. Turn the key counter clockwise one position. Hold it there for 20 seconds. Then turn it further counterclockwise to start. If the engine and battery are in good condition it will start down to 25 or maybe 20 degrees. Colder than that it will need a block heater. Good luck Randy