jd 455 dead engine 1000 off used 455

[workinallthetime]

hello green fellas,

my dads old 455 has died, the guy he deals with has another 455 he will sell him for 4500 and give hime 1000 for the dead deere. make out with a used 455 for 3500 plus tax. my question is other than the obvious things to look for what else should i look for in this next one? He bought the dead one w/ out me seeing it and it had a bad case of "blow by", very week trans, and 2500 hours on it. I never would have bought it in the first place. After all the problems he has had the past 20 years with j/d they were not my first choice when i went out to buy my equipment. i would like to know if you guys with 455 experience can give me a heads up on aqnything else to look for. my dads 74 now and id like to help him as much as possible.
thanks fellas

 

[jeffinsgf]

Sounds like the current one was "rode hard and put away wet" by the previous owner. 2500 hours with impeccable maintenance would be considered late middle-age. 2500 with average maintenance would be considered one foot in the grave.

What to look for in the new (old) one? Hours, maintenance records (if available). Mine throws one puff of black smoke on startup and a tiny puff when it hits a load (big pile for the blade or extra thick grass for the mower). I would be concerned about any more than that.

 

[joes_427_vette]

My 455 had 2000 hours and ran like a top. Never had any issues. A thousand seems aweful cheap for the trade. I bought a 4110 4x4 which is really a slick toy. It was the last of the leftovers but it should last me many years.

Buying used with high hours is a gamble. ( in some cases don't believe the hour meter, they are easily replaced in mid life. ) Most don't take care of them like they require. If I was buying a used machine I would spend a couple bucks having the drive train checked out

 

[workinallthetime]

Sounds like the current one was "rode hard and put away wet" by the previous owner. 2500 hours with impeccable maintenance would be considered late middle-age. 2500 with average maintenance would be considered one foot in the grave.

What to look for in the new (old) one? Hours, maintenance records (if available). Mine throws one puff of black smoke on startup and a tiny puff when it hits a load (big pile for the blade or extra thick grass for the mower). I would be concerned about any more than that.

well there are a couple flags that have all ready gone up, first one is the cluster was just replaced so no one knows how many hours on it and the second is this guy deals in only used j/d, he knows his stuff but any kind of recordds from the previous owner are unavailbale since the unit could haqve come from anywhere in the us. the last 455 he had belonged to a school and the 401 a he had was owned by a state highway department. i was just curious if there were any known problems to look out for. thanks guys

 

[jeffinsgf]

Don't get the idea they replaced the gauge cluster to hide the hours. That gauge cluster is notorious for going dead. I replaced mine, but kept the old one so that I can prove hours if I ever sell (or trade).

 

[joes_427_vette]

Jeff; My 455 was always waxed and the paint was done in base / clear coat a couple years ago. ( famous no primer john deere theory, but that is another story ) If I would have spent the money for a new gage cluster at 1500 hours my tractor would have been worth an easy extra thousand dollars. The tractor jockies ( some, not all ) learn quickly how to get the most from the least. If you don't believe this your living in a very sheltered life. What is a 150,000 mile diesel pickup worth to the average customer ? I bet at 70,000 it would be alot more attractive.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Joe,

I didn't say it was impossible that the gauge cluster was changed to hide hours, I'm just saying that the 4x5 series gauge cluster has a history of failure and that it is just as likely it was replaced because the temp and fuel gauge weren't functional.

 

[workinallthetime]

guys dad did the trade and gave them 3500 for the new one. I went with him and checked it out. engine had no blow by hot or cold, one slight puff when i engaged the mower, started right up ( we didint tell them we were coming, so they had no prep time). I was impressed, the only thing is the steering has some foreward and back play in the tilt assembly thats all i could find. they put a new 54" deck on it and seat. the thing looks real good, sounds good, even has that yanmar shake at low idle, lol. all the fluids were clean and new air filter. im thinking for 3500 it was a pretty good deal. they had 5500 on it but because my dad has bought 5 tractors from them they did the 3500 plus his dead deere.
thanks for your help