555 D ford backdoe shifting problem

[bilkir1]

Hello: I have a 555d ford backhoe that when shifting gears from 1-4 I have to put the shuttle gear forward and reverse in neutral to be able to shift into another gear. For instance if I am in 4th gear and wish to shift into a lower gear I have to put the shuttle in neutral. This has been the case since I had purchase it. I have been told about solenoid. If so can someone till me where it is located and what all is involved. I would greatly appreciative.

 

[TBN Support]

Hi and welcome to the forum! :welcome:
I have moved your thread so we can you some help with that Ford.

 

[DJ54]

My Case 480C is the same way. Basically, it has a torque converter in place of a clutch in front of a manual 4 spd. trans., so putting the shuttle shift in neutral, would be like depressing the clutch, so as to shift gears on the manual transmission. I would think it would be the same on the Ford, but not positive. Even at that, you need to be at a complete stop, so as not to rake gears.

Mine has a non functional "clutch cut out" switch on it, but it's activated when you touch a brake pedal, like when loading a truck, to raise the bucket, then continue on when high enough. Not designed, that I know of, to shift the main manual transmission. Seems I remember one of the newer Ford hoes we had, had a similar clutch cut out on it, but you had to depress a red button on top of the loader control lever. But again, I believe it was just to stop motion, not for shifting gears.

To my knowledge, the only one's I know of that can be shifted on the go, is the newer equipment, with like a 3 spd. electronic shift on the shuttle lever. My neighbor has a JD 410 hoe, with that system. Pretty sweet if your shuttling material out of a pile, to different areas. But that is a whole different animal, and doesn't have a manual main transmission.

 

[City Farmer]

Your 555 might be different but I'm almost positive that's the way its supposed to work. There's a tag on my 4500 that says the power reverser must be in neutral to shift gears. You can't exceed 1/2 throttle for the first 5min of operation or damage could occur. My Case 350 dozer with the shuttle shift is the same way.

 

[AZOutlaw]

I agree with City Farmer. I started my tractor driving years ago driving my Dad's backhoe from job to job. Always had to go to neutral with the shuttle and grab another gear with the shifter on the floor. That is the way the 555 and 655 work.

 

[eKretz]

I know this is an old post, but figured I'd add to it in case anyone else is ever searching for this info.

This is inaccurate info for the newer 555s. I have a 555D and it is definitely able to shift gears while on the move. There is indeed a red button on the gear shift and also one on the loader control as well. This button is a cutout that shuts off pressure to the clutches. The transmission in the 555D is fully synchronized, unlike some of the earlier versions. So you just drive along, accelerate through a range, then release the accelerator pedal and push the red button while shifting to the next gear.

If the synchros are worn or the clutches aren't fully releasing, it could cause inability to shift on the move. Also if that cutout switch is not working (or the solenoid that it activates) that could also make shifting on the move difficult. The solenoids for shifting into forward and reverse - and the cutout solenoid - are located on top of the transmission at the rear of the engine.

 

[TractorTech]

I know this is an old post, but figured I'd add to it in case anyone else is ever searching for this info.

This is inaccurate info for the newer 555s. I have a 555D and it is definitely able to shift gears while on the move. There is indeed a red button on the gear shift and also one on the loader control as well. This button is a cutout that shuts off pressure to the clutches. The transmission in the 555D is fully synchronized, unlike some of the earlier versions. So you just drive along, accelerate through a range, then release the accelerator pedal and push the red button while shifting to the next gear.

If the synchros are worn or the clutches aren't fully releasing, it could cause inability to shift on the move. Also if that cutout switch is not working (or the solenoid that it activates) that could also make shifting on the move difficult. The solenoids for shifting into forward and reverse - and the cutout solenoid - are located on top of the transmission at the rear of the engine.

All true. Reading through the original post, there are several generations of Ford transmissions quoted, but none addressed the original poster’s problem.

 

[eKretz]

All true. Reading through the original post, there are several generations of Ford transmissions quoted, but none addressed the original poster’s problem.

It sounds like you know these tractors pretty well. I have a problem I'm about to dive into on my 555D, do you have any insights? I think the area to concentrate on is going to be the forward solenoid or the wiring to it. Tell me if you agree.

The machine starts and works perfectly when cold. Plenty of grunt, will dig holes in forward with the back tires when pushing on a big stump with the bucket. As it warms up, within about a half hour or so, forward goes away, but reverse still works fine. If I do the "overload reset" that's in the service manual (shut the machine off for 5-10 seconds, then restart) forward starts working again, but only for a few seconds and it stops again. I can do this over and over. So I think that either there is something overloading the "forward" circuit (solenoid coil damage, or something somewhere shorted to ground) or the control module itself has problems. I'm at a loss as to why it would only happen once the machine warms up, though.

I'm about to dig into the harness near the module and check the resistance across the solenoid coils, as well as the resistance from each wire to ground. If all that checks out, I have to guess that the problem is the control module itself. I don't think it would be oil pressure related, because otherwise the machine wouldn't run just fine in reverse.

 

[TractorTech]

I don't remember the "overload reset", but I agree that it sounds like the coil is heating up and failing. If it didn't come back after shutting off and starting again, then it would point to the clutch pack.
Unfortunately, you probably have to have the solenoid coil hot to find out if it is the coil. You can also verify if it is the coil by swapping forward for reverse, but either way, it is a lot of work to find out.
It is possible the module is the problem, but not likely.

 

[eKretz]

Yeah, I figured likeliest culprit is coil too. I'm surprised the resistance would change when it gets warm is my only qualm. I figured it would overload immediately if there was an issue there. And yes, looks like the fuel tank needs to come out to get to those solenoids. I was hoping it might be more like an hour or two job, but it just got longer... Typical.