69 Ford backhoe 3500 or 3550 ?

[hico]

Hello everyone I am a newbie to this site, I had a old ford backhoe given to me by my wifes grandpaw and looks to be in good shape other than a few issues, first thing I am trying to do is identify it,I have identified the loader it is 735 series and the hoe is 13 foot basic 753 series, after talking to the ford Newholland people and running down numbers on the tractor i could find , the numbers under the hood were to worn so got the ones that where stamped close to the starter, (C5011f) (9b18b)and (C229398) and the serial number did not match anything the Ford house had, I also found that smearing baby powder on the numbers helps to read them, What i cant figure out is the difference between the 3500 and the 3550 it also has the torque converter shift on it. any info on this tractor would be great, I would like to get this old beast alive again.thankyou!

 

[Muhammad]

Welcome to TBN.

 

[CTPhil]

One difference is that 3550's have inboard wet brakes.

 

[hico]

CTPHILL, thanks for the response, so when I look to the inside of the rear wheels I think what i am seeing is break drums , so i guess it is a 3500? or would it be disc breaks? I know this sounds silly but I really did not know they had shuttle transmissions back then..the next step will be figuring out the starter problem, wifes grandpaw said he thought it had a bad spot on the flywheel, when i hit the starter it just spins, so i am going to pull it and bench test it and look at the fly wheel, I think i can roll the fly wheel with a screw driver and check out the teeth, I just wish there was a way i could roll the engine to get past the the bad spot, if it is bad...but with the shuttle transmission makes it a little tough..

 

[CTPhil]

The brakes on the 3550 are well in from the wheel, there is a big bulge in the housings to accommodate them. Hope for the best with the starter, it could just be a starter drive. To really nail down the model, it's best to get the numbers off the flat spot on the cast housing just above the starter. They may be covered with grease, but they're stamped in.

 

[hico]

In my first post , that is where I got those numbers, I called Newholland and they were very helpfull on everything but could not find a match for the serial number, they said it was so old sometimes they could not find a match,..so i guess i am down to ..and I think u solved it for me is the brake difference..I do wish i could find someone who could match that serial number..

 

[Soundguy]

sn match is no problem... the cnh person who told you they couldn't match it needs a new job.. maybee one they are good at!

outboard drum brakes are at the end of the axle near the wheel centers.. inboard wet brakes, as mentioned will be at large grar reduction planetaries at the place the axle trumpet hits the center section.

C229398 is the sn, and is inthe 1969 year range. if your dealer couldn't figure that out.. STOP using them immediatly.. they have no clue!!!!

9b18b is a date code....
9=1969
b=february
18 = day of month
b=day shift

C5011f is the modelid code

c 4-68 or newer 3000 series
50 industrial chassis
1 diesel fuel
1 no pto
f 4/4 tourque converter power reverser tranny

this is COMMONLY available info.. any CNH dealer should be ASHAMED if they didn't know this...

ps.. here are the c series ( us model ) sn's and date ranges:

Ford Model 3 Cyl
Year Starting Serial Number
1965 C100000
1966 C124200
1967 C161300
1968 C190200
1969 C226000
1970 C257600
1971 C292100
1972 C327200
1973 C367300
1974 C405200
1975 C450700





soundguy

 

[hico]

Soundguy, I do thankyou!that does clear up alot..I plan on pulling the starter and checking the flywheel and bench test the starter on my days off..u dont have any good leads on some manuals on this thing do u?

 

[Briana03]

WELCOME to TBN

I moved your thread to the Ford Vintage Tractors Forum.

 

[CTPhil]

sn match is no problem... the cnh person who told you they couldn't match it needs a new job.. maybee one they are good at!

I had the same experience, the people at CNH have absolutely no clue. A better bet is your local CNH dealer, there will be people there with real experience.