3550 50 Hour Service

[tbzep]

I completed all of the 50 hour service today except the hydraulic portion. The manual just says to check the transmission/hydraulic fluid, but from looking underneath today it looks like I will have to drain it in order to clean the strainer and replace the filter. I don't have 10 gallons of fluid and I'm not even sure what kind to use yet as I've lamented in another thread, so that will have to wait a few days.

Some notes:

It takes a long time for the 3550 to warm up the oil. I ran it for a good 15 minutes and it didn't seem any warmer than the 95 degree shop air.

The drain plugs are 22mm if anyone wants to know what to grab before getting under the tractor.

The oil comes out fast. If you use a specialized oil catch pan, make sure it has a large air vent so it won't overflow.

I had to use a breaker bar to get the drain plugs out. Even factoring in paint adhesion, they had to be way over the 22-29 lb/ft in the manual.

The spin on filter was tight enough to cause me to bend my filter wrench.

The drain plug magnets caught a heck of a lot of crap. Including a couple big chunks of blue silicone held down by bits of metal.

The thresh guard is a nice idea, but poor execution. You have to take off the side panel or the top bracket to remove it.

Battery connections weren't seated well on the posts from the factory.

Hoses and cables hang all underneath the tractor. I have a bad feeling I will eventually hang one or ten of them. That's pretty shoddy design work, IMHO. Unfortunately, that's also the way some other brands looked when I was shopping for a tractor.

And last, but definitely the most annoying. The manual says the dealer has to reset the service reminder indicator. :mur:

Drain plugs...glad I did it at 50 hours.

After a few swipes with a rag...

 

[JerryK]

One school of thought is that you don't change the oil warm, and just drain it undisturbed after the tractor has been sitting. Usually have to let it drain a little longer, but I usually let it drain over lunch or some other project time. You will sleep better knowing that all that crud is out of the oil pan, same when you do the big hyd sump strainer. Next time you change oil, they will still be clean as when you put them back in. On my 50 hour change, I just used empty 5 gallon buckets for the hyd oil. At the 400 hour, I bought a couple cheapo 6 gallon oil change pans from Advance Auto. I bought a manual lever style 5 gallon bucket pump to put the new 10 gallons in, just opening up the bucket spout a little so the pump could slip down into the bucket. My theory on tight filters/drain plugs is that I would rather have them on the tight side than the other way around. I even drilled and wired the drain plug on the bottom of my Dodge Cummins. Keep up the good work...!!!!!

This is the size filter wrench you need for the big $100 hyd filter...

CTA Tools 2552 Pro Swivel Oil Filter Wrench L | eBay

 

[dickfoster]

I completed all of the 50 hour service today except the hydraulic portion. The manual just says to check the transmission/hydraulic fluid, but from looking underneath today it looks like I will have to drain it in order to clean the strainer and replace the filter. I don't have 10 gallons of fluid and I'm not even sure what kind to use yet as I've lamented in another thread, so that will have to wait a few days.

Some notes:

It takes a long time for the 3550 to warm up the oil. I ran it for a good 15 minutes and it didn't seem any warmer than the 95 degree shop air.

The drain plugs are 22mm if anyone wants to know what to grab before getting under the tractor.

The oil comes out fast. If you use a specialized oil catch pan, make sure it has a large air vent so it won't overflow.

I had to use a breaker bar to get the drain plugs out. Even factoring in paint adhesion, they had to be way over the 22-29 lb/ft in the manual.

The spin on filter was tight enough to cause me to bend my filter wrench.

The drain plug magnets caught a heck of a lot of crap. Including a couple big chunks of blue silicone held down by bits of metal.

The thresh guard is a nice idea, but poor execution. You have to take off the side panel or the top bracket to remove it.

Battery connections weren't seated well on the posts from the factory.

Hoses and cables hang all underneath the tractor. I have a bad feeling I will eventually hang one or ten of them. That's pretty shoddy design work, IMHO. Unfortunately, that's also the way some other brands looked when I was shopping for a tractor.

And last, but definitely the most annoying. The manual says the dealer has to reset the service reminder indicator. :mur:

Drain plugs...glad I did it at 50 hours.

After a few swipes with a rag...

My guess is any OBDII code scanner will reset that silly light. Can't hurt by trying it, you should own one anyway. I suppose you were talking about the engine oil filter. I crushed my filter getting it off but thankfully my wrench was still OK.
I think it's their stupid practice of spray painting the engine with all of the filters and accessories in place which is a really dumb thing to do. They even painted the fan belt fer pity sake. DUH!