555E cracked rear boom

[crewman99]

I have a 1999 New Holland 555E backhoe with an extendahoe and the rear main boom is cracked about 2 feet up from the bottom. Has anybody else had this happen to them? The machine is municipality owned and hasn't had a real hard life.

 

[alchemysa]

My guess is thats caused by travelling with the boom in the locked up position. If its bounced around too much it will crack even if it hasnt done any work at all. I've seen some council and constructor backhoes travelling around way too fast for comfort. On my little backhoe I don't use the boom lock at all, but then I don't travel far in it anyway.

 

[alchemysa]

Crewman

Im interested to hear what you've decided about the crack.

 

[crewman99]

I sent an email to New Holland to see if they have heard of such a problem and no word back yet. Your thought about the travel lock sounds like a good thought, as I don't know what else could cause that to happen. Like I said the machine isn't over worked as if a contractor owned it. It is not used everyday and sits alot. So in the mean time i'm still waiting for an answer from New Holland before I go ahead and fix it. Maybe I have too high a hopes? Thanks for your interest!! Crewman99

 

[EddieWalker]

My 555E doesn't have the extenda-hoe, and I'm wondering if that might have something to do with it? I grease mine every time that I use it and part of that process is inspecting everything. I've never seen a crack anywhere, and especially nothing like yours.

I also leave mine in the locked position unless I'm using it. If it's not locked into place, then the weight of the boom is all on the cylinders. This is even worse when bouncing over rought terrain.

Keep us updated, I'm interested in what the dealer has to say. I'd also love to hear how you fix it.

Thanks,
Eddie