Deere Hydraulics - my 5055e a Lemon

[Coyote machine]

To the OP, sorry you are having such a terrible time with your tractor. First, ignore the fools who criticize a guy's brand when he's down; they're idiots and don't deserve another thought.
Now, to solve the problem. Documentation, documentation, documentation. Write down everything you can remember as to when and how it happened, what your dealer said and so on. Keep copious records and send emails, letters, etc. to regional rep, Deere headquarters, etc. Email is a permanent record. Letters can disappear, and do at times. Phone calls are good but you need date/time/ who and what spoken about for each.
This is ridiculous- two tanks having melted?! How they end up charging you for this while the warranty is in place is beyond me. I do think whatever the problem turns out to be the likely damage to other seals and o-rings cannot be ignored. Look at it this way- if they bill you and tell you it's your fault now what happens when the warranty is over and the real aftermath shows it's ugly head?!
Decide right away you will hire a lawyer or dump it and move on to something else. Either way it seems, unfortunately, you will be taking a bigger loss over time if you hold onto it.
Good luck, let us know what you decide. You obviously need a machine that will work reliably for you.

 

[couv]

Well TBN family, I'm the one with the well-posted on GTT 5065E with rear hitch problems. Several of you throughout the 7 pages here have done a good job of paraphrasing my experiences.

In short, bought 5065E April 30, 2012. By October 2012 unit had maybe 45 hours, hissing hydraulics, overheating and melted original fuel tank. Dealer replaced fuel tank, and the SCV valve.

By March or so of '13, 2nd fuel tank melted. Transmission cover so hot I couldn't leave my boots on the tranny cover. Dealer took it back, replaced the tank, couldn't duplicate the problem. Wanted to send it back to me like that. I refused to let them deliver the unit until I met the JD Rep at the dealership. I was told by the Rep that everything was IN SPEC. The tranny cover being over 110+ degrees was NORMAL. AND, he didn't say it, but he insinuated I was too fat to operate the tractor and was bumping the SCV lever causing the problem. I let him know how the cow ate the cabbage, and let them deliver the tractor back to me with a new fuel tank, and demanded JD replace all the hydraulic fluid.

Then I stewed for a few days. All along, I had been calling the JD 800 number to report these problems, and was on a first-name basis with the JD Operator on the other end. Called her and reported the non-fixing of my tractor (now on fuel tank #3), and the JD Rep's very poor customer-service attitude. Nothing happened.

THEN, I got on the JD website and typed out a very detailed complaint giving exact dates hours and problems experienced. A week later, the Dealership called and very meekly and politely asked IF they could pick up my tractor for further repairs.. I said yes.

A new SCV valve was installed (the 2nd in 100 + hours) , New Rear 3-Point Control Valve, New Piston and Piston Housing that lifts the Rear Hitch. I have pics of the burnt piston and melted nylon piston rings, etc. I have documented receipts for $ 14,000 of repairs for a tractor I paid about $ 17,000 for.

I have a few more hours on it at this time. The only time the overheating has occurred is shredding my Bermuda field with JD MX-8. I shredded about a 3rd of it Friday night, and did not notice any overheating. Only 2 people use this tractor and we both are in the habit of wiggling the SCV and Loader Control Valve lever frequently just in case.

Does John Deere have a problem with this series ? In the words of the great Sarah Palin -- YOU BETCHA !!!!! By now, should a corrective action have been identified? YOU BETCHA !!! Should a recall of all models have happened by now ? YOU BETCHA !!! Should Dealers KNOW how to solve this problem the first time ? YOU BETCHA !!!!

 

[murphy1244]

Glad you got things straightened out.

 

[econometrics]

Whew, you sure have been around the proverbial block with your 5065E on this. Really sorry to hear about all that. I'm sure it was as frustrating as anything you could experience. There's nothing I hate more than a problem that is not fixed correctly - which then inhibits me from doing my job. Super frustrating! Especially when you spend a good chunk of money on a tool that should run without a flaw off the lot!

So far, I haven't had any issues with my 5075E. (I got it in early October, has 26 hours on it - mostly shredding pastures). However, it has the PowrReverser transmission, so I'm not sure if that will change anything or not.

Anyway, thanks for updating us, and keep us posted as the hours keep clocking.

 

[Dapolksjj]

Well TBN family, I'm the one with the well-posted on GTT 5065E with rear hitch problems. Several of you throughout the 7 pages here have done a good job of paraphrasing my experiences. In short, bought 5065E April 30, 2012. By October 2012 unit had maybe 45 hours, hissing hydraulics, overheating and melted original fuel tank. Dealer replaced fuel tank, and the SCV valve. By March or so of '13, 2nd fuel tank melted. Transmission cover so hot I couldn't leave my boots on the tranny cover. Dealer took it back, replaced the tank, couldn't duplicate the problem. Wanted to send it back to me like that. I refused to let them deliver the unit until I met the JD Rep at the dealership. I was told by the Rep that everything was IN SPEC. The tranny cover being over 110+ degrees was NORMAL. AND, he didn't say it, but he insinuated I was too fat to operate the tractor and was bumping the SCV lever causing the problem. I let him know how the cow ate the cabbage, and let them deliver the tractor back to me with a new fuel tank, and demanded JD replace all the hydraulic fluid. Then I stewed for a few days. All along, I had been calling the JD 800 number to report these problems, and was on a first-name basis with the JD Operator on the other end. Called her and reported the non-fixing of my tractor (now on fuel tank #3), and the JD Rep's very poor customer-service attitude. Nothing happened. THEN, I got on the JD website and typed out a very detailed complaint giving exact dates hours and problems experienced. A week later, the Dealership called and very meekly and politely asked IF they could pick up my tractor for further repairs.. I said yes. A new SCV valve was installed (the 2nd in 100 + hours) , New Rear 3-Point Control Valve, New Piston and Piston Housing that lifts the Rear Hitch. I have pics of the burnt piston and melted nylon piston rings, etc. I have documented receipts for $ 14,000 of repairs for a tractor I paid about $ 17,000 for. I have a few more hours on it at this time. The only time the overheating has occurred is shredding my Bermuda field with JD MX-8. I shredded about a 3rd of it Friday night, and did not notice any overheating. Only 2 people use this tractor and we both are in the habit of wiggling the SCV and Loader Control Valve lever frequently just in case. Does John Deere have a problem with this series ? In the words of the great Sarah Palin -- YOU BETCHA !!!!! By now, should a corrective action have been identified? YOU BETCHA !!! Should a recall of all models have happened by now ? YOU BETCHA !!! Should Dealers KNOW how to solve this problem the first time ? YOU BETCHA !!!!

Did anyone make a complaint to the Consumer Products Safety Commission? Seems they could have ordered a recall.

 

[couv]

If you could consider anything in the entire scenario FUNNY, BOTH times my brand new JD5065E tractor melted its fuel tank, and lost all the diesel in the field .........
my son-in-law and I got on our other 2 tractors to finish the shredding of the Bermuda pasture --- a 1955 Farmall 100 and 1955 Farmall 200, each with a 4-foot wide shredder. And no breakdowns on either.

I REALLY wanted a Case-IH A Series 65 (see above for my affinity to RED), and shopped hard to buy an "A". I made the mistake of looking at a JD5065E. I sell equipment, and thought I was looking at a better designed product -- bigger hydraulic pump, double-ended steer cylinder on JD instead of single cylinder and drag link on the "A", and a few other mechanical differences.

Heck, I even paid MORE for the JD5065E than I would have paid for the "A".

 

[PacificAgRentals mech]

Hello all. There is an issue with the 5055's. Some tanks melt in transit over long distance. Some tractors have had bypass issues that build heat and melt tanks. The tanks sit right on the rear housing. The design is poor. JD told my co. They have a fix coming. I drove a tractor down to the dealear today for a bypass issue. This bypass makes a loud sound as it strains the hyd system at quick random times any time the eng is running. No hyd lever movement. I'll let you know what JD finds.

 

[beenthere]

I think Deere will handle it.

 

[arlen4720]

couv posted over on GTT a couple months back. They figured out his problem. IIRC, it was a defective casting on one of the rockshaft components. I think he said that they have a 3 step QA inspection process, and are weeding out the bad ones.

 

[leeave96]

Does the hydraulic heating problem happen when you are using an implement while using the remote hydraulics or with general 3 pt hitch use, raising, lowering and holding position - like when using a bush hog?

Is the problem present on the 8F/4R, 9F/3R and sync shuttle trannys?