Ford 555 - Thinking of purchasing, need input

[clsmith]

Hello All,

I have done very little posting on here, but a whole lot of reading. I enjoy learning from the past experiences of others. I have found a 1994 Ford 555 backhoe 2wd for aound 10k. The owner has been using it on his farm. it has 8k hours. He tells me that the engine is very strong and has minimal leaks. the hydraulics are strong, no leaking cylinders or pump. The power steering is tight as well as the front boom and rear hoe. He says there is not noticeable slop that wouldn't be associated with a machine of this age and hours. I have looked at the machine and of course it has been repainted, so its hard to tell if there really is leakeage that was pressured off and painted over. I would apprecaite any input the great members on this site could give. I have never owned a backhoe, so I am not quite sure exactly what I need to be looking for. I have seen many with around 4k hours but were much higher priced than this one. I am curious as to how many hours a unit should have b/f you start having troubles, like leaky compression, tranny issues, leaky hyd pump and cylinders. I currently have a tractor so I am somewhat familiar with these type machines, but have never messed with a backhoe mechanically, other than operating one a friend has. Thanks in advance for you any input you can give.

 

[VitaBene]

I never ran a 555 but did let a friend store his 655 at my shop- of course I had a key. It was a decent machine, a little light maybe. It had electrical problems as well- and was virtually new. Personally I would prefer a Case, Cat or JCB over the 655.

What will you be doing with the machine and how often? 10K seems OK- I saw an 87 4WD for sale in CT for 12500/ offers.

Best of luck- I wish I had the need for a full size backhoe, or could even come close to inventing one because I miss owning one. The 555 will do great as a landscaper's or homeowner's backhoe.

 

[DJ54]

I spent close to 5,000 hrs in the seat of a 4 sticker 550, the model before the 555. It was a great old hoe..!! And let me tell you..., I'm not exactly a Ford guy.., but I would have liked to have brought that one home.

If I had the choice between running that Ford, and the comparable 580 Case's, I would have taken the Ford. The one we had seemed to have more break out force, than the Case's, but then that is just my opinion.

The only thing I didn't care about it, was that the driveline for the front pump was just pretty un-accessable to grease the u-joints. We ended up cutting a like 6" X 6" hole in through the side of the front shell to make it accessable to grease. So you may want to take a look at that. There is a gentleman that posted in the hydraulics section, about a similar situation with the driveline to the pump on a 545, that had pups on him over the weekend.

Other than that... In my opinion, they are great old hoe's. Keep it maintained, and regularly serviced, it should still have a lot of digging left in it.

 

[DmansPadge]

They are good machines. We had one at a former job and it was approaching 6k hours when I left and never really had much trouble to speak of. 8k hours is getting up there but if it's had good maintenance through the years it should still have a good deal of life left in it. I would make sure the transmission pulls hard. Bury the bucket or put it up against some immovable object and see what it does. Also make sure the tires are ok... they are expensive to replace. Price doesn't sound bad to me but of coarse I would offer less and see where you get.

 

[Opti-Mist]

The comments about the 655 really do not apply to the 555 as they are quite different machines. The posters opinion of the 655 are based on his experience with that machine vs others which may or may not be good comparators, I can't tell.

 

[MFRED]

That's a fine machine that will serve you well if it's been taken care of and you take care of it as well. I have had a 580C in the past and a 555B now. Both have they're good & bad points, but both are just fine machines.

 

[slan]

I would check the clutch packs really well. It's about the 8k mark they need to be serviced.

At idle and in gear select forward and then reverse. it should take no more than a second for the tran to engage in reverse. Not perfect science but together with a good push test should give you an indication of the clutch packs and torque converters condition.

I know the 655 is diff from the 555 but my 655 has been great.

 

[garyWarren]

They are good machines. We had one at a former job and it was approaching 6k hours when I left and never really had much trouble to speak of. 8k hours is getting up there but if it's had good maintenance through the years it should still have a good deal of life left in it. I would make sure the transmission pulls hard. Bury the bucket or put it up against some immovable object and see what it does. Also make sure the tires are ok... they are expensive to replace. Price doesn't sound bad to me but of coarse I would offer less and see where you get.

What should it do or not do when you do this? Going to look at one today.

 

[EddieWalker]

I own a 2wd open station 555E. I bought it in 2003 with 1,800 hours on it for $18,000 I have 8,500 hours on it now and it's definitely starting to show it's age. It's been a workhorse that I've abused, repaired, and relied on to clear land, move dirt, built roads and dig two ponds.

If I was buying again, I would be hesitant to buy another New Holland because of dealer support and parts. My biggest issue with the dealer is that they force you to buy kits to repair it with most of the parts in the kit not being needed. Fortunately I found a repair shop for cylinders that will do the work and use just the parts need for less then it cost to buy a repair kit from New Holland. And on other parts, I've been lucky enough to find other sources for parts. The original starter is junk, but a starter/alternator repair shop where I live has Bosch replacement parts that work great.

Having complained about parts, my local dealer has been great in the repair department in sharing with me how to fix everything myself, and printing out pages of their repair manuals. They are also the ones that told me about the cylinder repair shot to have my cylinders rebuilt. It's what they do!!! The mechanics at the dealership do not buy the repair kits to fix leaking cylinders, they send them out to be done by that shop. When I had fuel issues, they explained to me about the rust in the metal fuel tanks and issues with the supply line picking up that rust. I now have a cheap Fram fuel filter before my diesels gets to my fuel pump or filters. I replace it every year, or more often if I'm using it a lot. I have half a dozen filters sitting on my shelf. Dirty fuel from the tank is a real issue that will make it seem starved for power.

Messicks is the best place to get parts online. They have diagrams that will show you how everything is put together. Getting the power steering cylinder out was a huge headache, but just a little easier by seeing the diagram on Messicks website.

I consider 8,000 hours on a piece of equipment to be about he same as 200,000 miles on a car. They still run, but you are spending a lot of time fixing it and you have to expect to break down every time you use it. That doesn't happen, but I'm expecting it to happen.

 

[Hay Dude]

Hello All,

I have done very little posting on here, but a whole lot of reading. I enjoy learning from the past experiences of others. I have found a 1994 Ford 555 backhoe 2wd for aound 10k. The owner has been using it on his farm. it has 8k hours. He tells me that the engine is very strong and has minimal leaks. the hydraulics are strong, no leaking cylinders or pump. The power steering is tight as well as the front boom and rear hoe. He says there is not noticeable slop that wouldn't be associated with a machine of this age and hours. I have looked at the machine and of course it has been repainted, so its hard to tell if there really is leakeage that was pressured off and painted over. I would apprecaite any input the great members on this site could give. I have never owned a backhoe, so I am not quite sure exactly what I need to be looking for. I have seen many with around 4k hours but were much higher priced than this one. I am curious as to how many hours a unit should have b/f you start having troubles, like leaky compression, tranny issues, leaky hyd pump and cylinders. I currently have a tractor so I am somewhat familiar with these type machines, but have never messed with a backhoe mechanically, other than operating one a friend has. Thanks in advance for you any input you can give.

I owned a New Holland/Ford backhoe for years. Pretty good machines.
Look underneath for leaks, puddles, drips on ground. Leaks make ownership a real mess.
2wd backhoes with a cab and that many hours are generally prices around 10k +/-
Test all functions. Swing function, curl, boom, dipper, etc.
See how it climbs hills in forward/reverse, shifts etc.
Look at smoke on start up. Listen for unusual noises. Look for welds on dipper stick.

 

[rScotty]

I've helped several buddies buy JD310 backhoes. I'd say that the 310 is roughly comperable to the 555. Around here there are lots of 310s but you rarely see an old 555. Maybe that varies by area.
Frankly if I was doing my own repair work I'd rather have a Case 580. IMHO, they were built more with operator maintenance in mind.

But all three machines are good. Some years they are thin on the market, but in the last year I've seen a lot of 20 to 25 year old 2wd hoes sell. Most of them have 5 to 6 thousand hours, 2wd, cab with AC, worn buckets and sloppy pins, worn controls that work fine, poor batteries but decent tires, and everything working more or less right. Service records are common. Seats and interiors vary widely. Rust isn't a problem in Colorado. One always wonders about brakes and clutches....but really no way to tell.
The prices tend to run from $9K to about $18K for these as described - and for the higher price you can get a pretty nice machine with at least one remote hydraulic, a set of slip-on bucket forks, and maybe the extenda-hoe mod but without a thumb.... you never do get a thumb....

My opinion is that any guy with decent mechanical skills can find a real nice used yellow backhoe/loader in the lower end of that price range. One that will be worth owning and do good work for a decade. But a person who is just so-so about his mechanical/electrical/hydraulic skills should expect to be spending more toward the top end of that range to get a better machine - and he should spend a few hundred to get a shop mechanic to go over it for him. Shucks, I'm a pretty good mechanic myself and I never do mind paying another mechanic to go over one that I'm thinking of buying. It's been worth it.

BTW, speaking of other mechanics....the best buys I've found on used backhoes like this have been through asking older salesmen and mechanics at the dealership if they know of a good older machine. They don't like to handle machines that old at the dealer, but their salesmen sure know where the good ones are and who has one for sale. Don't buy one without giving that a try.
rScotty