John Deere 855 belly mower lift

[WJ Goodman]

Good insights. Yes, I'll need to learn a lot. But so far, I like that I can get at things and can pretty much visually see what is supposed to happen, without a circuit board in sight.

BTW, yours can't end in 0056 - unless I have that very same tractor. (M00855A360056). I got it from an auto dealer in Arkansas, who acquired it as part of an estate liquidation. Looks to be very clean, only 850 hours but guessing it's been sitting for years so need to deal with those threaded clips breaking off whenever I remove a panel. I am hoping to find more of those today before I rip into it again and find I can't reattach anything with nothing to screw into. The problem is, I am now in rural southern Missouri and the closest JD dealer is an hour away.

It's a learning curve but gladly accept it over my previous "project" (below) that I traded for the 855. Besides all of the stupid gadgetry constantly going haywire, there was little room to get at anything. It was a fun diversion for my mid-life crisis stage in MN but just doesn't fit in our "retirement" scenario now.

 

[WinterDeere]

Nope, not the same tractor, I just checked. BTW, do you know what the "A" in your sn means? Maybe 2wd vs. 4wd? Mine has a "D" in that spot.

As to hours, two things:

1. Mine also showed very low hours on the meter, because I had to replace my meter, when the tach needle feel off the spindle. Because I'm honest, I kept the original, reported the hours as the sum of both meters, and even gave the buyer the original meter with the rest of the tractor, when I resold it. But because the buyer was a reseller/broker, I'd bet you $100 that he tossed the original meter, and reported the hours as what was on the new meter only, when he re-sold it.

2. Those hour meters don't count actual running hours, but actually do something that I think is better. Their run time is scaled by the fraction of PTO RPM. So, I forget PTO RPM on that tractor, but if it's 3200 RPM, then running the engine at 1000 RPM means it will only accumulate 19 minutes for each hour of run time.

I'm still amazed by how fast my Deere 3033R racks up hours, compared to what I used to see on the 855. I guess if you're just concerned with engine wear, the 855 hour meter is more "honest", as it's basically counting engine revolutions. But of course you could buy a machine only ever used at low RPM for loader work, and see 800 hours on the meter of a 2000 hour machine.

Either way, if you got an unwanted project off your property, and got a running tractor in trade... you got a good deal!

Maybe put up a post, "calling all Missouri Deere owners", and see how many locals you can find with an 855. Having at least one other that you can inspect, when you're trying to figure out how something gets assembled, is invaluable. Also, start driving past and looking through used tractor lots, I am sure you will find a few. The x55 series was very popular, and a lot of them were even 855's. When you find one, whip out that iPhone, and take pictures of everything, over and under... you'll be glad later that you have them.

As far as plastic clips breaking, that's one of the beautiful things of the 855, it's a nearly all-metal tractor. Sort of the last of its kind. The hood was fiberglass, and you will have issues with that terrible headlight assembly in the front of the hood, but nearly everything else is all metal. The headlights in the fenders are much more powerful than those in the hood, but they can reflect back from the loader stantions, if you have a loader mounted.

Because I did a lot of snowblowing at night, with a rear-mounted snowblower, I also had rear-facing offroad lights mounted under the ROPS. Those were very useful for finishing chores in the dark, when it starts getting dark real early in fall and early winter. They'd also light up my firewood wagon, so I could load that after work at night. If I recall, the OEM light switch actually controlled those accessory lights, you'll find a harness connector just under the ROPS tube end (left side?), and Deere will still sell you the mating connector housing and contact, to put onto your own wiring harness extension.

 

[WJ Goodman]

Thanks again. I am fully aware "hours" are only as good as when that gauge was replaced. Interestingly, the tach on this also has a broken needle but about a 1/2" remains connected while the broken piece bounces around at the bottom of the gauge. Perhaps, I should replace the gauge and get a new zero hour tractor Beyond the hours though, there also appears to be very little wear on anything - just mild rust on those clips and guessing everything needs lubrication. The dealer did fluids and filters but little else.

However, thanks to your advice, I located the missing link. The 2 arms that lower from the middle of the frame to raise the deck share an axel below the floor plate between my knees. I removed the plate and saw that axel was connected on the left side to a rod going rearward. This is right below where that depth adjustment dial is located (which also looks suspect as it is just a large bolt screwed into the top and is disconnected from the vertical shaft below it). At the other end of that connecting rod going back, it connects to the front side of the rotating "thingy" that lifts the left arm of the 3-point, which is connected to the back side. So, as that "thingy" rotates, it lifts the 3-point arm and also pulls the connecting rod back to raise the deck. Why, it's not working? I'll figure out later today after I get the seat out of the way.

Thanks again.

 

[WinterDeere]

Nice! Yep, I remember that floor plate well, had it off countless times. In fact, if I recall, you need to remove it each year to grease the front universal joint on a driveshaft. There's an interlock lever that pops up when that plate is removed, but I can't remember now what it does, as I'm pretty sure I test-drove the tractor with that plate removed once. It may just lock out the mid-PTO, which would be exposed spinning right there.

I actually bought and then later dumpstered a whole spare seat frame for that tractor, including the lift and suspension. Tried to sell it on ebay real cheap, but no takers. I just gave a few box loads of other spare 855 parts to another local owner, as mine was a bit of a basket case when I got it, and I did a lot of improvements.

I even added Power Beyond to my 855, to power my dump wagon. I had to custom-make a hose, as one of the hard lines required for that accessory was NLA.

 

[WJ Goodman]

Impressive trailer! I could certainly use that around here. All I have so far is a small 5x8 utility trailer that does tilt, but the pivot point is so far back, it is next to useless with any kind of load in there - other than dry leaves. However, now you gave me the idea to find a hydraulic lift for it...

I spent most of the day removing the mower deck while watching the Flyers v. Devils and Wild v. Penguins in the garage. I couldn't find any reference but figured it out. Until I can fix/adjust that linkage, it was just in the way. After watching it operate closely, the mechanism does work but only lifts rear of the deck an inch or 2. However, with it now out of the way, I was able to get our access road/driveway smoothed out with the box blade. I was impressed what it could do as a 2wd version with turf tires. For now, it'll be easier crawling around it while I visit all of the grease/lubrication points and will reinstall the mower for cutting later this spring - if I don't find a sickle mower before then.

Enjoy your week!

 

[WinterDeere]

I'll check my filing cabinet next time I'm in the barn, but I might have manuals for most of the implements made for the 855. If not, the parts catalog I posted earlier in this thread should have all of the assembly diagrams at least, teo help you figure out how that mower is assembled, and what parts you might be missing. That's always been my first resource for this stuff.

Yeah, the hydraulic dump is a great feature, when you have the thing loaded with mulch or topsoil. Highly recommended, if you have the auxiliary hydraulics to support it. I set it up to run on Power Beyond, with the SCV mounted on the trailer itself, because the 855 didn't have a 3rd hydraulic function.

 

[WJ Goodman]

Hello. It's me again. I appreciate your help guiding me to understand what I am dealing with. I've successfully fixed the lift problem by shortening the connecting rod between the rear 3-point lift arm and the midpoint axel that raises/lowers the mower lift arms. It now works well and I can even lock it "up" as you described by tightening the depth control when raised all the way. My problem now is the deck isn't level (L to R) and one side is always a few inches lower than other. I've adjusted the wheels as much as I can but it seems to be just hanging off the frame crookedly. My only idea is to swap out the connecting rods that go from the lifting arms to the back of the deck itself, hoping that may straighten the tilt. They should be adjustable but the previous owner welded the threaded ends into the coupler so no adjustment is possible. Are you aware of any other way to straighten things out? I've looked in vain for a manual for that mower (JD 2734M 60") but none seem to be out there. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[WinterDeere]

You've exceeded my very limited memory, on this one! My 855 came with a 72" deck, but I think I only used it once, and probably sold it within 2 weeks of bringing the tractor home. That was all 15 years and three tractors ago, so I remember very little detail on how it mounts. I only remembered the bit about the 3-point quadrant controlling lift, and locking it up using the depth control, because just like you, I had a bugger of a time figuring that out when I first purchased it.

I have a filing cabinet in my barn, and used to have an original owner's manual for the mower decks that fit the 855. I'm pretty sure I gave the tractor operators manual and mechanic's manual to the buyer, when I sold that tractor, but I might have kept the manual for the mower deck. I will look for it tomorrow. If I can't find it, there's always ebay, which is where I probably got my manual.

 

[WJ Goodman]

Thanks. Let me know what you can find. I have the 60" mower and it's really hard to find any info on it. I did acquire the Operator, Shop and Technical manuals for the tractor but none of them cover the attachments. Before I fixed the lift, I removed the deck to get it out of the way and boy was that a chore! Only to be surpassed by the process of remounting it, where I learned it was not possible with the loader in place (that gets in the way of the drawbar you need to swing on the front mounting bracket). So I learned how to remove the loader and found that comes off (and on) quick and easy. I rigged up a floor jack on the rear of the deck to lift it enough to reattach the struts to the lifting arms when I found they couldn't be adjusted but as I said, they seem to give the deck a lean to one side. I might try swapping them left to right and see if that equalizes it but thinking I'll pick up some new ones that CAN be adjusted. But, even if I solve that, I want to get a new belt, blades and even John Deere parts doesn't have any answers. If I enter the serial#, they say the VIN is valid but they have no information - so frustrating!

 

[WinterDeere]

Parts catalog should have everything, but navigating some of the old stuff gets a little more challenging each time they redo the site, as familiarity with these old machines wanes.

But if you go into parts catalog and just enter 855, select the CUT (there was also an 855 dozer), then you can get to the mower deck under "related attachments".

Here's the front draft arms:

https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/4311/referrer/navigation/pgId/1847414

And the rear lift straps:

https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/4311/referrer/navigation/pgId/1008307

There's also a nice intro document linked there, showing all of the model and serial numbers for the various mower decks in that series: https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc...s___Introduction?a=17386&br=1061&locale=en-US