[JimK]

Well, in follow up to my initial post ("About to buy a Deere"), last Friday I picked up my tractor. It is a 955 with about 1410 hours, turf tires, 70A loader and a 7 Backhoe. I got it home OK, unloaded it, and went over as much as I could. I got the operators manual for the tractor with it, but thats all. The engine seems tight and strong. It starts almost before I touch the key!

However, all is not rosy. I tried out the backhoe on some light (in my opinion) digging of some yew shrub stumps. It did not seem very strong at all. The hoe would stall at anything but the lightest resistance. After about 15 minutes, the hose to the bucket burst. Later examination revealed pre-existing damage to the hose. OK, so it needs a new hose; no big deal. But now I have a few questions:

1) why would the force seem so low on the hoe? Can I adjust the hydraulic pressure? Do the relief valves go "soft" after alot of use?

2) one of the stabilizer cylinders is weeping oil, and it slowly leaked down from the vertical (stowed) position to the ground overnight. Can it be rebuilt? That side also seems weaker than the other, which can lift the tractor off the ground.

3) On the tractor, there is a knob under the seat that says open/close. I presume this is a hydraulic control of some sort. What is it for? Should it be left open, closed or in between? I can find nothing about it in the manual.

4) I was able to raised the 3 pt. lift arms, but could figure out how to lower them. Any suggestions?

I plan to take it to my local JD service shop for the above problem as well as several others, but would like to get some education before I do. I would actually like to fix it myself, but I need the machine, and do not have the time right now to tinker and learn by doing as I normally would.

Thanks for any help.

 

[GreenMtnMan]

No idea why the hoe would be so weak. You are running at pto rpm, right?

I'd let the dealer adjust the pressures.

On my brand new 47 backhoe the stabilizers will leak down overnight. That's no big deal, but they should be able to lift the tractor off the ground.

The knob under the seat is probably the 3-point rate of drop knob. Turn it all the way one direction and the 3 point won't drop, turn it the other direction and it will drop fast, and anywhere in between controls the rate it drops.

 

[Live Oak]

Jim, congrats on the new machine! The hoe may have a bad relief valve in the control block for that part of the hoe operation. Could be a bad, stuck valve, or partially open relief valve. The dealer should be able to fix that by replacing that section of the control block or replacing, cleaning, or adjusting the relief valve.

Yes the stabilizer cylinders can be repacked. You can take the cylinder to the dealer and they can do it for you. If you have the spanner wrenches and huge box end wrenches, and large padded vice; can repack the cylinders too. But this job can really be a pain in the ass if you don't have all the right tools. I have repacked a few cylinders in my time from when I worked at a Deere dealer. I would not repack the cylinder unless it is leaking down pretty quickly or is leaking oil. They all leak down a certain amount , even when new sometimes.

As Ken mentioned; what rpm are you operating the hoe at? You should be using full pto rpm.

Let us know what you can follow up with.

 

[JimK]

Hi guys. Thanks for the quick replies.

Yes, I was operating at or very near full RPM when I was using the hoe. The reason I tend to think that a relief valve or something similar is out of spec is that the bucket loader worked just fine at the same time and at the same RPM. Hopefully that also means that my pump is OK.

The left stabilizer cylinder is leaking oil, and is also the one that bleeds down the fastest and does not seem to have as much lifting power. I'll let them repack it while it is there.

The pins on the BH bucket are extremely warn, so I am going to have them changed out as well. The grease fittings on a couple of the pins were used so little that the check ball was/is rusted to the nipple.

I am sure I will drop some change when all is done, but hopefully this will be it for a while.

 

[Live Oak]

Jim, can you give us an update on your 955 and how she is coming along with repairs and warming up to the new owner?

 

[JimK]

Hey Chief,

I posted the follow-up on the initial repairs here: http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4526

I still have to re-pack the cylinders (all of them) and do some other maintenance. Now that the holdiays are over, I can start on some of my projects, including the tractor. I have been using it for moving firewood across the property, but that is pretty much it. I was pleased with it starting in cold weather. Only a few extra cranks now and then over warm weather starting. Overall I am extremely happy with the tractor, and it will probably be a lifelong member of our mechanical family.

Now I'm wishing I had another 955 without the BH . . . .

I also wish we had some power - ice has caused power outages in 50% of our county. We are out for about 22 hours as of now are not likely to get it back until tomorrow, and maybe longer if the next ice storm predicted to hit us tonight materializes. I need a generator.

Happy New Year

 

[bontai Joe]

Jim,
Glad to hear your tractor is running ok. We got our electricity back around 1:30 AM after being without for 12 hours. I hope you get yours back soon.

 

[JimK]

Thanks Joe. I hope so, but things are rough up our way. I have never seen so many trees downed by ice in our area. I had one in my side yard snap at the trunk 20+ feet up (8-10" diameter). There is at least 1/2" on everything. I was up most of the night listening to ice slide off the slate roof, and the sound of cracking branches and ice shattering on the ground. I was also up every couple of hours to reload the wood stove.

Originally posted by bontai Joe
Jim,
Glad to hear your tractor is running ok. We got our electricity back around 1:30 AM after being without for 12 hours. I hope you get yours back soon.