| Author | Message | ||
     Bruce Shipp |
I am looking at an Oliver Super 55 gas, 10 hours on overhaul (ground crank, new rods, rings, gaskets, milled head, the works), new paint, good wheet metal, good rubber, no leaks and doesn't smoke. 12 volt with new alternator but no lights. Only oil pressure guage works. Tach is inop. 3 point held a 6' rake off the gorund for over an hour that I was there. Two questions: What should I look for as far as trouble areas? He is asking $4,000. Is this fair? Thanks for your help. I am new to the tractor thing and enjoy the forums. Very similar to our classic airplane forums...good folks with good info. Cheers. Bruce | ||
| Tom Anderson |
10-2-04 Bruce, Some people may say that $4k is a little high, but the ovehaul is worth $15-1800 and the good rubber about $600. I guess I would ask how much you trust the person who did the overhaul. Does the PTO engage and dis-engage OK? I love my S-55. They sort of grow on you. I always say that buying an old tractor is like finding a wife. You buy it, learn to love it and live with it and stop looking at others. The lights are easy to hook up. I just ran new wire from the switch and bought after-market 12v lights from a farm supply store. The tach may not be shot. Take it out from dash (retainer bar behind it in dash) and see if it will work when you spin it with your fingers. May just need new cable or drive gear. If tach is not good, well, you really don't need one. I would want a temperature guage working ! You can buy after market gauges reasonable, but tachs ... I am just a neophyte S-55 lover. Chris will probably reapond to you also and he is a pro ! Tom | ||
| Bruce Shipp |
Thanks, Tom. Where would I find the serial number on the tractor? I looked today but no luck. Bruce | ||
| Super 55 |
You can get a tach at Korves and I don't think it was too high $$$$. If you are sitting on the tractor your serial number is on the main frame right near your left knee. | ||
| Tom Anderson |
10-3-04 Bruce, There is a 3" x 3" thin metal plate right above the rod your clutch petal attaches to. There is a Spec. # on top and a serial number on the bottom.I suspect yours may have been painted over, and I am not sure what the best way to get the paint off so you can read the serial # would be. But, once you find it, Chris will link you to the site that will tell you when yours was manufactured. Mine is apparently # 18 off the line which confirms what my mechanic told me that the first boxcar of S-55's came here to southern Indiana. He use to own one of the first 4. You will find that one thing about using this message board is that a lot of these guys are serious "users". Since harvest just started at serveral farms around me, I am sure that guys like Chris are using their tractors for their intended purposes. But don't worry, you will see many more post my people far more knowlegeable than me once harvest is over. (Did you buy it ?) Tom | ||
| bruce Shiipp |
I put a deposite down. He was tweeking a few things. He had a 6' rake on the 3 point when I drove it last. The live pto engaged smoothly but I am going to drive it tomorrow with a brush hog to make sure that works OK. It should be delivered on Wednesday. Thanks for all the great info. This will be a working tractor. Mostly brush hogging, finish mower, box blade, small area cultivating. We just have 23 acres. | ||
| Bruce Shipp |
Drove the 55 today with the brushhog and a few things came up. First, the PTO won't totally disengage with the lever forward and secured in the fender catch. If I push the lever full forward it does stop. Otherwise, it is very smooth when engaging. Is this something that can be adjusted or is it a serious problem? Second, the tree point hitch was very noisy (low frequency whine from under/in front of the seat) when raising the mower. It did hold the mower at full up position with the engine off. Other wise things look good. Any info on the above will be greatly appreciated. | ||
| Dennis |
Bruce, I don't know of any 55's or 550's that do fully disengage. I think as long as shes not spining at a high rate and theres no smell, you'll be okay.(don't get me wrong i'm sure there is some that do stop, mine does not)I wonder if your three point hitch pulses?oil up? Sounds like it's in good shape, and you got a decent buy. However, as far as your workload for this machine, you're gonna be surprised. It'll do far more work then the work you're gonna give it! | ||
| Tom Anderson |
10-06-04 Bruce, You are really going to appreciate Chris once he gets his harvest done and can respond to you on a professional level, but I will give you a couple of neophyte but experienced level answers for now. My PTO did not fully disengage when I first got it either. A couple of people I talked to poo-poo'ed my being concerned about it, but it bothered me anyway. My mechanic told me that Oliver modified the latch mechanism on the later 55's and I believe they used the same ones on the 550's. (Remember, mine is probably one of the first ones made.) He got me a whole new assembly from a salvage tractor and I bolted it to mine. It gives you more "umph" when shoving the rod back to disengage and would probably work just fine except the long bolt and stop nut I had to buy at the hardware store for it is a little to short and I have never taken the time to replace it, so mine still spins a little all the time. I rarely use my PTO anymore. Other people have told me that a little oil on your PTO clutch pads can cause the same thing. I hate to think this because I was told there was new clutch pads installed in mine before I bought it. There is a lever right under the seat that puts your lift arms in "draft" or "non-draft" mode which either holds your lift arms down all the time or lets them "float". I do not know if this is your problem, because I don't fully understand that mechanism, but I am hoping that perhaps you have it in the wrong mode and that is what is causing the whine. Perhaps one of the pros will have their harvest in this week and can tell you. I bought an excellent repair manual at a farm supply store that has really been handy. It has all the basic steps and step-by-step for the hard stuff. It assumes you are a mechanic, but I have learned my limitations and when to call my mechanic. What part of the country do you live in? I have 43 acres in southern Indiana and until two years ago had 12-15 cows. I have used my S-55 for bush-hogging, plowing and discing large gardens, pulling downed trees out of the woods when cutting firewood, moving large hay bales, plowing 2 feet of snow off my 1/4 mile lane, and off course pulling my pick-up out of ditches. It has been a perfect tractor for me. I have planted 11,000 trees over the last two years, so I don't do the hay and bush-hogging any more, and I feel my S-55 is being cheated. Remember, tell your wife that you MUST bushhog in 2 nd. gear because I told you so. Once you get use to it, you CAN use even 4 th., but 2 nd is soo peaceful ! And remember why the Good Lord made old tractors and women: To keep a man humble Enjoy you tractor! Tom | ||
| Bruce Shipp |
Thanks, Tom. It is amazing how much can be learned in a short time...ain't technology great??? We are in north Texas on the TX/OK border. We have 23 acres that will bo in hay in the spring. I'll check the draft lever...thanks for the info. Again, thanks to all for the informaiton. I'll let you know when things get finalized. Bruce | ||
| John Schwiebert |
Tom: Not all Super 55 tractors have the short PTO handle like was on your tractor when new and not all Super 55 tractors have the lever to change over from draft to position control. In 1957 that complete hydraulic system was changed to eliminate that. The lever like you have now changes some of that not releasing on the PTO. That is a multiple disk dry clutch and any warpage of the steel disks agervates that condition. | ||
| Chris Losey (Admin) |
John is right. A serial number would help, because there were quite a few changes to the Super 55, especially in 1957. A PTO in tip top shape won't turn when disengaged. If it drags too hard, it is going to heat up, causing more warpage of the steel plates. Plus, if something is hooked to the PTO when you are starting the tractor and that clutch is dragging, your starter is trying to turn whatever is on the PTO, as well as the engine. On the older 6 volt systems, that can make the difference in the tractor starting. They are a handy tractor, and that's probably the main reason they bring so much more than the larger Olivers from the same time. It sounds like yours is in pretty good working condition from what you describe. A few adjustments will keep it working properly for years to come. | ||
| Bruce Shipp |
The data plate on the left side below the steering column is gone, less the top two corners and rivets. Is there anywhere else that would give the SN or an indicatin as to the year? The gentleman selling it has been great. He has been selling tractors from his front farm yard for about 25 years. He is almost 90 and legally blind, but he knows every inch of every peice of equipment on the place! Each time I've brought up questions generated by info provided here, he as cheerfully addressed the problem. He said they worked all afternoon to adjust the PTO and that it doesn't turn now. I'll see tomorrow how it worked and it gets delivered at 5 pm. I searched the forums for PTO info and learned a great deal. Thanks againg to everyone for their help and information. I look forward to being a part of the Oliver Gang. I'll post a picture soon. Bruce | ||
| Mark |
Bruce, you can tell without a serial number what serial range it came from, but you REALLY have to know your S55 parts to tell. Suffice it to say, you'd be hard pressed to find a better small acreage tractor than a S55 or 550. I love my S55, and would never give it up. I think $4k is a good price for a rebuilt one. That's about the going rate around here for a nice one. | ||
| Bruce Shipp |
Well, whatever year she is, she is ours. I bought a box blade and a bush hog with the tractor and the gentleman delivered the mower behind the 55 and the box blade behind an IH 404. He said to use the 404 to do the dirt work I had this weekend so I wouldn't have to swap the mower and box blade behind the 55. He'll come by next week and pick up the spare tractor. NOw I have three tractors sitting here. These two and a borrowed Ford Jubilee. When it rains, it pours! What a guy. BTW, the 404 is for sale, and if I can sell it for him, he'll give me a 6' rake for the 55. I promplty broke the throttle linkage below the dash between the throttle lever and the engine on the 55. The small threaded rod buckled and broke. I wasn't sure if I was full throttle or not. Turns out I was... My guess is it was kinked or at least bent previously. It should be simple enough to fabricate and use the same ball link ends. Thanks again for the information. I'm sure I'll have many, many more Qs in the future. Bruce | ||
| Bruce Shipp |
I have about 6 hours with the mower and box blade and am very happy with how the 55 drives. I bladed with the 404 first and then swapped the blade to the 55. I was much happier with the lower gears and also seemed to have more control of the blade with the 55 than on the 404. Maybe I didn't have it rigged correctly in the International. One issue came up on both tractors...niether has a safety switch on the clutch to prevent starting in gear. Is there a proven way to add this mod to the 55? Thanks. Bruce | ||
| Chris Losey (Admin) |
The 550 had a clutch safety switch that would be very easy to retro-fit to a Super 55 that has key start. If you have the little pedal you have to push to engage the starter, then a little more work would be involved. | ||
| Mark |
Bruce, that little linkage from the control lever to the friction disk is still available from AGCO and was only about $25-30 last time I looked. Hardly worth fussing with for that price. | ||
| Bruce Shipp |
Mark, Thanks for the info. I was able to make a new rod for about a buck. Works like a champ. Thanks for the info. We had a few growing pains the first few weeks. The seller ended up istalling new battery cables, ign switch, coil, wiring, and relay, gascolator bowl and fuel lines. Probably stuff that should have been done at overhaul, but he made good on it just the same. Now there is just not much left that hasn't been touched. Thanks again to everyone for your help. Bruce |
