5500

[Longmeadow farm]

Looking at a '97 JD 5500 with power reverser and less that 3000 hours. Drove it this afternoon and it seems to me that something is dragging. I stopped the tractor on an incline..it rolled back but not all the way to flat ground. With the power reverser in "reverse" the transmission whines a bit, forward sounds OK..but a bit noisy relative to a sync shuttle I own. I own other tractors that weigh about the same with the same 18.4 tires, but this 5500 seems bulky/stiff not nimble/free like my other 6000 pound tractor with loader feels. The tractor has been sitting much of the time for the past 5 years. I applied the brakes while in gear and they pull the engine down, so I presume that the wet clutches have some life left. The current owner said the tractor didn't roll that well when he got it. I'm thinking that perhaps the tractor has a bearing problem somewhere in the rear end/transmission, but not sure. Comments appreciated.

 

[Tx Jim]

Some of those era tractors have a brake pull off spring that gets weak and lets brakes drag. I had a friend that had a 5310 that he had to R&R finals drives to replace the springs to stop the brake drag.

 

[ryan3020]

I would say theres a 95% chance thats it the springs Jim is talking about. The fact that its sat around unused doesnt help matters. There was a Product Improvement Program (PIP) (recall) when they were new but sounds like that one got missed. Its an easy repair if you have the ability/ tools to do it. You can expect to pay anywhere from 3-6 hrs labor per side. Dont see many reverser issues, I wanna say that they had a slight whine when new but not positive. It doesnt sound like a bearing problem to me but without hearing/experiencing it, I could be wrong.

 

[Longmeadow farm]

Thanks for the feedback/information...very helpful. However, If anyone has a 5500/5510 or operated one... with power reverser..just how much whine in reverse is "normal"...