Massey Harris 55 parts

[Farmallhm44]

I bought a massey harris 55 at auction. It needs a lot of work. MH 55s are not common in my area(eastern US). Are there any parts that are the same from other models such as a 44. I'm currently looking for brake, hitch, and pto parts.

 

[centash]

The pto shield is the same.....the
gauges......the steering wheel...but that's
about it. Completly different tractor from
the trans back...and much heavier and
bigger from there forwards...

Ben

 

[Farmallhm44]

Thank you

 

[stevieb49829]

If I remember right, the MF 40 was the same tractor as the MH 50 for a couple of years following the MH 50, in the late 50's. There may also be a few years when the Ferguson 50 was very similar. Dieseltech has all this in his brain somewhere, as well as others. steve

 

[stevieb49829]

Sorry, I should read the WHOLE post instead of jumping in with a reply. steve

 

[Farmallhm44]

(quoted from post at 21:40:33 12/18/22) Sorry, I should read the WHOLE post instead of jumping in with a reply. steve

That's ok thanks anyway.

 

[DanielW]

Depending on how far you're willing to travel, I know a guy who has two parts 55's in
a shed in Central Ontario. You might find a few other parts interchange with the 44 -
looks like the pin for the drawbar roller and pin/bolt for the roller are the same
(though the drawbar itself isn't). If you've got a welder, know a handy machine shop,
and have some fab skills, I'm sure you can make a pile of 44 drawbar parts, brake
pedals, etc., do the trick. The good thing about so few 55's in your area is that no
one's going to know if it's not quite original. If you need brake pedals/shafts, I
just compared my 44 and 55, and it looks like you could modify 44 pedals to look
approximately right, and have a new shaft cut & keyed.

I just got brake shoe lining kits for my 555 from Kessel's Massey Parts in
Pennsylvania. Terry was great to deal with.

Out of curiosity, Gas or Diesel? I have to confess that my 555 diesel is the reason I
finally lost interest in Massey Harris. I've tried hard for years to like MH as I have
fond memories of my grandfather's 44's and as they were a Canadian company, but I've
since given up trying. They came so close to having great tractors, but just a few
aspects with the 44's and 55's make them feel (at least to me) a little too
economized. I'm sure I'll catch heck for saying that though.

 

[Farmallhm44]

I've talked to someone at Kessels also, whoever it was, he was helpful in pointing in a couple directions. Unfortunately, they didn't have any parts. They would have been close to me. I got a diesel. It doesn't run currently. After I bought it I had at least a couple people tell me it was a junk motor hooked to a great drive train.

 

[DanielW]

'Junk might be a little harsh, even for me. They might
not have been quite as robust as the Detroits in the
Oliver 99, nor perhaps even some of the similar-era IH
stuff, but they're weren't 'specifically 'bad'. The
engines were a cool design with the Lanova combustion
chambers, and very, very efficient. Do you know why yours
isn't running right? As long as you're not leaking coolant
into the crankcase and your crank's not cracked, I'm sure
it's fixable without too much effort. Notable issues with
the engine were:

- Cracks between cylinders (seems to be a Continental
specialty). Not usually a problem - if you ever have the
head off and notice these cracks, a little JB weld in them
and a new head gasket usually seals them off from the
combustion chamber well enough to not be a problem.

- Cracked Cranks: In the later 55's they had changed the
alloy & hardening process to help fix this.

- Unbalanced Engines (one of the reasons for crank
failures): They aren't really happy being wound up high
for PTO work. I use mine on the sawmill occasionally, but
you can tell it's not a smooth & happy camper at 540 PTO.
I changed some sheaves around on one of my sawmills so I
could run it at a lower RPM.

That same JD382 same engine was used in industrial
applications and some Case (Terratrac) crawlers. Some of
the industrial and crawler versions had balancing shafts.
Continental also had the JD403, which was the same engine
bored out a little. To my knowledge, all 403's had
balancing shafts. I'd love to find one - they're a bolt-in
replacement for the 382.

Some of the Bosch injection pumps they used are hard to
find parts for. Keep your fuel filters clean and a good
does of diesel lubricant in your fuel and it should last
ages.

Don't despair; although I said I'm not a fan in my last
post, they're a pretty cool tractor. The 55 was the
highest HP tractor of its day when it came out. My heart
just happens to be given to the Cockshutt 570 and Oliver
99.

 

[Farmallhm44]

Should've had quotations around "junk." Their word, not mine. I know it's sat for a long time, but mostly inside. The gearbox for the belt pulley and pto is seized. The grill and hood are in pretty decent shape. The fuel tank will need some work. I was told by the gentleman who had the auction that it spent most of its working life hooked to a sheepsfoot roller somewhere towards southern Virginia. It had been painted industrial yellow, but you can see the red poking through. It's a Western model.

 

[fdt860]

Going back to your original question, brakes shoes, brake seals and brake drums for 44 and 55 are the same.

On mine I refabricated the rear platform with heavy threaded plate,andheavy L angle Iron.

 

[fdt860]

https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/viewtopic.php?p=6882046&highlight=massey+harris#6882046


Here is the link to the cross references Iised to restote it, from cylinder sleeve seals to steering bushings.

Alsi a begore and after picture of the tractor. That diesel soundee nice ans started easily. The buzz start, never worked, I ended up adapting a thermosyart plug, which really made it starts. Coldest I tried was 10F, no block heater.

 

[Farmallhm44]

Thank you! That I some good information.