Recommend an Oliver

[Anonymous-0]

Hello. A few things on the farm have changed a little bit and we're thinking of adding another tractor. Nothing fancy, just an older, "cheaper than new" unit to pull our six row planter and 12ft. no till drill. Maybe a cultimuclcher from time to time.
My grandpa had a 77 when he was my age(25) and a super 88 after that. And when I was old enough to run it, I cut my teeth driving his 1850. The block on the 1850 seized, otherwise we'd probably still have it, but as it stands grandpa and the Olivers are both gone.
So, long story short, i'd like an Oliver. Any one with recommendations on which may be suited for me and which arent would really be appreciated. I was kicking around the idea of a 1755 or 1855. Thanks for the help.

 

[MIKE FRENCH]

Late 1650 diesel is what I would recommend, they have slim line injectors, 3 speed, dont have the crank problems the 55 series do and are 70HP, we have one and use it on a 6 row Kinze all the time, used to pull a 13 foot TYE drill years ago also. The tractor is smaller yet big enough to do something, my 2 cents.

 

[e]

If you are stuck on Olivers, I'd recommend a 1755 or 1855 (the turbo on the 1855 does offer a slightly better torque rise than the n/a 1755). If you load a 6 row planter up with all the not till stuff you can find, it will be nice to have the extra power. Not that a 16 won't do it, it's just nice have power and weight in reserve.

We have a 1755 and if I were to do it again, I would have just bought a 2-105 and been done with it. More power, all the updates, and a real cab worth riding around in. And 2-105's don't cost that much more.

 

[cj in wisconsin]

If you want a 1755 or 1855 there are some upgrades to the lower end that should be done, per all the experts. The rod bolts and wrist pin bushings need to be upgraded. And the turbo models need an external oil cooler. Also recommend not running them up over 2300 at full load or lugging them at low rpm. Basic but effective, I recently picked up a 1755 and love it. The 310 engine has a bad reputation but most were overworked and under maintained. Just my opinion but the sound of these old gals working is just music to my ears.:>)

 

[oliverkid]

You probably shouldnt ge a 1855 if you plan to work it hard because White took the 1850 block to far in the 1855 and they tended to grenade themselves if they worked to hard. Thats why you see alot of repowered 1855s. In fact the 1855 that went into production wasnt the actual 1855 that Oliver designed. The real 1855 was gonna be a completly new ground up design that would have put any other tractor in its hp range to shame and they already had over 200 on backorder. But a few months before production was sceduled to start White dscided it was cheaper to just update the 1850 so the real 1855 project was scrapped. So long stories short get either an 1850 or a 1755. And make sure its a diesel. The big walkasha gassers tended to be really thirsty motors.

 

[a.rothermel]

a 1655 would probably do the job. A lot of the 1855's out there have been gone through. But in my opinion you see more 1855's than you do 1755's. I would say the 1855. You woulndt have all the problems ppl say because if you dont need all the horsepower it will have an easy life anyways.

 

[VADAVE]

1655, 1755 or 1855 will pull the planter just fine.
However the 12 foot no-till drill is another matter. I have pulled a Great Plains 12 foot no-till drill with my 1855 and as long as the drill was only half full it did OK any fuller and it did it but worked real hard. Bouncing, shaking and spinning--dual would have helped but drill is just too much for a 100 horse tractor. You need 130 to 140 horse.
I picked up a 2255 I use for the drill.

 

[KKiowa]

Actually the 1850 and the 1855 have some major differences. The 1850 was a 354 Perkins diesel were the 1855 was a 310 Waukasha. Never saw a 354 with a hole in the block like the 310. The Perkins tended to be more reliable than the 310, so when the 2-105 came out they scraped the 310 and went back to the Perkins. The 1855 also had the closed center hydaulics, which were superior to the 50 series open center. Either one have there good points, but if you are going to take a chance on an old one, that you don't want to put alot of $ in the engine, you would be safer getting an 1850.

 

[oliverfarmer]

Personally, I would reccomend the 1950T. Find one with 18.4x38's and you can do either job. They tend to have an extra oil filter and hydraulics seem to give less problems. Also very efficient to run and makes great horepower. I also would not hesitate on a good white 2-105 or 2-135.