Tractor Manual Question

[rfg1944]

I was looking on EBAY for a shop repair manual for my 855. Original factory ones are ridiculous in price $80 plus. There are some IT ones that go for less than $30. Are they just as good? I also can buy a CD disk from JD and print the darn thing myself but just trying to save a couple of dollars.

 

[PeterE]

I"ve never seen the 855 factory manual but, generally, the I&T manuals are not as good as the factory manuals. The I&T manuals aren"t bad, but they don"t always break down all the steps. If you already know a lot about working on tractors you can probably get by with it. Just my opinion.

Deere prints all their manuals "on demand" now, and the price is based on how many pages it has. That"s why the CDs are cheaper and the printed technical manuals (often hundreds of pages) are so expensive.

 

[F-I-T]

I have an 855 and I have both the parts book and the service manual for the tractor from Deere. I also have an I&T book for it bit I could not tell you where it is right now as I used it once and was unimpressed. I&T manuals are the "Cliff Notes" of tractor manuals, better than nothing, but mostly a very condensed synopsis of the salient points of the theory and subsequent repair. If you are extremely familiar with a particular machine, or a machine family, it serves as a guide to keep you on track as you go through a repair that you could probably do on your own if needed.

The 855 service manual that I have from Deere does NOT cover the Yanmar engine. That is covered in a separate manual. That said, it is nearly 1 1/2" thick, and it has numerous photographs and color coded diagrams that trace the electrical and hydraulics paths in a very detailed manner. The trouble shooting pages are very well laid out and they will usually guide you to the end point of the diagnosis with no help form a technician. I have used mine many times on this board to help folks troubleshoot their 855's.

With shop labor rates at $100 per hour in some areas, the last place I would look to be thrifty would be at the difference in price between the I&T and the Deere manual. You will save that the first time you read the Deere book and realize that you can repair something yourself without calling on the dealer.

I bought an 855 that needed some major work for less than half the going rate in 1994, and fixed everything it needed by referring to that manual. The parts book can be viewed for free by going to JDParts.com, but it is really handy to have the whole thing spread out before you. I wish I had had the option of the CD 13 years ago. I would have printed it out myself, and tossed soiled pages as needed to keep it fresh. As it is, it is dog-eared and dirty, which in the final analysis is the best testament that one can provide for a service manual.

Frank