Oliver 550

sdillon · Oct 11, 2016

I am a proud recipient of a 1958 or 1959. It was owned by my good friends late father and when they liquidated the farm they handed over the 550 as a thank you for keeping an eye on the place and cleaned up for a year or so. My first of many questions is that it's a gas model, does it need a lead additive? I can't imagine it has had it run in it and I have put a few tanks through it but never really thought about it until now. Also, it has a 59A loader on the front that when it is down the hydraulic fluid is fine on the dip stick but when raised it looks like it is empty. Is it fine or do I need to be adding? I can say that it doesn't have the lift capacity that I would have expected so I suspect it needs more fluid but it doesn't sound like it is cavitating. Any thoughts would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks,

oliver90owner · Oct 12, 2016

Don't know about the unleaded situation. It will generally not matter much if only used for light duties. Look in th parts book for your engine, when you get one, to see if replaceable valve seats are shown (particularly the exhausts). Not a problem if they are.

Regarding the hydraulic fluid level, the level is sure to drop as the fluid is pumped into the loader rams. If it became empty, it would not raise the loader to full height properly. Exceeding the max fill level by any appreciable amount may well mean possible leaks through seals, under static conditions.They did not designate a max fill level for no good reason!

sdillon · Oct 12, 2016

Thanks for the reply. I half expected to see some fluid left in it when extended, this was empty. I think the pump is ready for a rebuild which will happen this winter.

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