John Deere 555a - Froze Tracks or something else?

Airman89

Member
Just bought a JD 555a and the guy said the tracks were frozen. Got the left side freed up and the right side will go forward decent but there s still a spot that it catches on when you go forward far enough. Now the weird thing, reverse on the right side and the track doesn t like it. Left side reverse is fine. Is could this be a brake issue or a drive issue or something besides the frozen track? I don t understand why forward moves ok but reverse isn t happy.

Thanks!
 
Are the track chains getting caught/hooked
on something in reverse that it would
slide by in forward? Are the chains climbing the sprockets in reverse?
 
(quoted from post at 07:42:52 10/27/22) Are the track chains getting caught/hooked
on something in reverse that it would
slide by in forward? Are the chains climbing the sprockets in reverse?

It seems to move forward on the right track but won t reverse to the same spot if this makes sense. We re stuck on a trailer so we are limited on what we can do yet.

I also noticed the right track pedal is MUCH stiffer than the left and doesn t return on its own without lifting it up.
 
That could be just rusted/stuck pedal and
or linkage. How loose are the tracks? Are
they staying kinked as they rotate off the
front idler or off of the sprocket? Can
you post a few pics of the tracks after
you move forward to its max, and then in
the max in reverse?
 
(quoted from post at 09:32:19 10/27/22) That could be just rusted/stuck pedal and
or linkage. How loose are the tracks? Are
they staying kinked as they rotate off the
front idler or off of the sprocket? Can
you post a few pics of the tracks after
you move forward to its max, and then in
the max in reverse?

The tracks are relatively loose. They do stay kinked both riding off of the sprocket and idler. They seem to ride up everytime and start rubbing the body. (Probably 4"-6" above the idler). I ll be heading out there shortly and I ll take some pictures. I ll send one when it was sitting before it was loaded on the trailer.
 
(quoted from post at 11:19:39 10/27/22)
(quoted from post at 09:32:19 10/27/22) That could be just rusted/stuck pedal and
or linkage. How loose are the tracks? Are
they staying kinked as they rotate off the
front idler or off of the sprocket? Can
you post a few pics of the tracks after
you move forward to its max, and then in
the max in reverse?

The tracks are relatively loose. They do stay kinked both riding off of the sprocket and idler. They seem to ride up everytime and start rubbing the body. (Probably 4"-6" above the idler). I ll be heading out there shortly and I ll take some pictures. I ll send one when it was sitting before it was loaded on the trailer.

Does the hydraulic fluid level have anything to do with the clutches or transmission?
 
I don't believe so. Hydraulic is separate
system from transmission. Clutches and
finals are separate as well, if memory
serves me right.
 
You can go to john deere's web site, home
page, then on top in parts/service I think
it is, then owner information, manuals,
construction and forestry equipment, then
search for operators manual and type in
555a and you can download the ops manual
 
(quoted from post at 18:43:19 10/27/22) You can go to john deere's web site, home
page, then on top in parts/service I think
it is, then owner information, manuals,
construction and forestry equipment, then
search for operators manual and type in
555a and you can download the ops manual

Perfect thank you. Yeah that s a huge help and you were right. Hydraulic, clutches, and transmission are all separate. I got the transmission filter out and checked oil. The oil is real milky. I m going to change it out and see if that does anything.
 
(quoted from post at 10:40:57 10/28/22)
(quoted from post at 18:43:19 10/27/22) You can go to john deere's web site, home
page, then on top in parts/service I think
it is, then owner information, manuals,
construction and forestry equipment, then
search for operators manual and type in
555a and you can download the ops manual

Perfect thank you. Yeah that s a huge help and you were right. Hydraulic, clutches, and transmission are all separate. I got the transmission filter out and checked oil. The oil is real milky. I m going to change it out and see if that does anything.

Looks like milky engine oil too he said it sat for about 5 years. Anyone ever seen water get in engine and transmission from sitting? Final drive wasn t milky.
 
Yes, it can be done. Water can get in the
transmission through shift linkages, vents
bad o rings or gaskets. Engine can get
water through exhaust, or any other open
orfice. Could be condensation build up as
well. Prior to purchase, or even running
it,you should have loosened the drain
plugs, then turn them to just before they
fall out,and then you get water to run
out.
 
(quoted from post at 16:16:23 10/28/22) Yes, it can be done. Water can get in the
transmission through shift linkages, vents
bad o rings or gaskets. Engine can get
water through exhaust, or any other open
orfice. Could be condensation build up as
well. Prior to purchase, or even running
it,you should have loosened the drain
plugs, then turn them to just before they
fall out,and then you get water to run
out.

Dang I wish I would ve thought of that

Well I ve looked up and down through the manual and can t seem to get an answer in it. So the final drive and steering clutches share a fluid capacity? In the manual there are different specs for final drive oil compared to steering clutches. I can’t find out where to fill or drain the steering clutches. It said steering clutches share oil with transmission but must be drained separately. I can’t find the drain locations though or fill locations if separate fill too?

This post was edited by Airman89 on 10/29/2022 at 06:25 am.
 
If you go into the manual, section on the 1,000-hour service, I think its page 55-56 it shows where to drain the steering clutches and final drives. On the bottom of the final drive
housing is a 1/2 pipe plug. Further in that section it shows where to fill the final drives as well as steering clutches. Maybe the plug doesn't jump out at you, but it's there. It also
shows you how to remove the screen on the transmission suction, (pay close attention as to what is in this screen) in which case I highly recommend you doing this as well, especially
since it had water in it. Later in the same section, if you continue reading, it shows the location of all the fill plugs and gives you the capacities. Just take a little more time to
read it and let it soak in. then re-read it. Drain plugs are always at the lowest point, fil plugs are high and or are the same plug as filling and for fluid level.
 
Another thing, when you drain these components, you should be using CLEAN drain pans, and keep each unit's oil separate. This way you can see if there are metal filings or whatever, so you know if there are issues and where they are. Don't know if you looked through the book well or not, but at the back of the book it lists specific items and what page they can be found on.
 
(quoted from post at 07:12:17 10/29/22) Another thing, when you drain these components, you should be using CLEAN drain pans, and keep each unit's oil separate. This way you can see if there are metal filings or whatever, so you know if there are issues and where they are. Don't know if you looked through the book well or not, but at the back of the book it lists specific items and what page they can be found on.

You re a life saver Cash4Toys. I was looking through the technical manual that the previous owner gave me. I found what you were talking about. I cracked the steering clutch drains and a solid stream of water shot out of both, followed by green milkshake, followed lastly by black "snot chunks". No metal shavings in either transmission or steering clutch fluid drains, but I did notice a few bronze looking specs in the transmission filter.. Not sure how bad that is, it was barely noticeable. Letting it drain overnight, then I will fill. I heard to add sea foam to transmission oil to help with the remaining moisture still in transmission after fill? Would you recommend this?

When I cleaned out the suction screen, I noticed 2 chunks of metal in it.. grey in color. As long as a dime, width was maybe half the size of a dime.

This post was edited by Airman89 on 10/29/2022 at 11:40 am.
 
What about the final drives? Did you find
the drain plug on those yet? That metal you found, is it magnetized by chance? I cant say if that particular machine has them or not, but i have seen where a magnetic disc near the screen has broke and hence ended up in the screen. As far as
adding Sea Foam, I have not tried that,
nor have I ever heard of doing that. I
think that it does have some cleaning
agents to clean systems, but I don't have
any experience using it in this
application. I think the only way to clean
it to change the oil once again, after it
has run a while at operating temp, or that
is to say hot oil. One needs to be fairly
careful of what you add to some
components, as some chemicals don't react
well with some materials. Unfortunately,
oil is not cheap, but still cheaper than
parts. What the plan here?
Change fluids then try to get the tracks free?
 
(quoted from post at 13:33:48 10/29/22) What about the final drives? Did you find
the drain plug on those yet? That metal you found, is it magnetized by chance? I cant say if that particular machine has them or not, but i have seen where a magnetic disc near the screen has broke and hence ended up in the screen. As far as
adding Sea Foam, I have not tried that,
nor have I ever heard of doing that. I
think that it does have some cleaning
agents to clean systems, but I don't have
any experience using it in this
application. I think the only way to clean
it to change the oil once again, after it
has run a while at operating temp, or that
is to say hot oil. One needs to be fairly
careful of what you add to some
components, as some chemicals don't react
well with some materials. Unfortunately,
oil is not cheap, but still cheaper than
parts. What the plan here?
Change fluids then try to get the tracks free?

I don t trust additives really and plan on decent use on this 555a anyways so condensation probably won t be an issue. I don t remember if it was magnetic for sure but I believe it was.

Yes I will fill the oil tomorrow and try to free the tracks. Hopefully this increases the transmission pressure because it was at 50psi before this fluid change. I hope the water and plugged screen and filter was the culprit.
 
You probably needed to have someone who knows something about Deere crawlers look it over before buying it. I can't impress the fact that
people get took when buying a pig in a poke. Water in engine oil is not a good thing. This usually means liner holes from the water jacket
into the cylinder. That's why later machines have water filter-conditioners on them. Or added coolant conditioner to improve the PH of the
coolant. If water got in thru the exhaust stack, the cylinder would probably be rusted stuck. Reverse should be as strong as forward or
pull the engine down as much as forward does. I really hope you didn't break the bank on this purchase, because it will cost to repair it if
what's going on is I think is going on. Trans could be slipping, steering clutches could be slipping. Good luck with those stuck track
chains. If some are moving, the bushings are probably turning inside the track links. This gives the impression of freed up pins and
bushings.
 
(quoted from post at 11:39:34 10/30/22) You probably needed to have someone who knows something about Deere crawlers look it over before buying it. I can't impress the fact that
people get took when buying a pig in a poke. Water in engine oil is not a good thing. This usually means liner holes from the water jacket
into the cylinder. That's why later machines have water filter-conditioners on them. Or added coolant conditioner to improve the PH of the
coolant. If water got in thru the exhaust stack, the cylinder would probably be rusted stuck. Reverse should be as strong as forward or
pull the engine down as much as forward does. I really hope you didn't break the bank on this purchase, because it will cost to repair it if
what's going on is I think is going on. Trans could be slipping, steering clutches could be slipping. Good luck with those stuck track
chains. If some are moving, the bushings are probably turning inside the track links. This gives the impression of freed up pins and
bushings.

Roy, it appears that ship already sailed. First sentence of his post starting this thread: "Just bought a JD 555a and the guy said the tracks were frozen."
 
(quoted from post at 08:39:34 10/30/22) You probably needed to have someone who knows something about Deere crawlers look it over before buying it. I can't impress the fact that
people get took when buying a pig in a poke. Water in engine oil is not a good thing. This usually means liner holes from the water jacket
into the cylinder. That's why later machines have water filter-conditioners on them. Or added coolant conditioner to improve the PH of the
coolant. If water got in thru the exhaust stack, the cylinder would probably be rusted stuck. Reverse should be as strong as forward or
pull the engine down as much as forward does. I really hope you didn't break the bank on this purchase, because it will cost to repair it if
what's going on is I think is going on. Trans could be slipping, steering clutches could be slipping. Good luck with those stuck track
chains. If some are moving, the bushings are probably turning inside the track links. This gives the impression of freed up pins and
bushings.

Yes I wish I would ve had someone take a look at it first but I didn t know anyone. I popped final drives open and left side was good but right side had water also.

So you think the transmission or clutches are worn and slipping? Couldn t the water cause the low transmission pressure and cause the poor clutch performance? I m still trying to wrap my head around how the system operates.

It was $4000 so I have some funds to spare on it.

Thanks.
 
How much water? Could be a seal or that side had more condensation due to the way it was parked. You will know soon enough if the clean oil helps to build transmission pressure.
Dirty filters and screen don't help either, assuming you are taking care of those issues. Any metal in the finals? I would replace all the filters for the fuel and oil, transmission
and hydraulics, then see what happens. If it runs well and you can get the tracks loose, then you need to look at all the rollers for lubricant.
 
(quoted from post at 17:19:44 10/30/22) How much water? Could be a seal or that side had more condensation due to the way it was parked. You will know soon enough if the clean oil helps to build transmission pressure.
Dirty filters and screen don't help either, assuming you are taking care of those issues. Any metal in the finals? I would replace all the filters for the fuel and oil, transmission
and hydraulics, then see what happens. If it runs well and you can get the tracks loose, then you need to look at all the rollers for lubricant.

I estimate about 2 oz of water, nothing like the amount that shot out of the steering clutches. They probably had 1/4 gallon give or take in each. No metal was present in the final drives. The metal that was in the transmission screen was not magnetic metal by the way. Grey in color and thin. Tomorrow morning Ill be heading out to refill all fluids and see what we ve got. Engine oil and filter, transmission/steering clutch oil, final drives oil, transmission filter replaced too. The only filter I haven t checked is the fuel filter. The engine fires up faster than anything I ve ever owned, it has 200 hours on the rebuild, so I didn t think to look at it but I ll take a look while I m doing maintenance.

This post was edited by Airman89 on 10/30/2022 at 06:05 pm.
 
(quoted from post at 17:19:44 10/30/22) How much water? Could be a seal or that side had more condensation due to the way it was parked. You will know soon enough if the clean oil helps to build transmission pressure.
Dirty filters and screen don't help either, assuming you are taking care of those issues. Any metal in the finals? I would replace all the filters for the fuel and oil, transmission
and hydraulics, then see what happens. If it runs well and you can get the tracks loose, then you need to look at all the rollers for lubricant.

I estimate about 2 oz of water, nothing like the amount that shot out of the steering clutches. They probably had 1/4 gallon give or take in each. No metal was present in the final drives. The metal that was in the transmission screen was not magnetic metal by the way. Grey in color and thin. Tomorrow morning Ill be heading out to refill all fluids and see what we ve got. Engine oil and filter, transmission/steering clutch oil, final drives oil, transmission filter replaced too. The only filter I haven t checked is the fuel filter. The engine fires up faster than anything I ve ever owned, it has 200 hours on the rebuild, so I didn t think to look at it but I ll take a look while I m doing maintenance.

This post was edited by Airman89 on 10/30/2022 at 06:04 pm.
 
Well all was going good until a sprung a fuel leak shooting on the exhaust manifold.. they have to order the fuel line from a warehouse. Until then it ran about the same but seemed to have more power (or maybe the penetrating oils have started working on the track pins), still will go in forward pretty well but reverse is so so. Felt like I could drive off in forward even with the extremely froze up pins. However, temp pressure still only reads about 50psi maybe a little less. Engine oil pressure reading low too no smoke whatsoever, fires in half a second cold, sounds like it doesn t miss a beat. Maybe the gauges are off. Will update on Wednesday when I get the fuel line fixed and get to run it.
 
You don't have a local hydraulic or hose shop that can just make you a fuel line? I'd hate to know how much you're gonna overpay if you are buying from Deere. I've replaced a fuel line and 3 hydraulic lines on my 450C all of which I had made locally in my small town.
 
(quoted from post at 18:33:28 10/31/22) You don't have a local hydraulic or hose shop that can just make you a fuel line? I'd hate to know how much you're gonna overpay if you are buying from Deere. I've replaced a fuel line and 3 hydraulic lines on my 450C all of which I had made locally in my small town.

Thanks for the tip, I never thought of that. The 2 or maybe 3 foot fuel line was going to cost $94 at John Deere. I ll see how much the hydraulic shop is.
 
No problem! That's definitely too much. Will be half of that or less if its like my local shop. Just regular JIC fittings nothing special.
 
(quoted from post at 18:59:44 10/31/22) No problem! That's definitely too much. Will be half of that or less if its like my local shop. Just regular JIC fittings nothing special.

Turns out my local shop says they can t make it. It s a 1/4" o.d. But the inner diameter is very small and he says he doesn t have any like it that it s very heavy duty. But on the positive side he says he thinks there s supposed to be an o ring on one of the fittings so I ll be heading out to go try that shortly.

About the low oil pressure. Would this be likely the oil pump on its way out? At idle it s in the red but even at 1500 rpm s it stays in the red. I m afraid to give it more throttle with it staying in the red that may also be the lack of pressure in the transmission. I ve read these only operate well at full throttle.
 

Did you spring a leak in a fuel line (low pressure) or one of the four injector lines (high pressure between the injection pump and injection nozzle)? Your current description sounds like an injector line. If so, that will be a Deere item, or some injection repair shops can make them, using the old one as a pattern. They are pre-bent for the location. I would expect the price to be in the $100 range. Those lines don't use O-rings, they use special washers at the banjo bolts. The injection nozzle end has a tapered cone end. Tighten to the injection nozzle using two wrenches or you at likely to damage the connection on the injection nozzle body. Injection lines are not something most hydraulic shops would be involved with.
 
(quoted from post at 13:37:21 11/01/22)
Did you spring a leak in a fuel line (low pressure) or one of the four injector lines (high pressure between the injection pump and injection nozzle)? Your current description sounds like an injector line. If so, that will be a Deere item, or some injection repair shops can make them, using the old one as a pattern. They are pre-bent for the location. I would expect the price to be in the $100 range. Those lines don't use O-rings, they use special washers at the banjo bolts. The injection nozzle end has a tapered cone end. Tighten to the injection nozzle using two wrenches or you at likely to damage the connection on the injection nozzle body. Injection lines are not something most hydraulic shops would be involved with.

Yes you are right, it s one of the injection lines which explains the complication to them. Thank you for the advice. The taper cone end is what s leaking. I tried to tighten it some but it still leaked.
 

It is a fuel line, but a big difference from what most think of when you say fuel line, as you can see by the replies. We can't see it, which leads to confusion and incorrect info if not identified correctly.

Dry the area out and see if you can tell where it is leaking. Is it the line outside of the nut, from inside the nut, or the fitting on the nozzle? I have seen the nozzle fitting solder broke and tube cracked from guys twisting on them with one wrench. If it appears to be coming up around the tube inside the nut, try loosening the nut, then re-tighten using a wrench on the line nut and another holding the fitting on the nozzle body. It may or may not work. The leaking high-pressure fuel can erode the seats over time. You might end up replacing the injection nozzle as well as the line. The dealer likely already told you, they need to know which cylinder the line goes to, to order the correct one.

And keep hands, fingers, and other body parts away from such leaks. If fuel, oil, many things get injected into the body it can cause severe issues and can even kill you.
 
Ahh thanks for clearing that up Jim.Me. As you stated when he said fuel line I assumed line going to injection pump. I would normally call what he was referencing an injector line. My apologies to the original poster for not digging a little deeper. But as Jim said you may just have to go with Deere on that one. Good news is there are definitely more expensive things on these things to be bought from Deere. Don't ask me how I know :roll:

This post was edited by Dkc923 on 11/01/2022 at 02:37 pm.
 
Does the guage move at all? Perhaps you should
pickup another guage and check the
pressure right at the block. I am not all
that familiar with that particular engine,
but call or talk to someone that can tell you where you
can tap into another port. Then, you will
know for sure if you have oil pressure or
just a bad guage.
 
Yes it appears to be coming from inside the nut and out the top of the fitting. I will try tightening it up and see if it seals up.

Yes the gauge does move. It almost makes it to the green at cold start 1500 rpm s but then slowly creeps into the red and stays there. That s what has me worried about the oil pressure because I feel like the gauge is acting ok. Unless there is gunk build up restricting an accurate reading maybe.
 
How much sludge or how bad was the engine
oil? Like I said before, don't know much
about that engine, but I do know they held
up very well. Maybe you could ask someone if the relief
valve can get stuck or possibly have
contamination in it.
 
There wasn t much sludge in the engine really I just wondered if maybe it was plugged up. I pulled it all off and apart and it is clear. There s was a small piece of rust or something in it but that s it. I ve got the fuel line back on now. Should I be priming that injector line somehow or just fire it up and let it prime itself?
 

I can t find anything on a relief valve. Where is the relief valve normal at so maybe I can find it on the parts diagrams? Is it usually from the oil pump assembly I assume?
 
(quoted from post at 17:32:47 11/02/22)
I can t find anything on a relief valve. Where is the relief valve normal at so maybe I can find it on the parts diagrams? Is it usually from the oil pump assembly I assume?

Your Technical Manual should have info on removing and testing it in the engine lubrication section. I believe you will have to remove the oil cooler to get to it and it requires a spring tester to see how many foot pounds it takes to compress the spring in it to a given length. I would recommend getting any seals and O-rings that might be needed to service it from JD, so you have the right material and hardness. Check pressures with good gauges first to rule out bad gauges.
 
Thanks for the great information. Yes you are right it s in with the oil cooler. I will post back when I ve done all testing.
 
(quoted from post at 14:56:52 11/02/22)
(quoted from post at 17:32:47 11/02/22)
I can t find anything on a relief valve. Where is the relief valve normal at so maybe I can find it on the parts diagrams? Is it usually from the oil pump assembly I assume?

Your Technical Manual should have info on removing and testing it in the engine lubrication section. I believe you will have to remove the oil cooler to get to it and it requires a spring tester to see how many foot pounds it takes to compress the spring in it to a given length. I would recommend getting any seals and O-rings that might be needed to service it from JD, so you have the right material and hardness. Check pressures with good gauges first to rule out bad gauges.

I ve got the oil cooler assembly off now and yes this may have been the problem. There were rust pieces plugging most of the holes on the oil cooler. I can t find a spring tester so I may just buy a new one ($11.00 at dealer) and put it in while I have it apart. The relief valve area looks clean with no debris. The coolant that I drained looked like it was mixed with oil at first, it was pure brown, but I think maybe it was something to do with the rust? I don t understand how the coolant could be brown and everytime I ve seen oil in coolant in my trucks it doesn t mix together it stays separate. Maybe it s just real old coolant and nothing to be concerned about but I want to make sure it couldn t be something with the oil cooler.
 
Does the plunger(relief) seem to move
freely without sticking? Not sure what the
brown coolant would be. Maybe you should
flush the cooling system as well.
 
(quoted from post at 06:14:46 11/04/22) Does the plunger(relief) seem to move
freely without sticking? Not sure what the
brown coolant would be. Maybe you should
flush the cooling system as well.

I think it moves pretty freely. It has quite a bit of tension too. There were a few rust flakes in that passage way. I ll bet it was allowing pressure to bypass. I hit a snag and have to wait on new gaskets to arrive for the oil cooler. They should be in tomorrow before noon.
 
I finally got to work on it. Had a few issues putting the oil cooler back in, shot out about 3 gallons of oil and fast because it wasn t flushly mounted and gaskets were sealing it. Bolt broke off in alternator.. etc. anyways, I got it all back together and fired it up with a gauge checking the oil pressure and I m at around 20-22psi at 1,000 ramp idle. When I bump it up to 1,500 rpm s I m at 26/28psi, and full throttle it might hit 30psi..

Technical manual says it should read no lower than 15psi at slow idle and at fast idle should read 35-65psi (50psi +\- 15psi). Would you say it s safe to run for a few days like this? When the manual says fast idle, is that full throttle?

I need to get a few stumps out and grade some dirt down 6", nothing too crazy. Then I could dig into the oil pressure later and get it figured out.
 

I believe you will find slow idle is about 800 rpm and fast idle is about 2550 rpm, so yes full throttle. Your manual should have the specs in the fuel system section so you can check yours against what I found for a 450E with a 4276T engine.
 
Well it looks like I ll be leaving it sit for a while until I can fix the oil pressure.. it s at 8-10 psi at low idle when warmed up and I won t dare rev it to see the high idle oil pressure.. if the relief valves were sticking or the springs were weak I would think that regardless of high or low idle it would be a consistent pressure because it would either be hung up/stuck at a certain pressure or if the spring was weak it would be bypassing at a certain pressure, and the way the pressure dropped significantly when warm leads me to believe it has to be the pump. Would you agree?

This post was edited by Airman89 on 11/12/2022 at 01:35 pm.
 
Could be the pump, could be worn bearings, cam bearings in particular. Did you install a new spring as you said you were going to do? Are using a known good gauge for testing? What are you using for oil?

This post was edited by Jim.ME on 11/12/2022 at 02:29 pm.
 
There are valves in the cooler. One is labeled relief valve and the other is a relief or flow control. Did you look at both when you had the cooler off? If the engine was actually
worked on, as you say about 200 hrs. on it, and was done right, it makes sense that something may be stuck open. If it wasn't done right, then it could be cam, rod or main bearing
or a combination of the three. i don't have a manual for this machine, but what do they use for flow to the turbo? there might a flow control restrictor for that as well
 
(quoted from post at 15:28:30 11/12/22) Could be the pump, could be worn bearings, cam bearings in particular. Did you install a new spring as you said you were going to do? Are using a known good gauge for testing? What are you using for oil?

This post was edited by Jim.ME on 11/12/2022 at 02:29 pm.

Yes the gauge I am using is a fairly reliable mechanical gauge. I did not end up replacing the spring because it tested good. If it was relieving pressure, shouldn t the pressure remain constant because the pressure would be being relieved at a certain pressure regardless of how thick the oil is when warmed up? For the oil I used Rotella 15w-40 T4.
 

Yes I did take a look at both springs and valves when I was in there and they seemed to move freely and they tested good. I looked at the diagram for the turbo and it looks like there are only fittings and oil lines leading to and from it with no restrictors. My thoughts are going to that maybe when I ran it for the first time today, some more of those rust pieces may have made it back to the valves and ended up getting stuck in one causing oil to bypass. When it s cold in the morning I m going to fire it back up and check the oil pressure cold. If it s still low even when the oil it s cold and thick then ill take the oil cooler back off and check for stuck open valves, but if it s higher around 20/30psi when cold like it was at first today, then I think maybe something else.

The guy definitely did a rebuild of some sort at least because there s absolutely no smoke, toms of power, purrs, and fires up in a half a second. But maybe he lied about doing the main bearings or something.
 
For cam bearings I don t see anything in the parts catalogue. Am I over looking something or do they not exist? Maybe only the ends?
 
I didn't look in the parts book, I just
assumed that an engine of this caliber
would have cam bushings,/bearings in it.
Do you have a service manual for that
engine? I actually found one, been reading
through it a little, on the lubrication.
 

Oh ok, yeah I m not familiar with these engines at all. I do have the technical manual. I ll have a look through it when I go back out there in the morning and see what I can find.
 
The reason I asked was, there are some
critical notes attached to pics of the
relief valve instalation , about rotation
of the valve so as to align the holes in
the valve and block. So, with the manual I
assume you saw that as well
 

I actually didn t see that. I took the valve out of the block and the only hole I seen in it was at the tip, not on the sides. I went out and checked my manual and didn t see any critical notes for the installation of the oil pressure relief valve either. Which manual do you have? I m curious if I didn t install it incorrectly.
 

I am looking at a JD 300 series engine manual, has the 4276 and other in the series as well. here is a snip of what I saw.

cvphoto140505.png
 
(quoted from post at 19:48:14 11/12/22)
I am looking at a JD 300 series engine manual, has the 4276 and other in the series as well. here is a snip of what I saw.

<img src=https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto140505.png>

That s weird. My TM1292 manual looks identical but doesn t have that critical note in it. I looked at the exact page and it has the exact same images. Well this really might be the issue. I m going to take the oil cooler back off and take a look because I know I didn t pay attention to the orientation of that hole. Thanks!
 

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