440ICD Yard Find (New Member)

[HORERACING]

Hello all, I am new to this forum and to tractors in General so if I ask dumb questions I'm sorry in advance.

With that said, We just bought 25 acres out in Snohomish Washington (35 miles north of Seattle) anyways we knew of a an old Ford 555 back hoe when we bought the land but after we started clearing out about 15yrs worth of sticker bush growth we found this guy







so my good buddy and I managed to pop it into Neutral and drag it out from under the 2 cedar trees it was parked under. we managed to get the hood off and check fluids and who ever parked it there had drained the diesel and hydrolic fluid. there was still the right amount of oil and had actual anti-freeze in the motor. so we managed to free up all the levers and controls with a little bit of Penetrating Lube and just playing with them.

so at this point we started to get a little excited. there seems to be chance this thing could run. so for poops and haha's we put about a gallon or 2 of new fuel in it primed the fuel system the best we could and hooked jumper cables up to the battery and tried to jump start it. there was no key so I had to pull the dash off and hot wire it. The thing cranked over and sounded like it could run. so we knew the motor wasn't seized, how ever it didn't fire. When we found it there was a can of starting fluid next to the batt so i got some more. however i cant seem to get the square head bolt out of the intake that i think i see people fogging before starting so that will be a challenge.

are plan is if we can get it to try and fire and run for a second or 2 then i will do an oil change and flush everything and try and clean this thing up a bit to put to work on the land.

below are some pictures and like I stated above I am really new at this so any hints and tricks you all could share would be greatly appreciated thanks guys and i look forward to learning lots and meeting really cool new people

[whiteclipse16]

Looks like a really lucky find. I can see a reverser lever there.
Go easy with that starting fluid. If the engine is in decent shape you shouldn't even need any starting fluid.
You shouldn't have to mess with priming it. The way that fuel system is, it will prime itself, and quickly.
Good luck and keep us posted. Don't be surprised if it doesn't steer in one or both directions.
I'm impressed by how clean it looks, even the seat looks new, for sitting that long.

[HORERACING]

thanks for the heads up. when we were towing it out form the hole with my buddies Mini Track Hoe I pulled the levers and it seemed to stop each track independently so hopefully it does steer i guess we will see.

yeah we will go easy for sure on the ether.

I did notice the original owner had disconnected the wires for the switch that's located in the bottom left corner of the dash. is it possible that he just bypassed that switch? If so what is that switch supposed to do? I'm assuming it controls the power to the gauges and the ignition. It's my understanding there isn't anything electronic keeping it running correct? its not like it has glow plugs or an electronic fuel pump or anything.

I too was very surprised it was in the shape it is. honest for what I'd use it for a solid weekend with a pressure washer, a few cans of JD yellow paint some Hydro-lines here and there if/as required and I could use this thing to blast in some trails and move gravel for my driveway

[RustAndDust]

Wow.Amazing it wasn't stuck,considering the moist climate you have up there.As others have said,a complete change of ALL fluids is in order.I'm sure there is moisture in there somewhere.But what a find!I love stories like this.

[HORERACING]

yeah I was surprised it came right out also. I think the fact it was under 2 good sized Cedars helped allot those things well just about soak the rain up before it hits the ground

[whiteclipse16]

Correct there is nothing electric needed to make it run/keep it running. The switch on the lower left is your ignition/light switch. It's not very important on the diesel other than for the lights.
I can't remember if I wired mine so the you have to have it in the ignition position to give power to the key switch or the other way around. The book has a pretty decent wiring diagram.

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

You know, the older diesels used the throttle lever for the fuel shut off. So they will not run until the lever is advanced far enough to open the valve. Newer diesels use electric solenoid fuel valves.

Also, I would keep the starting fluid far away from 2 cycle diesels lest one pop off backwards and damage the blower....

Stan

[Howard Yoder]

Let's face it it has been setting for a while unless it is 80 degrees out a small shot of either will probably be needed for it to start unless it has been recently rebuilt but if that was the case it wouldn't have been setting there if you can get the breather cap off put the throttle over about half way put a couple of shots of either down the breather pipe as your cranking it over let it turn over for a while n see if it fires just don't keep shooting the either in it if you get it running n get fresh oil in it then the next time you start it put the throttle lever up again n hit the starter over for 3 revolutions stop n wait a couple of seconds do this 4 or five times n see if it won't start

[Paul Buhler]

Congrats. You've gotten a good find and some good advice. Hope it starts easily, but even if it doesn't, is probably will without a lot of expense - relatively speaking. Good luck.

[pop pop]

what a find! thats great!
was there a cap on the exhaust?
ya have to ask yourself,, why was it out in the middle of nowhere, did it breakdown,outa fuel or just run amuck till it stopped.
well just be ready to kill it by stopping the airflow,, sometimes when they sit they get sticky, as in sticking wide open.
you found a treasure on your property, not gold but still yellow metal.

[gregjo1948]

Looks like a rain cap on the muffler laying there. Wish I could fine treasures like that. gregjo1948

[pop pop]

so whats the rest of the story HOreRacing?

[michaelkittrell]

Nice canopy. Mine has an umbrella holder LOL