555 J.D crawler/loader buy or not buy

[dillon45]

I have a chance to buy a 555 John Deere track loader dozer w/ ripper.
The guy is asking $6900.00 obo , the undercarriage is about 40 %
at best, but this is ok since I will not be putting to many hours on it,
Just for use around my farm. I just sold a 450 and didn't put more than 200 hours a year on it.

My concern is, I have heard that the transmissions are weak and prone
to failure. I like the idea of more h.p. but can't afford to replace the transmission.
Can anyone give me advice on this machine as to what to look for, or just stay away from it

[Tigerhaze]

I am not all that familiar with the 555s but believe that Digitup2 has posted some information previously about the good and bad on them. Have you searched for his posts on 555s?

EDIT: Here are some relevant threads:

http://www.jdcrawlers.com/messageboard/ ... hlight=555

http://www.jdcrawlers.com/messageboard/ ... hlight=555

http://www.jdcrawlers.com/messageboard/ ... hlight=555

http://www.jdcrawlers.com/messageboard/ ... hlight=555