Backhoe Ford 555b backhoe shifter

[paulownia]

Greetings all,

I am looking at a ford 555b to purchase. Probably a late 80's model.
Cranks and runs good. However the forward lever does not go into forward easily. It goes but the transmission does not engage. Ya can go from reverse to forward and it goes every time. Just from neutral to forward it does not want to engage.
Is this simply a linkage problem or a transmission problem.
If so how to tell??

Thanks
David d.

 

[RickB]

Greetings all,

I am looking at a ford 555b to purchase. Probably a late 80's model.
Cranks and runs good. However the forward lever does not go into forward easily. It goes but the transmission does not engage. Ya can go from reverse to forward and it goes every time. Just from neutral to forward it does not want to engage.
Is this simply a linkage problem or a transmission problem.
If so how to tell??

Thanks
David d.

There are a half dozen roll pins and several joints in the valve linkage. Some or all are probably loose enough to cause those symptoms.