mcraigchr

Great information. Thanks so much. Craig C.

Howdy y'all, I have the service manual, but it leaves me with questions. 1) It is time to change the diff fluid. The service manual says 80w-90 for the rear and Dextron 3 ATF for the front! Is that correct? That seems odd to me. 2) The service manual also speaks of the need to change the transmission fluid but gives no detail about it. What needs to happen here? 3). The service manual also discusses changing the final drive fluid with 80-90 Hypoid. Is the final drive actually the tranny? Any details about the changing of the fluid or what fluid to use ... or even other things that need to be changed that the manual does not mention would be appreciated. Thanks, Craig C.

I purchased my 550 from Tractor Supply in November 2019. I have 52 hours on it now. You commented on my oil changing shenanigans I noticed. Other than purchasing the jaw style style filter wrench and using Mobil 1 10w-40 4t (2.5 qts), my other suggestion would be alter your maintenance schedule from what the manual states. When I changed the factory oil at ~33 hours, it was opaque turd colored and had gritty particulate in it. Not good. I know some of that is expected during break in, but it was way nastier than any other break in oil I have changed on other units I own. The manual, iirc, states to change the oil at 50 hours, then every 200 hours after. I intend to not follow that. I will not go more than 50 hours unless I see a dramatic improvement in the quality of the used oil. I also use a blackstone labs to give me a break down of the oil for my other toys. I suggest getting the lab work done at your second oil change. It will at least let you know what you might be in for down the road. Also, you need to grease the zerks. And there are A LOT of them. Some are very difficult, if not impossible, to get to. Someone should be beaten for that. The only issue I have had with mine other than the oil filter fiasco is a dragging brake. I still have not fixed it. Maybe some day.

I don't have any issues with sputtering, fortunately. 48 hours on the clock. I do run premium fuel with Stabil. I will put some Seafoam through it soon. If you haven't changed your oil for the first time yet, it's a real treat. Best of luck. CC

Great idea! I have to pull my p-brake pedal manually. Hasn't sprung back correctly since a month after I purchased it. I will try this! CC

Not quite as humid in my area of the state. But certainly enjoying the reduced temps. Was in the 40's here this morning! CC

I got the "jaw" style filter wrench from Advance Auto Parts. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/lisle-import-car-oil-filter-wrench-63600/25981259-P?searchTerm=filter wrench I added 2.5 quarts (over filled per suggestions I had read) of Mobil 1 10w-40 4T. The shifter is 1000% smoother. I have the owner's manual. A service manual is proving difficult to find. CC

UPDATE #2: Last ditch effort. Bought the following. It worked. The filter was extremely tight, but this and a long torque wrench (and extensions) got it loose. Oil is changed and shifting is much smoother.

UPDATE: Broke the strap on the strap wrench trying to remove the filter. The other item that I listed above will not fit over the end of the filter. Just a bit too small. There is not enough room to drive a screw driver through the filter and have any travel to be able to loosen it. The seat pan is in the way and simply removing the seat pan on this model does not seem to be an option without removing large portions of the body. I think I am at the point where I need to find certified service center somewhere in central Texas. Unless someone has another suggestion? CC

Howdy all, I searched the forum (and the internet in general) for this and didn't find anything that looked like an answer. I purchased a Coleman 550 from Tractor Supply last October. Runs well. Really only one issue that I have had and that is a dragging brake pad. Still haven't fixed it, but hope to soon. For now, it is time for the first oil change (38 hours). After some reading, I decided to use Mobil 1 4T 10w-40. I also purchased a filter from motorcyledoctor.com. Got the filter and noticed that there is a hex head on the end. I thought "Hey that's nifty, but I wonder why they did that?". Then I went to change the oil and I know why now. Which brings me to my question. How in the hell is one supposed to get that oil filter off? First off, it is not obvious how to take the seat base out to get leverage. I thought about cutting out the plastic above where the filter is. But decided against it for now. I tried my best to work within the tiny space given to get the filter out. I have a number of different filter wrenches. Only one is able to fit over the filter. But ... I could not get the filter to break loose. So, I ordered a strap wrench from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZH57V5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 In case that doesn't work, I also ordered this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FVNH2QV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 My intention with the latter is that if the strap wrench does not work, I will punch a hole or two into the side of the second product. Put it over the end of the filter, put two screws into it and hope I can break it loose. Anyone else experience this incredibly difficult task? I have always worked on my own vehicles and have had some difficult circumstances, but I always prevailed. Not this time. The Coleman 550 b*tch slapped me this weekend and is pointing and laughing at me. Any suggestions or recommendations would be great. If nothing else, just some content on the subject so that someone else who might be having the same issue can find this and get some ideas. Thanks, CC