8550 questions

Good day,
So looking at a 8550 that’s about an hour away that has been sitting for about 6-7 years due to blowing an injection line.
Seller says his son finished 10-15 acres of NH3 before replacing the line but says it still didn’t run right so he parked it in the weeds planning on repairing it but never got to it.
Seller’s pretty sure it has a hole in the piston?
If that’s the case would it be reasonable to only replace that piston and ring set?

I owned and farmed with a 8550 for many years and yes they are notorious for injection line failures. One other possibility is when they replaced the failed line the inj. pump barrel might have moved slightly, causing fuel to bypass and the engine still miss. This happened to me once, removed the one head expecting to find something and everything looked good. Good Luck!

Fill the new engine oil filters with oil before installing and start it at an idle to let the oil pressure build.

DrAllis wrote: Fill the new engine oil filters with oil before installing and start it at an idle to let the oil pressure build.

Ok, didn’t know what it would do to a sitting engine.
Thanks!!!

The more I read, I think this engine needs a major overhaul. If one of the diesel lines under the valve cover let loose, you could’ve had Diesel get to the bearings. You could’ve had a valve touch a piston. It sounds like the owner has told you several different things, so it could be anything and everything.

We had diesel in the oil on a 4W305. It turned out that had a bad seal on the injection pump. Every time I turned into the wind, I could smell Diesel. I managed to catch it in time and no damage was done. Sometimes it’s really good to be lucky.🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

Would the cylinder with the leaking injector line have caused the rings to stick from lack of fuel or poor spray pattern? Just a thought

Awesome machine for sure, but the cost of repair would surely be very high. Tires alone would be a small fortune. Is this the model that was commonly swapped to an 855 Cummins, or the 4w-305?

They were 300 HP at the PTO. The ones I've seen turned up to say 400 HP always have the paint burned off the right hood near the turbochargers.

I would write up an estimate, get numbers you can look at so you are aware of what the minimum is that you will spend. I would plan on a complete overhaul of the engine, and include tire replacement cost. These are the items you know need to be done. The fuel tank sitting empty for years will probably add another bit of time and effort to the project. When you have your numbers you can calculate a fair offer, and you have your reasons why you make the offer you did. I think if the current owner sees what he can expect to spend to fix it himself the price may get a little more flexible. The other way it may go is after you look at the numbers you may not be as interested.
I noticed that one exhaust is significantly more discolored than the other, probably because one has been replaced recently. But why would they only replace one? Both should be in about the same shape, theoretically have had the same amount of heat and exhaust through them unless there is a cooling system issue and the back runs quite a bit hotter.

Ted

No deal right now…
Just seen a 7580 that runs and is decent field condition sell for $7500.
I kinda made a list of everything it would need, not sure on pricing but I know it would have some big bucks into it.

Here’s what I came up with, if you want to add prices for fun you can.
wiring harness
Tires
Cab kit
Possibly a shift cable
Steering hoses (one is cracked in half)
Overhaul kit
Stater solenoid (the battery stud is bad)
Batteries
Fluids
Belts
air conditioner (I’m sure something’s wrong with it sitting)
Possibly 3 point cylinder rebuild and steering cylinder rebuild


I offered $7000 (that was probably dumb) but he wouldn’t budge. He seems to think it’s big hps so get big bucks for it.
I’d love to get one but I’d take a wild guess I’d have at least $20,000 in parts and tires for this one.
Hope this don’t screw up his ad but it’s the truth.