John Deere 550B Crawler Dozer, 555B Crawler Loader 1987 Technical Manual (P/N TM-1331)

• 1,058-page OEM PDF - John Deere Technical Manual TM-1331, August 1987 edition for the 550B Crawler Dozer and 555B Crawler Loader; combines machine repair chapters with separate theory, operational-check, diagnostic, adjustment, and test sections.
• Covers major four-cylinder turbocharged diesel repair procedures, including engine removal and installation, break-in, crankshaft and main bearings, camshaft/valve train and timing gears, connecting rods and pistons, cylinder liners, cylinder head and valves, fuel injection, turbocharger, lubrication, cooling, and starting motor service.
• Separates power-train repair by factory serial break: 550B through 719977 and 719978-up; 555B through 720212 and 720213-up. Matching chapters cover the torque converter, powershift housing, directional and range clutch packs, bevel drive, transmission pump, control and pressure-control valves, selector valve, and oil filter.
• Details undercarriage, final-drive, steering-clutch, and brake work, from track-chain pressing and master-pin service to idler, roller, track-adjuster, recoil-spring, alignment, and wear inspection procedures; it also covers final-drive preload and steering/brake linkage repair.
• Includes machine equipment and attachment repair for 6405, 6410, and 6415 dozer blades; loader buckets, the multi-purpose bucket, and lumber-fork equipment; winch; 9300 and 9550 backhoes; log arch; and the ripper/ground-conditioning tool, with related frames, valves, pumps, cylinders, and control linkage.
• Adds wiring diagrams, hydraulic schematics, and factory test data for batteries, starting and charging circuits, gauges and indicators, harness routing, hydraulic pressure/flow/drift checks, torque specifications, fluid capacities, wear limits, Service-Gard tools, and dealer-fabricated tool drawings.

Component and System Documentation

John Deere organized this manual as a working shop book rather than a general maintenance overview. The gray-tab chapters handle component repair: removal, disassembly, inspection, replacement, assembly, adjustment, and installation. Matching yellow-tab sections explain system operation and add checkout procedures, diagnostic charts, adjustments, and tests. That structure lets a technician trace a symptom through the engine, electrical, power train, or equipment hydraulic system, then move directly to the correct teardown chapter.

The engine coverage extends beyond external service items. It includes measuring crankshaft and bearing condition, checking valve lift and clearances, timing the injection pump, servicing the engine balancer and turbocharger, repairing the oil pump and oil cooler, testing thermostats and the cooling system, and rebuilding the starting motor. Chassis coverage includes side frames, bottom guards, counterweights, drawbar, sheet metal, ROPS, cab, seats, and the tank-and-seat assembly.

The undercarriage chapter is especially shop-oriented. It documents track-press tooling, chain disassembly and assembly, bushing and link measurement, track sag and alignment, front-idler setup, and roller/seal service. One manual-specific warning notes that hammering out the master track pin can enlarge the link bore and turn a pin job into a track-link replacement. In the power train, the converter-housing procedure also calls out the risk of bending the suction tube if the housing is not kept level during removal.

Specification Highlights

The serial-number split is carried through the matching operation and test chapters, including torque-converter stall testing, powershift transmission testing, power-train hydraulic pressure checks, cooler-flow and pressure-differential tests, and transmission-pump evaluation. Equipment hydraulics are covered with pump-flow, relief-valve, cycle-time, and cylinder-drift tests for the loader, dozer, and backhoe systems. Electrical chapters add battery, starting, charging, gauge, indicator, and accessory-circuit tests.

Useful visual references include serial-specific torque-converter cross sections; exploded views of the directional, first/second, and third clutch assemblies; transmission-pump exploded and sectional views; connector and ground-location drawings; the electrical pictorial diagram; dozer and loader hydraulic schematics; and backhoe control-valve and cylinder cross sections. Tool references include the JD-284 Hydraulic Track Adjuster Service Set, JT30018 and JT30019 seal-centering fixtures, JDG-91 Bearing Cup Installer, JD-292 Torque Converter Box Wrench, and JD-289 Torque Converter Seal Driver. Section 99 also supplies drawings for dealer-fabricated lifting, holding, alignment, and removal tools.

This is the factory technical repair and diagnostic manual, not the separate operator's manual or parts catalog. Crawler repair involves heavy housings, stored recoil-spring energy, raised equipment, and pressurized hydraulic oil; follow the manual's support, pressure-relief, lifting, and electrical-isolation precautions before service.