1986–1996 John Deere 655, 755, 855, 955, 756, 856 Service Manual (P/N TM1360)

• Machine coverage: A 570-page PDF of John Deere Technical Manual TM1360 (June 1996) for the 655, 755, 855, 955, 756, and 856 Compact Utility Tractors with three-cylinder diesel power and two-range hydrostatic drive. The manual directs 756 owners to the 755 procedures and 856 owners to the 855 procedures; late-model references do not apply to the discontinued 655, 756, or 856.
• Engine, fuel, and cooling work: Covers engine removal and installation, oil-cooler and radiator service, fuel-tank and sender removal, electric and mechanical transfer-pump diagnosis, air-cleaner service, injection-system bleeding and timing, compression testing, and cooling-system checks. Internal Series 220 engine overhaul requires the separate CTM3 component manual.
• Hydrostatic transmission and transaxle repair: Details removal, internal disassembly and reassembly, center-section service, charge-pump work, hydraulic bleeding, PTO clutch and inertia-brake repair, differential and range-shift service, rear and mid-PTO shafts, final drives, and operational checks.
• MFWD, steering, brakes, and hitch hydraulics: Provides axle and spindle-gear-case repair, differential setup, end-play and toe-in procedures, steering-valve overhaul, brake linkage and disc work, hydraulic-pump and SCV repair, rockshaft overhaul, leakage testing, and control-valve adjustment.
• Electrical diagnosis: Supplies seven harness-specific electrical schematics for early, late, North American, and European builds, backed by component-location views and test routines for starting, charging, preheat, fuel shutoff, lighting, gauges, PTO safety, the seat switch, and the time-delay control module.
• Build changes and factory reference data: Identifies the late-855/all-955 fuel-tank and battery relocation, electric-to-mechanical fuel-pump changes, early/late hydrostatic output-gear retention, PTO inertia-brake housing compatibility, essential Service-Gard tools, torque tables, capacities, wear limits, pressure and flow tests, and model-specific adjustment data.

Technical Documentation Overview

TM1360 is organized as a machine repair manual and a diagnostic manual, not as a basic maintenance booklet. The general specifications identify the Yanmar 3TN66UJ engine for the 655, 3TNA72UJ for the 755/756, 3TN75RJ for the 855/856, and 3TN84RJ for the 955. The manual separates model-specific hydraulic, final-drive, PTO, electrical, and access arrangements wherever the hardware differs.

The power-train section carries the deepest teardown coverage. It follows the hydrostatic unit from driveshaft and charge-pump removal through center-section inspection, internal disassembly, reassembly, installation, and system bleeding. Transaxle repair extends to the PTO clutch and inertia brake, oil-supply system, differential, MFWD gear case, range-shift mechanism, PTO shafts, reduction gearing, and final drives. Standard and MFWD front axles, the steering valve, brake linkage and discs, hydraulic pump, flow divider, regenerative/float SCVs, rockshaft housing, and rockshaft control valve each have dedicated repair procedures. Miscellaneous repair adds North American and European seat service, European Roll-Gard, the German rear hitch, and three-point lift-link repair.

Model and Build Differences

Early and late production changes are treated as service information, not buried in a generic note. The manual records the fuel-tank/battery location change used on the late 855 and all 955 tractors, along with the related mechanical fuel-transfer-pump and harness changes. For the 855, the location change is tied to S/N 615001-999999 and 1990-model S/N 10001 and up. Electrical drawings are divided chronologically by harness configuration so the technician can match the schematic to component placement and tractor features before testing.

Parts compatibility notes are equally specific. When the original PTO inertia-brake housing AM875949 is replaced by AM876998, spacer M801959 is required on 655 housings below S/N 610730 and 755/756 or 855/856 housings below S/N 827729. It also distinguishes the early hydrostatic output-gear fastener from the later castle-nut and cotter-pin arrangement associated with driveshaft kit AM118962. Those details help prevent the wrong parts or assembly method from being carried across production versions.

Specification Highlights

The diagnostic half begins with a machine operational checkout, then divides fault isolation into engine/fuel, electrical, power train, steering/brakes, and hydraulics. Symptom charts lead into tests and adjustments for transmission neutral and neutral return, charge-pump pressure and flow, transmission relief pressure, steering leakage, hydraulic-pump flow, system relief with or without SCVs, transaxle lubrication pressure, PTO clutch engagement, and rockshaft leakage. Theory-of-operation chapters explain the hydrostatic drive, foot controls, transaxle, MFWD, brakes, steering, SCVs, rockshaft, and PTO hydraulic circuit.

Named reference drawings include the Hydrostatic Transmission Cross Section, Transaxle Cross Section, PTO Clutch Cross Section, MFWD Cross-Sectional View, Steering Valve Cross Section, and the full Hydraulic System Schematic. Tool references call out the JDG-356 fuel-pump pressure kit, JDG472 and JDG560 compression adapters, JDG282 temperature gauge, JTO5469 flowmeter, and JTO5738/JTO1765 hydraulic fitting kits. Group-opening tables collect the related specifications, torque values, wear tolerances, service materials, and test data.

TM1360 covers engine removal, installation, testing, and machine-side fuel and cooling service, but full internal Series 220 diesel-engine repair is in CTM3 dated 10AUG93 or later. The PDF does not contain mower-deck spindle or gearbox overhaul chapters. The manual also flags two easy ways to create a new failure: closing the flowrater control valve during hydraulic-pump testing can damage the pump, while tapping an air-cleaner element on a hard surface can dent its mesh and wear a hole through the filter paper. Before repair work, lower mounted equipment, relieve hydraulic pressure, support the tractor securely on level ground, and use the specified lifting and test equipment.