Oliver 550 New Bucket and Hydraulics

New Hydraulics

I had to reverse engineer the Oliver 550 Hydraulics to add a modern valve and bucket loader to my tractor.     It is a open circuit flow that requires constant circulation of the fluids.    I created the part with a solid modeler and had a machine shop tool it for me.   The  bottom hose is the source for the bucket loader and the middle is the return.    I added a second return that allowed a two way valve to work with one way cylinders, i.e. the when the cylinders are allowed to return to the closed position, it "pumps" fluids back into the reservoir instead of reversing the cylinder.

Refurbished Bucket Loader

Here is a picture of the bucket loader I purchased second hand for $300.

Great shape, but we had to re-fabricate the bucket.   I added the forks to allow us to pick rocks and roots easily without taking away the topsoil.   Seth an I put the loader framework this Spring with very few problems and and installed new washers and bolts.    Hydraulics worked first time and surprised myself more than it did Seth! 

New Trip Mechanism

I had to create a new trip mechanism for the bucket as older one rusted out.   Pull the ring and the bucket dumps.  To lock it back in place, you must place bucket on ground and back up.   Oh, well, a new set of cylinders for bucket next year!