550 winch drive gear shaft removal

[RyanJ]

Hello all,
I have a straight 550 (SN 326367T) that is leaking fluid through the winch gear drive shaft where it penetrates the torque converter housing. The parts manual (TP8653) isn’t real clear as to what makes that seal. Is there an O ring of some sort on the shaft (#18)? The next question is how do I get the winch gear shaft out? Can it be removed without removing the converter housing from the transmission? Any advice is much appreciated, and thank you for your time.

[Jim B]

Welcome to the boards.

Someone with a 550 may be along with some info for you, I know several have posted about them.

The 550 technical manual (TM1108), likely has some info on that. I don't have that manual and I haven't found a free copy online. I suggest you check out eBay for a good used one, there are several on there currently. A new one printed in color is $176.09 from the John Deere Construction and Forestry Bookstore as a cost reference.

[RyanJ]

I was able to get the winch drive gear shaft (21) out of the winch drive gear. Something doesn’t seem quite right. When we reinstalled the shaft and tightened special screw(8) I was able to spin the shaft in the housing. It looks like the spacers (3-4) are missing from inside the gear. I need to remove the gear from the converter housing. What’s the easiest, least intrusive way?

Thanks