We have narrowed the tractor search down....

The old man selling the MF 150 also has a 180,he thought it a little too big for us and it WAS taller.

We want something that we can both use and not feel intimidated by.

Thanks for all the replies.

Oz, any tractor that you are going to have a front end loader on needs power steering. If you are going to use the FEL for any length of time the up down movement of the pedals gets extremely tiring before the day is over. You want a tractor with inboard brakes in the hills. Both brakes need to work real good and then you are still subject to lock the wheels and still have the tractor sliding down a grass covered hill. I never concern about a machine being too large but I do fret over one too small for the task. You can do a small task with a large tractor but some large jobs never get done with a small tractor. Good luck with what ever you decide upon.

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

We bought a Massey Ferguson GC2410.

22hp, diesel, 4WD, with a front loader and a backhoe.

On one hand it looks like an over-grown lawn tractor. But it sure does work.

4WD makes it really pull nicely, and it can dig 8 foot deep trenches.

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http://www.mofga.org/

http://www.mofga.org/Programs/FarmAp...2/Default.aspx

The 150 has power steering,the brakes seemed pretty good.

Hopefully we will be VERY careful when using the tractor,sliding down a hill sounds like no fun.

The sliding is LOTS of fun

It's the sudden stop at the end that's a bummer

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I'll take your word for it.....

I did most everything you want to do with an 8N. You're not doing anything that requires a lot of horsepower. The working from the bucket sounds like a good idea until you actually do it, much depends on who gets to work the bucket while you're in it.
Be sure to get a quick disconnect loader if you want to do non loader work as they are a pain when doing other things. They also take all of the weight off of the drive wheels which isn't good.
ET1SS has a good deal with a back hoe on it. You find yourself digging holes as much as anything and a back hoe is the way to go.
Sliding down hill is even worse when you go down in too low of a gear and the wheels start sliding. Tractors are not to be taken lightly, they kill and maim even experienced operators.
A new loader is around 5k or at least that's what a Bush hog brand one is. Be sure you have hydraulics to tap, not sure how it works on a MF. Fords require a block or a block with a valve to tap into the hydraulic system on older ones.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

The HP doesn't cost that much to have....an 8N has issues and is not the best tractor for novices from what most people say.

The 150 we looked at could be had for around $4000 or so...an 8N will run maybe some less but has limitations.

A loader will be handy but like you wrote can be a pain as well.

Most likely we would end up with a tractor without one at the beginning but would like the ability to put one on later.

My only complaint about the 150 is that it doesn't come with a cab. Everything else is OK by me. That is why I bought a MF 1552 with a cab. It also have the 150 and do a lot of work with it but the cab is what I use during the hot or cold time.

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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.

I wasn't recommending an 8N just using it for size and HP comparison. I still have and use my 8N but it's not nearly as efficient as a diesel tractor that size or smaller. I have a 2600 Ford and it's as big as I would want for my needs.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

Okay,I misunderstood.
It seems that compact tractors bring a premium compared to utility models...

The yuppies buy the compacts, so bigger ones are actually cheaper

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I can only wish I had outboard brakes. I have a MF65 (little over 50hp) and those inboard brakes are an extremely expensive and involved nightmare to work on. The power steering system is a rube goldberg nightmare with parts super expensive or just non existant. Intend to sometime re-engineer it using an orbital steering valve like modern tractors use. For loader dont tap into existing hydraulics, use a separate hydraulic pump running off front of crankshaft. They made kit to tap into hydraulics to run remote cylinder, but it was for light duty use like small farm equipment that needed a remote cylinder, not for loader use. And yes the front axles on these are relatively weak for any kind of heavy loader work though the power steering system would give you so much problem you'd not use loader enough to worry about the axle.

The Perkins diesel engine is where these old MFs really shine. That has to be my favorite diesel.

Yes you can add a loader to tractor, but think you generally get better deal to buy a tractor with a loader already installed. An old industrial tractor where loader was designed as part of tractor with axle and hydraulic system made to handle such use is way to go if you need to seriously use loader at low cost.

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"What would you do with a brain if you had one?" -Dorothy

"Well, then ignore what I have to say and go with what works for you." -Eliot Coleman

A150 is OK the 165 175 are much handier putting more hp at your fingers without really growng in size. If the 150 you're looking at is that beaten walk away. Rear tires are pricey rebuilds more so and the hydraulics need to be running as rated or you don't have the utility you'll want or things like log splitters or the loader. though any loader really needs an idependant pump/resevoir. We had a 165 with a loader. Loved it. Needed more hp and a Ford 5000 was available so we went with it. Might have kept it if it was a 175. Some newer Masseys were built in Poland and are now parts orphans.

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Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup........

Not all compact tractors are premium priced, as I said my neighbor just sold a nice one for a fair price. They are more popular because most aren't farming, just wanting mechanization around their land. They do hold value for that and because most haven't been run like a rented mule as they weren't worked to death. HP is for farming, either breaking the land or pulling equipment you need power for like round baling hay. You don't need big HP for bush hogging, road scraping or fence post augering.
Always check the rear wheels, older tractors tires were usually filled with a solution that ate the metal away near the valve stem. Wheels have become expensive.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

Found one in Mississippi that would have been a good deal...he was interested in trading the tractor and a couple of implements for some rifles I have...

However he is over 650 miles from here and 560 miles from the land.

That is a long way to go to look at something and not even know if it will work out for both parties.

He was asking $4000 for the MF 150 and a 5' JD gyramower and disk harrow.

A link to the above tractor:
http://northmiss.craigslist.org/grd/1249784342.html

Shiny paint and a nice little oil leak right where the rear main seal might be? Hard to say from the picture and sure it could have been there from something else.

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Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup........

Yep I noticed that and asked about it...no reply as yet.

Lesson learned....when selling a leaky tractor take the pics when it is on grass or dirt.

On the old Masseys on underside of clutch bellhousing there is a hole with basically a cotter pin sticking out of it. Wiggle this pin to make sure no oil is coming out. Some unscrupulous people have been known to plug this hole. If cotter pin wont easily twist and wiggle you may have an intentional plugged hole. If only little oil comes out ever once in a while, probably can live with that, its when it leaks out a quart in short period of time you want to run away from it.

No fun to replace rear crankshaft seal on these.

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"What would you do with a brain if you had one?" -Dorothy

"Well, then ignore what I have to say and go with what works for you." -Eliot Coleman

So if I wiggle the cotter pin and oil pours on my face there might be a problem??



Thanks for the help.