Tractor buying advice please

I agree. Make sure you are into repairing and looking for parts all the time if you want an older tractor. We purchased a 1974 Cub Lo Boy and have nothing but problems and repairs with it. Some parts are no longer made, etc., etc. My dad has a barn filled with old tractors so if one breaks down, he can hop on the next to mow while he repairs the broken ones. My neighbor has an old Massey F sitting in his yard since last week since it decided to break down while mowing. Huge headaches.

We just bit the bullet this year and bought a new Mahindra and are happy as can be with it...A new tractor might be worth it if you dont want to deal with non stop repairs and issues with the older ones. Personally I will NEVER buy an old tractor again.

One wonders how somebody either so lazy or so brain dead as to not figure out how to change oil, can command a big enough salary to even hire this done. Or do these people all work for the government?

I mean if you even manage to hurt yourself swiping your credit card at the checkout, perhaps you need to just jump in front of a bus and end it all....

__________________
"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

Out of curiosity what is the alternative to a "live" PTO?

__________________
http://www.lindsayfarmonsilvercreek.blogspot.com/

Well they are out there..

People that run a machine with zero maintenance until it stops and will move no more, for whatever reason happens first. Sometimes they really amaze me.

Depends what you are going to do with a tractor. If you are a farmer using tractor daily, then no, a mostly worn out 60 year old box of bolts not probably way to go. Plus a real farmer is a buisiness that can depreciate new machinery and write off the interest expenses. Joe homesteader and his hobby farm cant.

If however you just use the thing to plow garden in spring and brush hog few acres half dozen times a year, then investing $20k in a newer tractor seems pretty silly.

Old tractors are mixed bag, just like old cars, some just require occasional repair, some are a nightmare of continual repairs. Sort of luck of the draw. Though at least old tractors tend to be simple enough that eventually all parts that can wear out will get replaced... LOL

People were mentioning diesel vs gas. I like diesels, but be aware, when something does go wrong with diesel engine, you will come to believe that engine is made of pure gold the way parts are priced. On other hand gas engine tractors tend to guzzle fuel, and if you are lazy and let carb set with gas in it for long stretches of inactivity, then it will gum up. Points also tend to get corroded from setting, so will need cleaning. I still remember old days of points ignitions on hiway vehicles. Simple and good chance you can get it going again alongside the road with few tools, but also you had to clean and set the points every couple thousand miles for best results. People forget maintenance was lot higher with older technology. Friend sold me an old Dodge pickup with slant six for $50 many years back, he had given up on it few years before that, and had tow truck park it in fence row. He was not amused when I just cleaned the points and stuck battery in it and drove away.... Course I had to hunt down another windshield as he had been rather angry when it left him stranded many years before.

__________________
"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

Ford 3000, 4000, 5000 with a loader and some 3-point implements seems like it would be just the thing. Were it me, I'd go with diesel.

__________________
When faced with issues in life, where do you look for the problem; out the window, or in the mirror?

On earlier tractors you had a PTO that runs off the clutch through gears and when you start to stop it will run you a little ways before you can stop it. A live PTO is either a 2 stage clutch(one for the PTO and the second is for the gears) or has a clutch on its own.

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

I'm working on saving. Right now I have set aside about $2800

Transmission pto I guess it's called. Old style.

The transmission pto tractor has one clutch, it operates both your gear selection & your pto. This means if you are in gear, and using the pto, to stop either, you _must_ stop both pto & tractor movement. If you have a heavy load on the pto, like a brush hog, as it spins down it will continue to drive your tractor forward even with the clutch pushed in - the flywheel effect of the hog spinning down is locked into the rear wheels through the single clutch. This effect can be overcome with an 'Over-Running-Coupler, or ORC.

A live pto has 2 different clutches in it, one for the transmission, one for the pto. It uses the same foot pedal to run both clutches, so to shift the pto you need to also stop moving - but at least they are not connected to each other, and you are able to step in 1/2 way to change gears but keep the pto moving.

An independent pto has 2 clutches with a foot pedal for the transmission, and a hand lever for the pto clutch. So you can do any tranny or pto change at an time totally independent of the other.

--->Paul

I'd recommend a massey 150 or 250 like this:

http://www.tractorhouse.com/listings...x?OHID=5773607

Similiar to the 35 but with heavier front axel (better for front end loaders).

Perkins engine=good (they also came with continental gas engines)
Front end loader already on it = good
remote in the rear = good
Power steering = good
Multipower = bad (or could be--can be dangerous with a malfunctioning mulitpower and are $$$ to fix).

for more power you can go with the 65 series.

Old tractor? Ford Jubilee or 600.

A bit newer? Hard to be a 2000 or 3000 series Ford diesel.