Rust getting bad all over my Kubota

[RobertN]

There are tons of 40+ year old tractors out there, running like a champ. Old Farmall's, JD's, Allis Chalmers, Cat's...

No one seems to think their truck can last 40 years... but they think their tractor should. Weird ah?

 

[Soundguy]

I agree. except for a few of my tractors.. most of them are from the 50's

soundguy

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

ericher69 Said:

I certainly don't consider a 25k expense a disposable item!

The government mandates car paint and anti-corrosion measures?


I say:

I agree 1o1% on first sentence and do not know answer on second sentence.

I surmise vary few rich people drive small tractors, so any lobbyists hired in DC to make laws on tractor anti corrosion will only be concerned with the large factory farm size tractor's anti corrosion abilities???

After all, sure the rich wanna make n sell more tractors to the worker bees of society. However, their equipment must be manufactured to last a long time for "maximization of their investments"..............

Cynical old fart worker bee aren't I............................................

So you think rich people drive big tractors? I bet more rich people drive small tractors than large tractors except for TripleR, he drives both sizes.

 

[grsthegreat]

I agree. except for a few of my tractors.. most of them are from the 50's

soundguy

I'm not saying that a tractor cant last 40+ years. all I'm saying is i don't think a modern (new) tractor can. All the old tractors had gas engines or simple diesels, simple transmissions, NO computer chips, NO catalytic converters, NO complicated fuel injection systems (my buddies duramax repair bill for injector system is over $5,000) no plastic parts, etc. The older tractors (and cars) were built to last. Heck, i tried to get some replacement parts for my 1996 JD 870 before i sold it...the parts were no longer made. I can still buy MODEL A parts...but not a 14 yo tractor parts.

Stuff built today are disposable....no doubt about it.

 

[USNative]

I'm not saying that a tractor cant last 40+ years. all I'm saying is i don't think a modern (new) tractor can. All the old tractors had gas engines or simple diesels, simple transmissions, NO computer chips, NO catalytic converters, NO complicated fuel injection systems (my buddies duramax repair bill for injector system is over $5,000) no plastic parts, etc. The older tractors (and cars) were built to last. Heck, i tried to get some replacement parts for my 1996 JD 870 before i sold it...the parts were no longer made. I can still buy MODEL A parts...but not a 14 yo tractor parts.

Stuff built today are disposable....no doubt about it.

I have to 100% agree with that! The sad truth of the way things are with today's products & not just tractors. And the other sad part is that most companies don't want to back their products which leaves the consumer stuck with the bill. Things have really changed since the days of old.

 

[houstonscott]

I have to 100% agree with that! The sad truth of the way things are with today's products & not just tractors. And the other sad part is that most companies don't want to back their products which leaves the consumer stuck with the bill. Things have really changed since the days of old.

I think you can still buy a tractor like those of old. Kubota L series with the gear transmissions are about the same. And with modern lubricants should last longer and run more reliable than any of those old tractors. Some modern companies support their products. Do you know BMW will provide you with an OEM part for any car they made from day one in 1928, its called the history program and a commitment to provide parts forever. I wish modern tractor manufactures took on a similar commitment to the customer.

HS

 

[crazyal]

When I bought my Case 580K backhoe I had to look around because most of them had lots of rust on the bottom of the doors and cab. Mine has a little but not bad. After a little time I realized that I was looking at it like it was a car, something it's not.

Oddly enough once I bought it I didn't think twice about using it like a tractor. Trees fell on it, rocks fell on it, while trying to load the center of my dump truck sometimes I would go a little too far and hit the side of the truck. I have broke lenses and damaged tires. None of it intentionally but none the less it happens.

While I'm not going to intentionally damage my tractor I also don't treat it like a cream puff. I bought it to be in the mud pulling logs, to plow through trees, I bought it to work. If it gets a little rust on the fenders I really don't care. Sooner or later that nice shiny hood will have a few dents in it, I accept it, it's a tractor.

For all of those who do let me ask this. How often do you wash and or wax your tractor? How long do you wait before washing it after using it and getting it dirty? Not judging those who spent lots of money and want to keep it looking new, I think most (if not all) here are proud of our tractors.

 

[buck12]

I was on a Ford lot last month having my transmission serviced, and couldn't help looking at the new F350 extended cab 4x4 diesel on the lot. $54,000. Now this is WAY more expensive than my tractor...like 2x as expensive ... and lets face it a truck has a life expectancy these days of less than 10 years before major work needs to be done.

No one seems to think their truck can last 40 years... but they think their tractor should. Weird ah?

I for one expect more than ten years service out of a truck before major work. I have an 18 plus year old truck that has yet to require major work and I expect more trouble free miles. Also I have a 06 Mahindra and I checked the fender joints and found no rust.

 

[grsthegreat]

I for one expect more than ten years service out of a truck before major work. I have an 18 plus year old truck that has yet to require major work and I expect more trouble free miles. Also I have a 06 Mahindra and I checked the fender joints and found no rust.

Well everyone i know here has diesel 4x4's, and there always in the shop. I just had a $3,600 transmission job on my dodge diesel and a $500 temp sensor on the ford last month. Gets kinda old. I cant possibly work on these complicated of systems anymore.
I used to do all my own maint on the older rigs.

 

[buck12]

I agree the new trucks are getting too complicated. I hope my 09 f150 will give the kind of service the 93 still gives.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I'm not saying that a tractor cant last 40+ years. all I'm saying is i don't think a modern (new) tractor can.
I'm 64 and I've been hearing this all of my life. What was made long ago is better than what's made now.:laughing::laughing:
Actually most stuff is now history except for the few that were stored in attics, barns, warehouses or in a garage or home and never got used or was babied. I search for the Vintage "stuff" from my youth (50s and 60s) that was made so much better than now and it is rare and hard to find. If it was so great and better, we'd still have a bunch of it.
The older tractors (and cars) were built to last. Heck, i tried to get some replacement parts for my 1996 JD 870 before i sold it...the parts were no longer made. I can still buy MODEL A parts...but not a 14 yo tractor parts.

Stuff built today are disposable....no doubt about it.

Love this cars theory. My first car was a 1935 Dodge, smoked like a freight train. Heavy metal but sure it's a pile of rust today unless someone stored it in a garage and quit driving it every day. Since then I've bought around another 140 cars/trucks and they get better every year in my opinion. I've had Corvettes and the bottom line, they were just Chevrolets, nothing magic about them except their beauty. Most old cars are GONE GONE GONE because they only last so long with use. In the 50s & 60s a car with 50,000 miles was a high mileage car and most people wanted to trade it before the thing fell apart (I love the old cars but truth is truth) and 100,000 was almost unheard of. Also how far were most of those cars driven in a year when people remember the one the teacher drove for 20 years? 2 or 3 miles a day! Nostalgia is great guys and I love the memories (good ones) of the 50s and 60s but again where is all that great well made to last forever stuff?
Will the currently made tractors last as long as the tractors of old? No one knows but are the tractors of old better than the tractors of today, no way. Heavier metal, simpler operating but that doesn't make them last longer or perform better.
To end my story I remember in the 50s and 60s how the older guys would talk about the great ????? that they had when they were kids and how cheap made they are now.:laughing:

 

[George the Beagle]

JohnThomas: Well said. I'm in your age group, and concur.

 

[Gizmo2]

Our JD2320 is in NO way built better than our older 1988 JD650. Would I want the 650 back?,,,No Way! The 2320 has waaay more stuff on it to make my life way better and easier. In retrospect, a $14.K tractor of yesteryears is basically a $26K tractor today. It's all about the cost of ownership, IF you really need a tractor. If you really don't need a tractor this is where the disposable issue comes into play and the money you shelled out for the tractor became/was disposable that day not years later.

Paid $14.5k for my JD650 in 1988 and sold it for $10.5K in 2008. Could not get parts, rusted (in spots), used and old. Thats $200.00 per year to own. That to me was a pretty darn good deal as I really used the 650 tractor.

 

[TripleR]

JohnThomas: Well said. I'm in your age group, and concur.

Agree, John and I are the same age. He said it better than I, so I will leave it at that.

We do have some 50+ year old tractors that my brothers keep running; they like and use them, I just like them.

 

[Soundguy]

of the 50s and 60s but again where is all that great well made to last forever stuff

just looking at the arie I live in, for non comercial work like roadside mowing, etc.. but rather looking at private work , including farms.. it's all tractors from the 50's thru the 80's doingthe work.

I don't think it's far off to say that I know more people working with old iron than with new iron.

both have their place.

I don't think any of the new iron will last as long as the old iron.. mainly because 40% of the new iron is plastic and fiberglass..

soundguy

 

[crazyal]

How come when people talk about "old" anything they almost always remember the great and forget the bad? How many old tractors are a pile of rust behind the barn? What percentage of them made it 40 or 50 years?

Just yesterday this late 70s Kubota B7100 was posted on the local Craigs list. I wonder how many people looked at it new and said it will never last 30 years? Looks like it has a lot of years left in it to me. I keep thinking about calling on it, it's only about 20 miles from here but I really don't have any use for it.

 

[TripleR]

The barns around here are full of old tractors that no one uses anymore. We have two old IH units in our barn that just sit there while John Deere 7000 and 8000 Series tractors are out in the fields. They will run, but according to the owners are not dependable and can't be made dependable enough to depend on them. They are there as backup tractors I suppose, but it has been years since I saw one in the field.

I love old tractors, but would not depend on them to get the crops in and I don't know anyone who does. The only time I see an old tractor running is bush hogging or running a baler of some part time farmer. Of course, that is just in my area.

 

[RobertN]

I do not think you will find 60 year old tractors, in 2071 like you do now. you can still get over the counter parts for old Farmall's Ford's ect.

The core of the tractor may last, but all the electronic gadgets still work? Will you able to get the glow plug timer relay when your 2011 Kubota, NH, or JD will not start in 2071?

The Farmall-A I had, was 60 years old when I got it. It popped a governer spring. Off the shelf from Case/IH... It only had one wire, for the kill switch. Most of the mechanicals could be fixed, welded, or remachined. Hard to do that for 60 year old electronics that have not been made for 40 years.....

I think you will find the same cars/pickups. Sure, folks have restored Model-A and Model-T Fords, 57 Chevies, '68 Hemi Cuda's. But they are simple.

In 2071, will you be able to repair the fuel injection or electronics on a 2011 Challenger, Mustang, or Camaro?

A lot of those rusty tractors behind barns will start up with a couple hours work. My Farmall-A had come out of a falling down shed, needed a head gasket, pan gasket, and a set of rings. try that on a 2011 Kubota/NH/JD/Mahindra/Yanmar/Iseki ect 60 years from now.

It would be cool if it does happen; there is a cottage industry around restoring old iron now. Look at the Farmall-Cubs, JD-LA, Ford N.

How come when people talk about "old" anything they almost always remember the great and forget the bad? How many old tractors are a pile of rust behind the barn? What percentage of them made it 40 or 50 years?

Just yesterday this late 70s Kubota B7100 was posted on the local Craigs list. I wonder how many people looked at it new and said it will never last 30 years? Looks like it has a lot of years left in it to me. I keep thinking about calling on it, it's only about 20 miles from here but I really don't have any use for it.

 

[Soundguy]

I do not think you will find 60 year old tractors, in 2071 like you do now. you can still get over the counter parts for old Farmall's Ford's ect. .

you might find some 120 year old ones though..

 

[crazyal]

I don't think I'll be around in 2071 to find out. However if you look at countries like Cuba that can't run down to their local AutoZone to get the part they need for their 1950 Chevy you'll find that they have no problems finding solutions.

Most of the old tractors I see are ones owned by people who use them for the occasional log pulling or road repair. They may sit for months (if not years) between uses. I have a friend with an old McCormick that he always parks facing down hill because the starter and alternator are shot. I've seen him start it with the hand starter but swear each time. This tractor would have been scrap long ago for most people but because it didn't cost much and he doesn't really need a tractor it's still around. I have no doubt that in 60 years there will still be a number of 2010 models still around.