Going to look at a tractor tomorrow, tell me what to look for...

[dieselfuelonly]

Hi guys, I'm new here, and I'm going to look at a tractor tomorrow.

Heres the background:

I've got 6 acres of land in Chapel Hill, NC. My little riding mower will no longer "cut it" when it comes to keeping the fields trimmed.

I am looking for a tractor mainly to put a bush hog on just to keep the grass mowed. I also would like to get a post hole digger so I can repair the fence in some areas. A front end loader, box blade, a plow and a disk would come in handy too but are not necessary. Right now I just want to mow.

After looking at a MF 135 yesterday, I have decided to keep looking. It was the European model, and had a bad oil leak and looked pretty rough and needed some parts replaced. The oil was all down the right side of the engine, the ball joints had a lot of play, and the power steering hoses needed to be replaced.

I found a guy selling his Nortrac tractor, 20hp diesel, 4wd. Its only got 60 hours on it. New it sells for 6k, he is selling it for 4k, I would probably offer $3,500.

He says it has no mechanical problems other than a small leak by the steering wheel that occurred when he first got it, but he fixed it (he said this was a common problem with the new ones, is that true?).

Anyway, what should I look for? What should I test out, turn on and off, smell, feel, etc. I want to make sure I am making a good decision.

Would this tractor be a good combination with a 4' bush hog? I don't need any new equipment, as long as it is in good mechanical condition I don't mind if it is used in the least.

Thanks!

Dennis

 

[D7E]

The 135 is afantastic little tractor but from a drivers point of view your left leg needs to be 1 ft long and your right leg needs to be 3 ft long ,Terrible loader tractor.

 

[RoyJackson]

take a look at this site:
Used Farm Equipment & Agricultural Equipment - John Deere MachineFinder.com

Navigating the site is pretty intuitive, so I don't think you'll have any problems.

As far as which machine..you've got a lot of selections to choose from. As far as Deere, I'd look at the 855, 955, 770 or 790. These are all used machines (the 790 is the only one in current production). Any way easily handle a 60" cutter.
If you're sure your primary job will be mowing, a 2WD machine should do the job.
That site lists all brands...have fun!

If you decide to look at new machines, be advised that the Deere 3203 cannot run the PTO with the driver off the seat. That limits it's capabilities, IMHO.

 

[VABlue]

I know you just want to mow right now, but try to swing the loader if you can. You won't have to look for jobs to use it with, they'll just show up. So much more is possible with one that the cost is absorbed in 6 months. Also, material is cheaper in bulk than in box store bags, even if it has to be delivered (think mulch, dirt, stone, etc).

 

[Grrrr]

take a look at this site:
If you decide to look at new machines, be advised that the Deere 3203 cannot run the PTO with the driver off the seat. That limits it's capabilities, IMHO.

Is there no work around to this problem? Like a bungee cord around the seat or something to jam the cut out switch under the seat.

Not being able to run the pto without sitting on the tractor seems very limiting to me. (Like powering a generator)

 

[joe48]

Is there no work around to this problem? Like a bungee cord around the seat or something to jam the cut out switch under the seat.

Not being able to run the pto without sitting on the tractor seems very limiting to me. (Like powering a generator)

We can all say thank you to Liberals and Lawyers for protecting us from ourselves , that said!

Simple fix , these safetys all use a normally open switch that breaks the cicuit when the pressure is off the seat. Simply locate the the switch pull the plug out of the switch , find a flat spade or pin connector that will fit and make a short jumper wire and plug into the factory plug.
An even quicker fix is just tape the plunger on the switch in the closed position.

Get er done.

 

[flusher]

Hi guys, I'm new here, and I'm going to look at a tractor tomorrow.

Heres the background:

I've got 6 acres of land in Chapel Hill, NC. My little riding mower will no longer "cut it" when it comes to keeping the fields trimmed.

I am looking for a tractor mainly to put a bush hog on just to keep the grass mowed. I also would like to get a post hole digger so I can repair the fence in some areas. A front end loader, box blade, a plow and a disk would come in handy too but are not necessary. Right now I just want to mow.

After looking at a MF 135 yesterday, I have decided to keep looking. It was the European model, and had a bad oil leak and looked pretty rough and needed some parts replaced. The oil was all down the right side of the engine, the ball joints had a lot of play, and the power steering hoses needed to be replaced.

I found a guy selling his Nortrac tractor, 20hp diesel, 4wd. Its only got 60 hours on it. New it sells for 6k, he is selling it for 4k, I would probably offer $3,500.

He says it has no mechanical problems other than a small leak by the steering wheel that occurred when he first got it, but he fixed it (he said this was a common problem with the new ones, is that true?).

Anyway, what should I look for? What should I test out, turn on and off, smell, feel, etc. I want to make sure I am making a good decision.

Would this tractor be a good combination with a 4' bush hog? I don't need any new equipment, as long as it is in good mechanical condition I don't mind if it is used in the least.

Thanks!

Dennis

No problem running a 4 ft brush hog with 20 hp engine. I have a Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto) and a 4-ft King Kutter hog that work fine together. I mow about 7 acres of weeds on my 10-acre parcel (flat pasture land). The first cutting in the Spring when the weeds are 3-4 ft tall takes me 10-11 hours in low range. The second mowing in late June goes faster (5-6 hours) since the weeds usually are less than 2-ft tall then.

Too bad about the leaky 135. I bought a 1964 MF-135 diesel in July06. It runs fine, but needed a thorough cleaning (the radiator air passages were half clogged). I detailed the tractor, replaced the gauges (except the fuel gauge/sender which was OK), replaced the steering wheel, bought a new grill assembly, and repainted the tractor. Lotsa fun.

Regarding that Nortrac, you need to drive it yourself. Check operation in each gear. I assume it has power steering, so exercise the steering wheel to see if it acts like the power steering is working.

Let the engine run for 15-20 minutes at fast idle. Check the radiator hoses (top should be hot, bottom should be warm).

With only 60 hours on the engine, the exhaust output should be nearly invisible (black smoke = probably OK, lotsa white smoke= possible water leak into the combustion chambers, blue smoke=burning oil).

Engage the pto and run the engine rpm up to the pto mark on the tach. Listen for suspicious noises.

Check the 3pt controls to be sure that the lift arms are working OK. Best if these pto/3pt checks are done with a mower on the tractor, but that usually isn't possible in this kind of deal.

 

[kozak]

dieselfuelonly,

Welcome to TBN.

Never heard of a Nortrac Tractor before so did some searching on the net. These tractors are made in China. Guess there is some kind of alliance with Northern Tractor & Power Company in the US with a large China tractor manufacturer. From other Forums on the internet, opinions are mixed. Some like them, others don't. Definitely I would think parts would be an issue if you needed a repair. They are incredibly cheap, but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Again, from word of mouth (I certainly don't have any personal experience) Chinese tractors are prone to leakage problems. So if your serious about purchasing this tractor, why not try it out for a half hour, put it through its paces & then see if there are any leakage areas.

Good Luck,

Vic

 

[EddieWalker]

It sounds like you are buying used. There's nothing wrong with that, but when you do so, remember that used tractors require plenty of maintenance to keep them running and even with the best care, things break. Before you buy anything, figure out where you will buy parts for it. Don't rely on the guy selling it, because that may very well be the reason he's getting rid of it. There are allot of tractors out there that are very dificult to get parts for.

Write down a list of parts that are likely to go out on you in the next five or ten years. Things like the starter, breaks, fuel pump, injectors and anything else you can think of. Then figure out where you can find those parts.

We've heard stories of people on this site waiting months for parts, and still not getting them. Some old tractors are rusting out in farmers yards just because they could never get it fixed.

More important then the brand you buy is the ability to service that brand. Deere is not better then Kubota or New Holland, nor are those brands better then any other, but if one of them has a better dealer, then that's the tractor to buy.

It also sounds like you don't have any trouble walking away from a bad deal. That's good, because there are always used tractors for sale, it's just waiting for the right deal to come along.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Deiselfuelonly,
Welcome to TBN, lots of great folks on here to help you spend your money !

I would keep looking for your tractor, Roy gave you a good link. The Massey 135 would be a great machine as long as you found one in good shape !

It sounds like you have some mechanical apptitude, simply by mentioning that the tractor you went to look at had sloppy ball joints. I was going to mention it might not be a bad idea to bring someone more knowledgable than yourself to look at these tractors. Someone with a fair amount of experience could spot potential problems, that could cost money down the road !

Good luck in your search !