MF 1742 Not Happy With It

[Devi8]

Massey switched to Alo-Quicke loaders with the new 17xx series tractors... For years they had been sourcing loaders from Soo Tractor (Radius Steel in Iowa). My 1648 & 1652 machines have the Soo loaders and I'm extremely happy with their performance and longevity. I've commented on this numerous times already, but to me, the Alo-Quicke loaders do not appear as robust as the Soo loaders.

With that said, I've used my tractors hard. I don't purposely try to hurt them, not purposely attempt off center lifts, but it happens. In the thousand or so hours I've put on my Iseki built Massey tractors, i can't complain one bit about their quality, construction, reliability, any of it. I'm sure that eventually I'll break something on it, but it'll most likely be my fault LOL

This is what I was thinking, I believe they switch with the GC series as well, the SOO was the DL100 and the Alo is the DL 95, On paper the 95 is suppose to have a 30% lift increase, but that DL100 is built like a tank same with the backhoe units.

 

[sspc]

UPDATE: The quick disconnect on the fel is flexed from corner loading dealer said, also forgot to mention I was having problems with the clutch binding, now this is a non-cab tractor, dealer found also when depressing clutch pedal the dash was flexing, they had to put a brace on it to prevent the bind of the clutch pedal, also fan blade into fan shroud, radiator mounted incorrectly, vertical from factory. very poor workmanship, I think it's going to be put up for sale and go back to a New Holland tractor........

 

[k0ua]

UPDATE: The quick disconnect on the fel is flexed from corner loading dealer said, also forgot to mention I was having problems with the clutch binding, now this is a non-cab tractor, dealer found also when depressing clutch pedal the dash was flexing, they had to put a brace on it to prevent the bind of the clutch pedal, also fan blade into fan shroud, radiator mounted incorrectly, vertical from factory. very poor workmanship, I think it's going to be put up for sale and go back to a New Holland tractor........

Yep, time to unload that one...It sounds like the bean counters have "had their way" with the engineers.

 

[TSO]

It sounds more like a unicorn.

Radiator mounted incorrectly from the factory? That seems crazy to believe. Did you buy a black market tractor?

 

[atsah]

My DL95 Alo is as strong as they get, I have loaded one side of my aftermarket 60 inch bucket with gravel a hundred times without an issue.

 

[Phillip w]

My DL95 Alo is as strong as they get, I have loaded one side of my aftermarket 60 inch bucket with gravel a hundred times without an issue.

This maybe true, but a bucket of sand is generally heavier than a bucket of gravel. If the sand is wet sand it would be heavier yet. I would not be surprised if a full bucket off wet sand does not make the back of the tractor light and require a counter weight.

 

[atsah]

If my rears weren't loaded and I didn't have a weight box with 300lbs in it my front tires would be the only ones on the ground with a 60 inch bucket full of 1 inch river gravel.

 

[Wobblin-Goblin]

Got it, I guess 8 just never heard it called that. Doing so is obviously not something that should be done but the FEL should take it if it is rated for the load. I think that is partially why Kubota's conservative ratings are often lower than some brands. I know I can lift more than what my two Kubotas are rated for but I only do that on a centered load.

It's my experience with my 1643 that it will exceed the lift ratings of its loader. I've lifted large round bales that are 1,600-1,700lbs. The tractor definitely needs a counterweight to do that, though.

 

[Wobblin-Goblin]

I have mentioned this on other threads but there is little/no data on torsion with front end loaders. The industry does not test them in torsion. The Univ. of Nebraska tractor testing lab does not test them in torsion. I have been rough on my DL250 loader on a MF2660. Pryed stumps, dug up rocks, lifted way off center loads of mud cleaning springs out, back dragged hard clay, etc. Serious abuse can bend the loader frame or even break welds. (for the record I've bent mine but never broken a weld...) BUT in my view it should be very difficult to hurt a loader that was properly designed for the tractor it is made to fit. The idea of having to tip toe around off center loads and "corner lifts" is absurd.

Agreed. We have numerous tractors of all stripes and ages on our farm. Some truly do need to be babied, but that's because they weren't designed or matched well to the tractors they were installed on.

Like you said, outside of blatant abuse, a loader should be able to handle pretty much everything the tractor it's attached to can dish out. If the loader can't, it's because the design was more or less deficient for the machine.

In my opinion, MF made a big mistake with these new loaders. They don't appear to be nearly as stout as the ones they replaced, and to make up for it, they (MF) put smaller buckets on the new loaders. Any time you see a small bucket on a loader, it's a safe bet that the loader is deficient in some way.

Shame on Massey for these new loaders.

 

[sspc]

Well it just back to the dealer again, now the e-brake light won't go off

 

[LukeDuke30]

I have used a stump bucket, and hauled many loads of dirt/stumps and gravel with my 1734E with the L105E loader. Never any issues, even with digging out small stumps. I try to be cognizant of things outside the capacity of the loader but like others have said, it should be able to handle something out of the ordinary from time to time.

 

[mapper]

I spent a couple of weeks this spring building a rock wall with my 1734e, which involved prying up a lot of big rocks with the loader then hauling them in the bucket. No damage or torqued loader frame from this. The hydraulic relief valve kicks in before there is enough pressure to bend things.
I did get a set of clamp on forks recently that I used once to move a large stone, I had to be very careful, as I noticed that it put a lot of stress on the front of the loader bucket. I think that I will not be using them for too much of that sort of work, just stick to what I got them for - moving and stacking brush and tree limbs.

 

[T Connolly]

I just bought a new "2017" MF 1742, DL125 Loader, shuttle shift, seven days old and 6 hours on it, I am very disappointed with the quality, I've been moving fill sand around a new garage, as I lifted the loader bucket, "filled" I heard a noise, i opened the hood and noticed the fan blade is hitting the shroud, first problem. Now I went into the pile of sand to fill the bucket in the corner, so i could dump next to the garage wall, The dealer told me I can't do corner lift's because the loader will flex...... Now the quick release bucket will not come off, apparently its flexed from corner lifting? I owned a TC30 for many years and did corner lifts many times. no issues.

I thought it was just me! I also have a Massey 1742 and I’m not in love with it at all. The shift selector for the hydrostatic transmission will shift into neutral when hauling a load. It does it enough that I won’t let anyone but me drive the tractor. I took it to my dealer and they said they couldn’t replicate the problem. So that’s it. It still does it fairly often! I had the same fan rubbing the shroud experience when lifting a full bucket of stump chips. Awful noise ! I thought the transmission blew.
It struggles to lift a 1/3 yard bucket of dry gravel. My old TC 33D New Holland never had that problem.
The positioning of the hydraulic connectors for the FEL are directly
behind the front wheel! They get covered in ice and salt in the winter and have corroded far beyond what they should have in 6 years. I too always have a hard time getting the transfer case to engage the 4 wheel drive. It’s even harder to disengage it.
Overall I feel it’s very underpowered.
Don’t get me started on how cheesy the stock FEL bucket is. I’ve had to jack it back into shape with a hydraulic jack too many times to find humor in it!

Trouble is I don’t know what to do with it?? I can’t sell it knowing the transmission is a problem and the dealer said there’s nothing to fix!
I know I’ll take a huge loss on it paying to repair it and letting the dealer sell it. It’s very discouraging!

 

[JWR]

I thought it was just me! I also have a Massey 1742 and I’m not in love with it at all. The shift selector for the hydrostatic transmission will shift into neutral when hauling a load. It does it enough that I won’t let anyone but me drive the tractor. I took it to my dealer and they said they couldn’t replicate the problem. So that’s it. It still does it fairly often! I had the same fan rubbing the shroud experience when lifting a full bucket of stump chips. Awful noise ! I thought the transmission blew.
It struggles to lift a 1/3 yard bucket of dry gravel. My old TC 33D New Holland never had that problem.
The positioning of the hydraulic connectors for the FEL are directly
behind the front wheel! They get covered in ice and salt in the winter and have corroded far beyond what they should have in 6 years. I too always have a hard time getting the transfer case to engage the 4 wheel drive. It’s even harder to disengage it.
Overall I feel it’s very underpowered.
Don’t get me started on how cheesy the stock FEL bucket is. I’ve had to jack it back into shape with a hydraulic jack too many times to find humor in it!

Trouble is I don’t know what to do with it?? I can’t sell it knowing the transmission is a problem and the dealer said there’s nothing to fix!
I know I’ll take a huge loss on it paying to repair it and letting the dealer sell it. It’s very discouraging!

So trade it in to the nut who claims there's nothing wrong with it.

 

[T Connolly]

So trade it in to the nut who claims there's nothing wrong with it.

He only sells Massey’s and I’m done with that brand.

 

[thclimer]

The just sell it to him and go buy whatever brand you think is better as I doubt he will give you anymore for it verses a trade in.