New to tractors - JD 955 right for me?

[rdx]

Hi, I'm in the market for a tractor and have a few questions. I recently purchased 5 acres of land (right now it's an alfalfa field with some tree rows) to build a house on in ND. I need a tractor! I will be using it to move snow in the winter, till a large garden, clear brush around tree rows, mow about 2 acres of grass, move some rockpiles, etc.

I'm not sure exactly how large of a tractor I need. I was thinking something in the 30-40 HP range. Does this seem about right for my application?

I've been looking for deals for a few months now and ran across a 1990 JD 955 with loader for $9000. It has 1500 hours on it and is in fair condition. It's not a local listing, but I have a friend who lives near the tractor take a look at it. However, he knows even less about tractors than I do. I did some research and supplied him with some questions to ask and things to look for. The one thing that has me concerned is that the tractor is blowing out blue exhaust. It was this way right after startup and even after it warmed up. The owner stated that the tractor has not been used hard in a long time and the exhaust will probably clear up after it's put to use.

Is this reasonable? 1500 hours is quite early for an engine rebuild. The tractor was mostly used for blowing snow in the winter and mowing grass in the summer. The FEL shows little wear except for rust. Thanks,

Ben

 

[roush9799]

I would think you'd be right on size. You could get by with an 855. I had 1500hrs on my '98 855 when I traded it in this past spring, I know it had another 2000+ hours left on it before it would need anything. Biggest reason for trading it in was I was getting concerned on having to rebuild the mower deck and replacing the tires. I mowed about 5-6 acres a week with it during mowing season. I was putting around 100 hours a year on it. Not sure on the blue exhaust though. Mine would blow out black after starting for a minute or two, and would puff it out again when you sped the engine up. Does it have a mid mount mower or a rear finish mower? I could run a 60" tiller with no problems on my 855.

 

[Gary Fowler]

A little blue smoke at immediate startup would not worry me much on a used tractor that has been setting for a long period but if after 5 minutes of running and it is still smoking blue tells me the rings are shot or the valve guide seals are gone. I would continue looking for another unit.

 

[rdx]

Thanks for the replies. The tractor did have a 72" mmm, but it was sold off seprately a few weeks ago, which is a shame. Those seem to be a little harder to find. The guy said that he would "give it" to me for $8000. Any idea what a rebuild would cost on an engine like this?

 

[roush9799]

You can find a better unit with the mower for $8000. If it needs a rebuild, I'd be in the $4500-$5000 range.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Do you want a tractor to work on or to use. Personally I would never buy a tractor that I knew had to be overhauled especially at the price you listed. Lots of running with no problem tractors out there for sale with lot fewer hours also even though 1800 is not a lot for a well maintained and used tractor. A twenty-two year old tractor with that number of hours was used about 80 hours per year average so figure that first couple years the owner used it a lot to do the jobs he bought it for then it just sat around for 15+ years. Likely that is what done it in with deterioating seals and maybe stuck rings from lack of use. I would much rather buy one that is used daily with high hours than one setting around for months and months idle with low hours.