TS 254C

[hoppy50680]

I bought this tractor in a crate. first thing that happened the key would not turn in the ignition. reason was it was filed incorrectly at the factory. whoever put it in the key machine had it in the wrong position. luckily I have had some expierence re keying locks so fixed it myself.. next thing the power steering line was leaking at the solder joint, again a factory problem, had to buy a new line . then the glow plugs were blowing the main fuse, so I had to make a seperate circuit for that... then the reverse idler gear bearing went out. this I didnt feel I was qualified to fix so I took it to an independent tractor repair place to have it fixed. what happened was the retaining ring was installed backwards which allowed the gear to slide down the shaft, again, factory foul up. this repair is gonna be an expensive one.. I contacted the factory to get some help paying this bill but have no response from them. I didnt actually expect one but was worth a try.. this little tractor is a heavy built one, and very handy, but I kind a wish I would have had more money at the time and bough an american made one. not that they dont have troubles too, but when you need parts their close by, and I would have had a warranty also.. I hope that people looking for a new tractor will read this before making up their mind on which brand to buy..
hoppy50680

 

[YukonKing]

Sorry to hear youre luck. How many hours before the bearing went?

 

[lakespirit]

I have a 254, and I ruined the clutch in 25 hours because I forgot how to use one! I have 375 hours on mine, and they are HARD hours. For the most part my issues have been minor. Couple fittings broken, tore up the tie rods by digging with the loader. Other than that it has taken a real beating and it's seems to be OK for now. Keep the faith, it may just be fine for you once all the little bugs get worked out.

 

[RonMar]

That is unfortunate. My 284 has been great so far over the past 2 years and I am very happy and impressed with what mine has been able to do(have 8 tons of gravel to shift this morning). That would be the additional risk of buying a crate tractor and why a good dealer in the local area will charge a bit more than you can get a crate for. He needs to cover this kind of thing and still needs to make a profit. This can and will happen with anything you buy. I had a neighbor who needed a new transmission in his new Ford truck after a little over 1000 miles. The dealer had it fixed in about 3 days...