Posted by JD Seller on March 22, 2015 at 07:43:28 from (208.126.198.123):
In John B. earlier post many were saying they would not own anything newer as they could not work on it,they are too unreliable, etc.
In a small way that is kind of funny. The reason being that many of you actually believe a tractor made sixty years ago( Farmall "H" 1939 to 1953) is more reliable/easy to work on than newer equipment.
There are a whole lot of newer tractors that have zero electronics and little plastic. They may not be NEW but they sure are a lot newer than a Farmall "H".
Lets just go 15 years newer. A Ford 3000 is a much more user friendly tractor than a IH "H". It could have factory power steering, live PTO and factory three point. Plus more gears in the work range and ten times easier to get on an off of if your older. Also ZERO electronics and little plastic. This tractor series has proven itself as one of the most rugged utility tractors ever made.
Then lets go a little bigger, 90-100 HP. So you would have to go 20 years newer but then you get several brands and models that are proven good tractors. The JD 4020 is one of them. Many are still in daily use on many farms around the world. If you like a different "green" then the Oliver 1850 diesel with the Perkins motor is a real nice tractor too. IF you like "RED" then the IH 856 is a good choice, good motor and not a bad operating tractor.
Then lets talk about operator comfort and safety. When it is zero out side I am sure not going out and plow/blow snow with a two banger JD or an IH "M". I will grab a JD tractor with a Sound guard cab on it. Right now that is a JD 4450, warm, quite cab, and ZERO computers(analog gauges). For keeping the operator comfortable the IH 86 series cab was not bad just not the best shifting. The White cabs where fairly good too, just kind of narrow. Allis Chalmers did not really get a good cab until the 8000 series an by then it was too late for the company.
So guys be honest here. The brand new stuff may not be easy to work on and have a lot of chancy plastic/light steel but you do not have to go back 60 years to get a tractor that is fairly easy to work on and is very reliable.
I remember when the IH "Ms" and Ford 8Ns where in daily use. They had to be worked on regularly to keep them in working condition. A Ford 8N would need overhauled every 4-5 years if you really worked them hard. That was just an in frame sleeve, bearings, pistons and such. Not hard to do but still needed to be done.
I have and use daily a 1992 JD 6400 MFWD loader tractor. It just turned over 17,250 hours. Those are not babied around hours either, it is a livestock loader tractor. In that time I have replaced: the following: (1) head gasket it had 15,000 hours on it then. I did go through the cylinder head and replace the injectors just because I had the head off.
(1) clutch at around 12K. I did replace the transmission input shaft and drive shaft at that time as the splines where worn.
(2) alternators and three batteries
(3) PTO engagement switches
(3) Sets of tires
A few hydraulic lines/hoses but not more than 2-3.
Plus changed the engine oil at 150 hours regularly. The hydraulic filters at every 300 hours. The hydraulic oil at every 600 hours.
That is not much work on a tractor that has sure earned its keep daily for 23 years.
They are IH 806s around here that are into the mid teens on hours with maybe a TA and engine overhaul.
I know of two Ford 5000s that are over 10k in hours and have not been touched at all.
So it is not just one brand either. There are many dependable, operator friendly, tractors that are way newer than a Farmall "H".
As for John B mowing 4 acres of grass every week with a Farmall "H". There are a lot of mowing machines out there that last and are much more comfortable than a Farmall "H" with a belly mower. One of these would be a JD 425 or 445 garden tractor. One of these with a 60 inch deck would mow the grass much faster than the "H". I know of several of these that have thousands of hours on them.
As for the new stuff. I was just at a neighbor's that farms BIG. They have a 2007 JD 8330.(225 PTO HP) It has 12,000 hours on it. Those hours are HEAVY tillage hours too. They have had few repairs on it. They where replacing the plastic hood as it was cracked from the heat of the turbo/exhaust manifold. That was $5000 just for the hood and no used ones to be found. If you figure the cost per hour, and acres covered, on the tractor it is still way cheaper than the old tractors of days gone by. The owner is a super record keeper. He has kept the cost per hour of use and acres covered on his tractors clear back into the 1970s. He told me the JD 8330 is the cheapest per acre tractor he has ever owned.
So keep that in mind when you hear of 10-15K repair bills. These newer machines are covering many more acres than the stuff just 15 years old.
In the 1970s era JD 00 series combine we figured 4-5 acres per hour for harvesting corn. Then in the 1980s with the 20 series JD combines we figured 6-7 acres per hour. In the 1990s the 9000 series combines where up to 12-15 acres an hour. The new "R" series combines can be in the 20-25 acres an hour in corn. So a combine that has a thousand separator hours could easily have harvested 15-20 thousand acres of crop. That is more than many older machines harvested in there entire operating life time.
So keep enjoying your older iron. I have some as well that I "play" with for the enjoyment but when it comes serious work time it is not going to be a 50-60 year old tractor going to the field.
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Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
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