best tractor for the money

[seth]

I have a JD 2550 (no cab) that I purchased new in the early 80's. It has almost 12,000 hours and the engine has never been touched. It has a JD self leveling loader (245 I think) and has been started alomost every day. The down sides to it are the loader - it isn't anywhere near strong enough for the tractor and the hydraulics. The hydraulics have never worked properly. It always acts like it is starved for oil. The loader raises with a lot of vibration and it is often necessary to open up the throttle to get the loader up. Even when still under warranty the dealer couldn't solve the problem after several tries so I have lived with it.

Does your loader hydraulics dump back in the remote valve block or does it dump in the filter housing?

A friend of mine has a JD (older model) and had the vibration like you wrote about. His loader was plumbed to dump in the remote block on the back of the tractor. I helped him find a hydraulic filter bowl that has a port that you can use as a return. He got it all hooked up last week and it's working like a charm now. First thing he said was "after all these years". After changing over to the new bowl he turned the pump pressure up a little and the loader works great now.

It dumps back into the filter housing. Also if it has the wrong type of valve, the selling dealer installed it prior to delivery so I doubt that is the problem.

 

[VZCR]

It dumps back into the filter housing. Also if it has the wrong type of valve, the selling dealer installed it prior to delivery so I doubt that is the problem.

I hope you find what the problem is, because I have a 2775 that does the same thing. It is plumbed to the filter housing also. The tilt on the bucket is very jerky when you try to tilt it down very slowly. (Dump). The lift on the loader creeps up while you're running a mower or baler.(High RPM) Then when you try to put it back down slowly, it drops real fast and hard. Wish I knew how to get it working properly.

 

[hurleyjd]

It dumps back into the filter housing. Also if it has the wrong type of valve, the selling dealer installed it prior to delivery so I doubt that is the problem.

I hope you find what the problem is, because I have a 2775 that does the same thing. It is plumbed to the filter housing also. The tilt on the bucket is very jerky when you try to tilt it down very slowly. (Dump). The lift on the loader creeps up while you're running a mower or baler.(High RPM) Then when you try to put it back down slowly, it drops real fast and hard. Wish I knew how to get it working properly.

It would not be the first time a wrong valve was installed. There is some internel deal you can change in the valve. A relative bought a used JD dealer installed loader The valve was wrong, did the same thing as you guys are describing. The JD place in Mineola Texas fixed it for him. VZCR you might try them they are close to you.

 

[VZCR]

It dumps back into the filter housing. Also if it has the wrong type of valve, the selling dealer installed it prior to delivery so I doubt that is the problem.

I hope you find what the problem is, because I have a 2775 that does the same thing. It is plumbed to the filter housing also. The tilt on the bucket is very jerky when you try to tilt it down very slowly. (Dump). The lift on the loader creeps up while you're running a mower or baler.(High RPM) Then when you try to put it back down slowly, it drops real fast and hard. Wish I knew how to get it working properly.

It would not be the first time a wrong valve was installed. There is some internel deal you can change in the valve. A relative bought a used JD dealer installed loader The valve was wrong, did the same thing as you guys are describing. The JD place in Mineola Texas fixed it for him. VZCR you might try them they are close to you.

I will give them a try. Thanks!

 

[Starting late]

Last I looked the Kubota's weighed the least, had the weakest hydraulics, etc. I think they are great hobby tractors, but I prefer an older IH, JD, AC, Case, etc. over any new Kubota for real farm work.

 

[john250]

I was never a fan of JD, too much money, not as good as they claim, etc.
I may have been unlucky and lucky. I had used (used up) internationals for years and they were good tractors but needed a lot of strange maintenace things done to them. Bought a new Long, darn good tractor, but little piddly things would go wrong, front spindle broke but Long blaimed it ona bad casting and made it right. Hard to shift, hard to start in really cold weather even with warmers and a glow plug but the main problem was things like the shift linkage rod breaking, sheet metal mounting pieces breaking. Traded it on on a used (750 hour) JF 5510. I've only put about 3k hours on it in the year and a half I've had it. I've changed filters and had to replace the windshield wiper, that's all the problems I've had with it. The dairy uses all JD tractors, had one that the A/C kept going out on and the 3 pt would quit working. JD Made it right and it's been a really good reliable tractor since.
So, as much as I hate to admit it, JDs are really worth the money. Case/IH and the others may be also, but if I need another tractor to use hard, it will be a JD

Deere has been a good experience for me. Mine is worth near what I paid for it. You can't beat that.

 

[spoon]

My 35+ yo David Brown is still going strong.

 

[bigbull338]

we rarely ran the heat in the cab during winter because the cab was hot.so we would run the a/c even on 40 degree days.

 

[MarshallForage]

The Deere's now are overpriced junk. There I've said it. That statement really hurts because there has never been any other brand tractor on this farm until this summer. My 4450 finally died pulling the seedhawk through sod this spring and I replaced it with an MT series Cat Challenger. The 7000 series I rented to finish seeding this spring and (mostly) my 6000 series tractor sealed JD's fate around here. My 6300 is crap. The 7830 didn't seem any better. Automotive electronics and plastic engine parts have no place on a tractor. JD is just riding on their name now and on the legendary reliability and resale of their older tractors.

If you are looking for a decent tractor now, look at the Agco tractors. MF (newer ones), Agco, and Challenger. I think they are the most under-rated brands out there today. My MT635 is miles ahead of the 8000 series JD's it competes with. I used 2.3 gal/hour running my big square baler with it and even my 4450 used almost twice that much fuel doing the same job with 30hp less. The Sisu engine lasts 23000 hrs before overhaul, even the best JD 50-series engines were looking at pistons and sleeves by 12k. All the electrical connectors are mil-spec and greased. The whole tractor is just built better and smarter than the Deere's. I love that new Challenger.

Next summer my 6300 (loaded with 640 loader and every option available) is getting replaced with a brand new Challenger MT5??. I haven't decided on a size yet. Anyone want the little POS?

 

[Sage]

Marshall I agree compleatly on the AGCO/Massy tractors. I have a 4440, 4055 and just dumped a 2950 JD. No more green equipment here. I plan on replacing the 4440 with a RT120 Agco as soon as possible. Everythin will wear out or break down eventually but JD's are costing me about 20% more for repairs and parts than comparable repairs on an AGCO or New Holland, and they seem to be in the shop just as often. This is kinda sad since my family owned a JD dealersip from 1960-2002.

 

[ToddFarmsInc]

I bought a little larger tractor this year, an 80 hp. I've not been really satisified with it so far. It's a case farmall 90. I bought it back in march. They picked up one of my trade in tractors for it. Then I waited, and waited, and waited ... april, may, june, july..... finnally in august, when my hay work was nearly completed, they brought out my new tractor and picked up my other trade in. I drove it for about a day, and told them I thought it was running hot. The temp guage was running really high. They sent out a mechanice, and that little twit told me that my bailer I was pulling was just to large for the tractor. :devil2: Then the next day I tried simply hauling bails, no loader attached to the tractor, still ran hot. They come out two weeks ago, and picked up the tractor to try to fix the problem. I now don't have that tractor, I don't have the two tractors I traded in either. :devil2: This little feasco is making me wished I switched from red to green, or some other color. :devil2: