I ende up buying one anyway

[oneslackr]

That should've read: "I ended up...."

Earlier in August I posted a thread about being a newbie who was considering the purchase of a tractor for use on 6 acres. I'm the guy whose wife didn't want him to purchase a new tractor.

So on August 8th I ended up buying a used MF 1533 at auction on the Agco Finance website. It has a MF1525 loader, Kodiak 5ft. cutter, 5ft. AB box blade. It has the basic 8x8 Synchro Shuttle trans. I bought it site unseen (other than the pics posted with the auction). It took a couple of weeks for Agco to get their act together to get the paperwork in order. Then it took 2 more weeks to get it shipped out here to TX from SC (ended using a shipper who bid on it through uShip). Labor Day weekend also contributed to the shipment delay. The tractor finally arrived this past Sunday.

I'm taking it today to my local Massey dealer to let them check everything out & do a bit of maintenance on it. Not sure how it was treated by the prior owner. It only has 72.5 hours on it but you can tell it has seen some work & has sat outside for its entire life (paint is faded on top of the hood/top of fenders). Nothing a good quality clay bar/waxing can't fix. Also a bit of rust on the bucket but nothing unexpected.

I tested everything out & 99% seems to be in great working order. I've found 2 problems so far. First the differential lock pedal doesn't seem to be engaging (hopefully something is just out of adjustment). When I went to detach the cutter I found that the lower links didn't want to come off. I ended up having to take the bolts loose from cutter & then I was able to slide the lower links off with the bolts still attached to them (seems like they're rusted on too). Probably a bit of WD-40 or PB Blaster would fix this but since I'm taking it in I'll let them deal with it.

Here is one of the auction pics of it:

 

[jbrumberg]

oneslackr:

Welcome to TBN ! Nice looking tractor . It is a good idea to have it checked out by the M-F dealer as well as develop a working relationship with them. Now let the membership "help" you on acquiring additional attachments. Use your "new" tractor safely and well- Jay

 

[RoyJackson]

Good for you!
Looks like a fine machine!

 

[Soundguy]

Wow.. 72 hours is practically just out of the womb. Luckilly about the worst damage an abusive user could have done to it in that time would be to run it hot or out of fluids / burnt clutch.. and those would cause immediat and easy to notice performance issues when you started it and drove it... so.. odds are that you got a decent machine. She looks good and tough.

If the dealer doesn't do much other than knock the pins out, take some 800 sand paper tot he pins and polish them, and to the same for your 3pt lift arm ID using a dowel rod as a backup for the sand paper. I personally wouldn't lube them as that makes them collect dust and dirt, and that usually grinds them down to make a poor fit..

Good luck on the machine!

If it were me, I'd spring for a full service for piece of mind.. fluids, filters.. etc.. even check the belts and hoses..

Soundguy

 

[sandman2234]

Since you mentioned the diff lock wasn't engaging, but didn't discribe what it is or isn't doing, it is hard to diagonose it. Not knowing your level of expertise, I will throw out the basics and see how the do. Hopefully someone more familiar with your particular machine will chime in if your level exceeds mine. (which isn't much)
Usually the differential lock only locks in when one tire is spinning. If you are sitting still, the lever will just go up and down with no feel to it. If the spinning tire gains traction, the diff lock will pop out sometimes. They also won't engage the front axle differential. If you are trying to push into a pile with the loader, and one rear wheel starts spinning, and you step on the diff lock pedal and nothing happens as far as the other rear tire is concerned, then you do have something wrong. Sometimes you might have to stand on it, if it is one of the stiff ones, but not usually. Make sure the underside of the pedal is clear, nothing in the way of travel. Look to see if the linkage may have gotten bent by running over a tree or something while bush hogging.
Hopefully you have a good, reasonable, honest, easy to work with dealer nearby!
David from jax

 

[teg]

"...differential lock pedal doesn't seem to be engaging..." As far as I know on my kubota, I have to hold the pedal down as I need it. As soon as I'm done, it pops back up (disengages). It doesn't lock into place.

A way to test it is to high center the tractor using the back left tire and the front right tire going on a curb. As soon as the weight is off of the other two tires, they will spin (at least mine does... this is my main use for the Diff. Lock). Then press on the pedal and see what happens.

PS. Nice looking *new* tractor...

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin oneslackr,
Looks like yea done good !!! Thats a fine lookin machine ! I think the guys have you pointed in the right direction on the diff lock. Anyway good luck with your new machine ! And welcome to TBN !

 

[oneslackr]

Thanks for warm welcome to the club. I feel privileged to be a member.

I'm a car nut/gear head (have been since I was old enough to walk) so I'm sure the disease with the tractor and wanting to buy goodies for it will be just as bad as it is with cars/trucks. I already have a few items I'd like to add.

As for the differential lock, the pedal seems to be stuck. It certainly doesn't move the full length of travel like it should. It seems to be stuck about half way between engaged/disengaged. I bought an owners manual last week to get familiar with things. According to that,

On occasion, differential lock pedal may remain engaged due to torque differences exerted by rear wheels. In this case, tap brake pedals alternately while tractor is slowly in motion to release the pedal.

At first I thought perhaps it was stuck in the engaged position so I tried the brake pedal trick but it didn't do a thing.

I don't think it is locked in the engaged postion though because I'm able to turn just fine. If it were engaged you wouldn't have any speed differential between the rear wheels so your ability to turn would be terrible. I'm curious to see what the dealer says about it. If it's something minor then I'll let them fix it. If it's going to cost an arm and a leg then forget it. As long as it isn't stuck in the on position I can live without it.

I did test out the 4wd by lowering the bucket enough to get the front tires off the ground & then pulled myself backwards just enough with & without
4wd to make sure the front wheels were engaging.

Sorry for another long post. Thanks again for the well wishes. I'll let you guys know how things go with it & I'll add some more pics later (especially if I add some goodies to it ).

 

[sandman2234]

For some reason, most of the time the diff lock may not go down until one wheel starts spinning, then it will go the rest of the way. The pedal should then come back up as you remove your foot, but it should stay engaged until you push in the clutch, or relief the pressure from the gears that are engaged. Take it out, put a load on it in soft stuff, in 2wd and keep your foot on the pedal. As one wheel starts spinning, the pedal should go down.
David from jax

 

[canoetrpr]

Welcome! Great looking machine you've got there.