What to buy? 4x4 Yanmar or 2x4 Massey Ferguson 135

[flassiter]

Hello,

We are building a house on 7 acres. Most of it is flat to rolling, with half being pasture and the other half woods. One small section of the pasture is wet almost year round with natural springs. We have a 700' limestone rock driveway and some parts of it are fairly steep, though still easily passable with a regular car. Here is a picture of the driveway...



I need a tractor to bush hog the pasture and grade my road on occassion. I'd also like to pull some trees out of the woods that were cleared when our driveway was put in. Eventually we'd like to raise goats and sheep.

Getting to my question, I have a limited budget, ideally no more than $5000 for a tractor, blade and bushhog. I hear good things about a MF 135, but I worry the hill will be too much for a 2 wheel drive tractor to pull a box blade up my driveway or bush hog the wet pasture. The only 4 wheel drive tractors in my budget are a Yanmar 1601D and a Yanmar 1300D and I've heard good things about them too, but I've also heard they can be a little "tippy" on a slope.

Of the two which would be my better choice, a 4x4 Yanmar or a 2x4 MF 135? Any other suggestions in my price range? I'd ideally like a diesel, with power steering and live pto. Edited to add, I have quite a bit of experience operating heavy equipment, but I am a terrible mechanic, not sure if that matters.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[kenmac]

The massey will have more HP than a 1601 or a 1300 .You won't get live PTO on a yanmar. I think 2 stage clutck was an option on the massey. The massey will weight more than either of the yanmars you listed which maybe a better choice for you. You could get the 135 with a gas or diesel engine. A friend of mine has a 135 gas burner. All the hydrulics are internal

 

[JCTRACTOR]

I am new to this forum, but I think I would like to throw my 2 cents in here. The Massey Ferguson 135 gas or especially diesel will NOT disappoint you for what you want to do. It does in fact have a 2 stage clutch and if you find a deluxe model, power steering was available. It will outwork either of your other choices. A 35 was an earlier version, TO35 or MF35 is a similar tractor but older. As always look them over, they can have issues, but if you find a 135 diesel it will have a pretty bulletproof Perkins AD3-152 engine that really runs well.

 

[pat32rf]

For what you want to do, 4x4 beats 2x4 any day. Look around for a 30-40hp used 4x4. Buy once instead of moving up in a year....

 

[Car Doc]

I think if you look you could find a 4x4 Yanmar in the 26-30 hp range probably not from a dealer but private sale in your price range or a bit more try the tractor locators online. 4wd will come in handy later it always does and you will be glad you have it. hth

 

[SidneyPhoto]

you should be able to adjust any of them to a wide stance for stability.

Unless it's really wet and boggy 2 wheel drive should be O.K.

The Massey with the Perkins is a workhorse.

I had a MF 35 diesel deluxe for 20 years, it had the "standard diesel" don't buy one of those.
The MF 35 was a great tractor, but you cannot get engine parts anymore unless things have changed.

I also had a TO 35 same motor, lasted ten good years, and We ran them very hard!

Best of luck with your search.

 

[Soundguy]

For what you want to do, 4x4 beats 2x4 any day. Look around for a 30-40hp used 4x4. Buy once instead of moving up in a year....

when the front end on that small yanmar goes out.. you might as well sell it.

the 135 will win hands down in this issue.

mowing a wet pasture? most smart people stay out of wet low spots with a tractor no matter how many drive wheels it has.

buying a tractor too small to do the job will disaapoint the buyer. the 1600 and 1300 are SMALL

who wants to hog with a 44" or 4' mower ??? or drag a 4' box?

soundguy

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Had a MF165D yrs ago and still have a fond spot in my heart for it. Have had the Yanmar a lot longer than the MF.

IMO the 1300 is too small and I'm not so sure of the 2 cyl. The 1601 is bigger but still pretty small but does have a 3 cyl engine. Again IMO hard to say anything bad about MF's of that period. The Perkins engines were great. If you could find a Yanmar a little larger it will likely have more speeds than the MF 3x2 and same for pto.

My Yanmar has 18 fwd speeds and a 4 pto ranges. Very versatile. My Yanmar tips the scales with me in the seat and nothing in the bucket @ 4000 lbs. Oh, and that's another thing about the older Yanmars, not typ intended to have a FEL. On mine, with bucket empty, the front tires are at their max load capacity. With that said, I've not had any problems but I try and limit the load I place in the bucket. And I'd not sell it for the money that's in you budget.

For the 3 tractors you've mentioned, my vote goes for the MF 135 with a diesel if possible.

 

[gatordog]

If you are buying used, I would go with the Massey, since more used parts would be available from scraped tractors. Do you want to spend 400 dollars on a new dealer part for the Yanmar or spend 30 dollars for the same part on the Massey. I would get the Massey and just fill the rear tires with water to increase traction. I just bought a Massey 230 and I am doing some front axle work since it has not been greased in the last 30 years. I paid 5,500 for the tractor and it came with a new 5 ft Howse shredder. The 230 is similar in size to the 135. Have you looked at the old Fords, maybe a 3910 or up to a 4600. Good machines also, and lots of them. Stay away from the new stuff, to many electronics, computers, plastic, fancy transmissions, all the things that somebody like us do not need. Remember KISS theory.

 

[deere5105]

Another vote for the Massey and recommendation to consider the older Ford tractors.