Initial review of the Farmall 45A

[Robert_in_NY]

I now have 25 hours on this tractor and every time I use it I keep wanting to buy a 2nd one but with FWA to be able to use it where I use the TN65 for tillage work. Its a simple 2wd unit but its very comfortable, easy to use, incredibly quiet has a great 3pt hitch setup and just makes me happy with my choice every time I use it. I am really looking forward to hay season as I will get to put more hours on it. It has ran a post pounder fine, planted 12 acres of corn with a 4 row corn planter and pulled a 7' Bush Hog medium duty box blade on tilled ground (leveling a section).

I am starting this thread now and hope to keep updating it as the year goes by. But this little tractor sure has impressed me so far.

 

[onceacop]

What transmission do you have? Going to pu a 55A next week. It has the 8x8 syncro shuttle and they say you can shift on the fly. One dealer told me not so even though they claim it in advertising. Any issues with shifting??

 

[Robert_in_NY]

What transmission do you have? Going to pu a 55A next week. It has the 8x8 syncro shuttle and they say you can shift on the fly. One dealer told me not so even though they claim it in advertising. Any issues with shifting??

I have the 8x8 and its not synchronized. If you shift up in gear your generally ok but shifting down you will grind. I prefer to stop completely then shift and as I get more familiar with the gears I won't need to change as often.

 

[RickB]

Gald you're happy with your 45. How did the electrical harness work out?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Gald you're happy with your 45. How did the electrical harness work out?

It arrived yesterday and I haven't had a chance to install it yet. I'm going to today. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Using it to mark out the rows for the new vineyard

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I hit 60 hours and am going to pull it in the barn to do the 50 hour service tomorrow. It has been hooked to a tedder and rake the last 10 days and has been doing great. It is a very quiet tractor and using the tedder and the rake it has plenty of power that I can just let it idle along nicely. You don't really need ear protection with this machine but I still use mine because of the radio. It has tedded and raked 35 acres of hay on a single tank of fuel. Granted, I'm down to the last few drops now (was trying to finish without taking fuel to the field) but I am happy with the fuel consumption on this machine.

Overall it has been a joy to operate. I still want to buy a second one with FWA (would be a 55A though) just because of how much I like this one. I will easily recommend this tractor to anyone who asks (even to some who don't ask ). The 3pt is a great set up as well with telescopic stabilizers and lower links so making attaching implements very easy. It comes standard on these tractors as does the first remote so it really is a nice, affordable unit. I call it a bare bones machine because it doesn't have any fancy electronics but they didn't skimp on anything that I can tell. The seat is very comfy, 3pt is great (as I just said), is very enjoyable to operate and the controls are well laid out. It comes with the 8x8 shuttle tranny standard as well.

My only dislike is there is a kill switch on this tractor so that if you don't put the high/low lever in neutral before standing up from the seat it kills the engine. I don't know why its on the H/L instead of the shuttle but it is something that takes some getting use to. I'm ingrained to always putting the shuttle in neutral and I do so naturally now with this one but it makes no difference as its the H/L that matters this time. The only other item I would change would be to put larger 2wd front tires on it. They are kind of small and as a result if you hit a rut the small tires will bounce the tractor more. Larger tires will smooth out the ride more and even though its pretty good I would like to make all my tractors run as smooth as possible.

I don't expect any surprises doing the 50 hour service but if I do I will make a note of it and post it on here for anyone interested.

 

[case245]

thats a nice case i thinking of trading my L3800 in it has 16 hrs for a case 50b i was told they are shibria and they have mutishbutsi engines in them but the problem im having the dealer told me to sell the L3800 out rite id rather trade it

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I thought the B series were rebadged LS tractors. The 45A and 55A had the Shibaru engines with the rest of the tractor by CNH. I have never used an LS tractor or even looked at the B series so I can't say anything about it. As for your Kubota, I talked to my Deere dealer about trading my Kubota in on a Deere and they were only offering me $27k for a $43k tractor less then 6 months old with 64 hours so I can understand how you feel. I need to sell my Kubota outright in order to be able to get the Deere without taking a huge loss.

I did the 50 hour service today. It was very easy and only took a few minutes. The hydraulic filter is up next to the engine so its easy to access. My Kubota has two hydraulic filters that are between the rear housing and the tire so it is extremely hard to access them and cost twice as much to buy filters for compared to every other tractor I own. Engine oil filter is a little harder to get a wrench on but it isn't too bad. The engine only takes a around 5.7 quarts of oil so it isn't too expensive for full changes. CNH doesn't call for a hydraulic oil change at 50 hours, only a filter change which I appreciated as it saved a lot of money and the filter should catch any particles that are in the oil. I did top off the hydraulic oil and that is something I wish CNH would have designed a little better with a seperate fill point from the dip stick behind the seat so that you don't need to worry about dumping oil on the seat or operators station since the fill port is right in front of the seat and under the steering wheel. That or at least make the dip stick larger so that you can fill through that hole without needing to pull a wrench out and remove the plug the dip stick sits in. Other then that it is a great tractor to service.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Gald you're happy with your 45. How did the electrical harness work out?

I don't remember if I ever mentioned it but I did install the harness and everything worked as it was suppose to. It sure is a nice feature for running auxilary items like monitors and controllers without needing to run new power lines all over the tractor.