Buying Advice Massey Ferguson 240S Loader

[dsatchel]

New to the forum. My family and I bought a place and a tractor this past year (1998 MF 240S). I am looking for a front end loader for the tractor. I am located in Upstate SC. Any recommendations or anyone have one sitting that they need to unload?

Thanks.

dsatchel (Donald)

 

[davesl708]

Hi. Welcome.

I am sure someone has an idea of where one will be available. Might contact a local dealer. They seem to know what is available.

 

[Farmer495]

Just be aware a 240S does not make a great loader tractor, 3.9 GPM hyd pump and 8x2 trans.....

Now a loader on a 240S is way better than NO loader...

Unless you can get the loader for very little, I'd invest money in another tractor with loader.

 

[GManBart]

New to the forum. My family and I bought a place and a tractor this past year (1998 MF 240S). I am looking for a front end loader for the tractor. I am located in Upstate SC. Any recommendations or anyone have one sitting that they need to unload?

Thanks.

dsatchel (Donald)

Welcome to TBN!

It's going to take some luck to find the correct loader for your 240S. Generally speaking, putting a loader on that series of tractor (my MF241 is in the same boat) isn't a great idea. 2wd tractors that aren't extremely heavy don't work well with loaders, and the front axle on that series Massy isn't really built to handle the additional stress of a loader. I think either a 232 or 236 model will work, but you need to get brackets that fit your exact model. Looking on Tractorhouse and other similar places, they're asking several thousand dollars for those loaders, and that doesn't involve shipping them, or the correct brackets (unless you get lucky).

This question comes up from time to time on similar Masseys and it's often a better route to sell the tractor and use that money, plus what you would have spent on the loader, to get a tractor with a loader on it. When I bought my 241 I was looking for a machine without a loader, because it's only for mowing, and a loader just gets in the way....so there are people out there looking for similar machines.

 

[GManBart]

This one might work:

massey ferguson frontend loader

 

[Dredwolf]

Let me add a piece of hard-won, $$$ knowledge here.

I have my father's MF 250 that was originally fitted with a 232 loader when it was bought in the middle '80s. My son has established himself as "The Breaker of Tractors" with the MF 250 fitted with the 232. We are still trying to find time to split the tractor a second time to fit the 2nd transmission housing. The way the FEL's mount on these puts a lot of stress on that transmission housing.
Again, the 250 w/232 survived many years before my son broke it twice, but he struggles with common sense (life-long painful story), and the cast iron housing does not forgive. Yes to operator error, but with some minor fabricating skill of my own (and lots of observation of new FEL mounting designs), the design of the mounts and plates is marginal at best. Once ANY of those mounting bolts are loose, it's over. Again, before I get flamed about operator error, simply watching a neighbor with his 35hp Kubota TLB move horse manure vs my 250 with the 232 FEL, he was easily moving the same pile in 45 minutes that normally took me 2+ hours.

I do want to keep the tractor because it was my dad's, but IF I could do it all over, or was not attached to a particular tractor, I would look to a tractor with the more modern mounting designs with heavy sub-frames to the rear for FEL work, and 4x4 grunt to push the loader into the piles.

 

[GManBart]

Let me add a piece of hard-won, $$$ knowledge here.

I have my father's MF 250 that was originally fitted with a 232 loader when it was bought in the middle '80s. My son has established himself as "The Breaker of Tractors" with the MF 250 fitted with the 232. We are still trying to find time to split the tractor a second time to fit the 2nd transmission housing. The way the FEL's mount on these puts a lot of stress on that transmission housing.
Again, the 250 w/232 survived many years before my son broke it twice, but he struggles with common sense (life-long painful story), and the cast iron housing does not forgive. Yes to operator error, but with some minor fabricating skill of my own (and lots of observation of new FEL mounting designs), the design of the mounts and plates is marginal at best. Once ANY of those mounting bolts are loose, it's over. Again, before I get flamed about operator error, simply watching a neighbor with his 35hp Kubota TLB move horse manure vs my 250 with the 232 FEL, he was easily moving the same pile in 45 minutes that normally took me 2+ hours.

I do want to keep the tractor because it was my dad's, but IF I could do it all over, or was not attached to a particular tractor, I would look to a tractor with the more modern mounting designs with heavy sub-frames to the rear for FEL work, and 4x4 grunt to push the loader into the piles.

I don't think anybody can flame you for that....it's true that the design has always been on the light side, and while you can do work with them, they simply aren't as robust as most newer machines are in that regard.

 

[redman135]

Don't bother getting a loader for the mf240, the hydrualic pump is to small for the job. Response will be sluggish and you will quickly be snarling hurry up you p.o.s. The other thing is the front axle bush wears quickly if not greased, and the loader obstructs already poor access the the zerk, so you will need to fit an extension pipe to bring the axle pivot zerk out to where you can reach it.
You will be better off getting a loader tractor with a much bigger hydraulic pump and a stronger front axle.