Price Check MF 85 gasser & 135 diesel

[dwhiteykc]

Sorry if I'm wearing this forum out, but you guys are too good a source of info for us new guys! My last post was about a 135 down the street & I'm going to check on a couple more & hopefully make a decision this week (and be mowing by next). Found an 85 for $4000, comes with 6' Woods Finish Mower, 7' Blade and 7' Boom Hoist. Its a 62 HP Gas, Wide Front, 8 Speed Trans, Cat 2- 3 Point, Single Hydraulics, Live 540 PTO, Front Weight Bracket. Overhauled last June and not used since. Owner said tach broken when he bought it, zero hours on the overhaul, said rubber was decent but not great. I need the implements anyway for about 6 acres of pasture, light plowing, and need to add a smaller brush hog and sickle mower (for pond dam slopes). Its 10 years older than the 135 down the street, but a fair amount more HP. I can't find much about the 85, which makes me wonder if they have the same reputation as the 135 as far as ease of maintenance/repair and availabilty of parts?

The other is a 135 w Perkins diesel at a dealer for $3750. Not sure of the hours on it, dealer said when he bought it the grill & one fender were messed up, so put new ones on it. Rubber & rims like new, power steering. Hydraulics valve was frozen up (maybe damaged when fender was damaged) so he took it off. New paint.

Or, should a newbie steer away from the diesels for their additional maintenance/repair issues?

Thanks again for the help.

[flusher]

Sorry if I'm wearing this forum out, but you guys are too good a source of info for us new guys! My last post was about a 135 down the street & I'm going to check on a couple more & hopefully make a decision this week (and be mowing by next). Found an 85 for $4000, comes with 6' Woods Finish Mower, 7' Blade and 7' Boom Hoist. Its a 62 HP Gas, Wide Front, 8 Speed Trans, Cat 2- 3 Point, Single Hydraulics, Live 540 PTO, Front Weight Bracket. Overhauled last June and not used since. Owner said tach broken when he bought it, zero hours on the overhaul, said rubber was decent but not great. I need the implements anyway for about 6 acres of pasture, light plowing, and need to add a smaller brush hog and sickle mower (for pond dam slopes). Its 10 years older than the 135 down the street, but a fair amount more HP. I can't find much about the 85, which makes me wonder if they have the same reputation as the 135 as far as ease of maintenance/repair and availabilty of parts?

The other is a 135 w Perkins diesel at a dealer for $3750. Not sure of the hours on it, dealer said when he bought it the grill & one fender were messed up, so put new ones on it. Rubber & rims like new, power steering. Hydraulics valve was frozen up (maybe damaged when fender was damaged) so he took it off. New paint.

Or, should a newbie steer away from the diesels for their additional maintenance/repair issues?

Thanks again for the help.

$4K isn't a bad price for that MF65 with those extras. Ask the guy what "overhaul" was actually done--was it just replacing/rebuilding bolt-on stuff (carb, water pump, fuel pump, etc) or did he tear into the engine, clutch, transmission and rear end/hydraulics?

And the asking price for that 135 isn't bad either. I paid $3600 in Jul06 for a 1964 MF 135 diesel with Multipower that looked a lot worse than the one you're eyeballing.

Just be sure you drive those tractors before you buy. Run the tractor in every gear. Be sure the 3pt hitch is working--it's best to have an implement on the hitch during this test to load up hydraulic system. Operate the live clutch (2-stage clutch) and the pto clutch to be sure that system is working OK.

Good luck

[ToadHill]

I gad an 85 for quite a few years. It was a good tractor and always started no matter how cold or wet it got. I got rid of it when the rear rims rotted out it needed new rear tires. It would just have cost more than I was willing to spend at that time.

I got it from my neighbor who used it to run his 750 acre farm for over 30 years. It had over 10,000 hours on it and all that was ever done to it was a valve job, and a few replacement parts in the power steering and brakes.