Greetings, All
As I mentioned in my "Introduction" post, I just signed for a 2005 GC2310 from a private owner. Complete with loader, backhoe, but no belly mower. Engine, paint, and electrical intact with no signs of "field maintenance" and paid $10.5k with 509 hours. I had inspected a half-dozen other brands offered by private parties local to me and both those with/without backhoe in my price range were rode very hard and put up wet. Thanks to all the reviews here I felt this was a solid package at a fair price.
After writing the check I had a sleepless night of course wondering "What have I done?" Came back here and *really* read the posts started by hknapp about premature failure of the aux hydro pump. OMG the seller must have seen this NOOB coming a mile off! Wondered how long he would have to flog this bomb waiting to explode before they found me, The Fool!
Scared myself stupid overnight about how much more money this one was going to cost me and if I should have just gone with payments on $18,000 for a new GC1710. Soon as business opened I called both M-F dealers each an hour away and asked service if 1) they had heard about this problem on a thirteen year old tractor, and 2) would they suggest doing a premature replacement and what would that cost?
Selling dealer service desk got huge marks by being honest: "We haven't been a dealer all that long, actually." Guy researched and by the afternooon found there is a M-F TSB on the pump, and sheepishly admitted repair was expensive, their shop could do the work for ~$2500
Second dealer service mechanic with 40 years M-F experience: Finished my sentence for me, "yeah, the pump spline shaft shears off." Estimated $1500 repair cost.
BOTH agreed that the thing for me to do is to run it until it fails. A LOT of tractors written about here have failed with between 250-750 hours, but I wonder about all the GC2310 still running fine we never hear about. Some posters here mentioned "thousands and thousands of dollars" and someone $6000 for cost of repair, but those posts are all from around 2008-2012.
My Serial is JPA-20275. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the service manual split between pre-JNA and post-JNA was for an updated pump! Maybe I'll get lucky.
I am going to run it until (if) it breaks. The estimated cost of repair is not excessive in my opinion for the tractor I am getting. Wish me luck!
-Phil
Tidewater Virginia
As I mentioned in my "Introduction" post, I just signed for a 2005 GC2310 from a private owner. Complete with loader, backhoe, but no belly mower. Engine, paint, and electrical intact with no signs of "field maintenance" and paid $10.5k with 509 hours. I had inspected a half-dozen other brands offered by private parties local to me and both those with/without backhoe in my price range were rode very hard and put up wet. Thanks to all the reviews here I felt this was a solid package at a fair price.
After writing the check I had a sleepless night of course wondering "What have I done?" Came back here and *really* read the posts started by hknapp about premature failure of the aux hydro pump. OMG the seller must have seen this NOOB coming a mile off! Wondered how long he would have to flog this bomb waiting to explode before they found me, The Fool!
Scared myself stupid overnight about how much more money this one was going to cost me and if I should have just gone with payments on $18,000 for a new GC1710. Soon as business opened I called both M-F dealers each an hour away and asked service if 1) they had heard about this problem on a thirteen year old tractor, and 2) would they suggest doing a premature replacement and what would that cost?Selling dealer service desk got huge marks by being honest: "We haven't been a dealer all that long, actually." Guy researched and by the afternooon found there is a M-F TSB on the pump, and sheepishly admitted repair was expensive, their shop could do the work for ~$2500
Second dealer service mechanic with 40 years M-F experience: Finished my sentence for me, "yeah, the pump spline shaft shears off." Estimated $1500 repair cost.
BOTH agreed that the thing for me to do is to run it until it fails. A LOT of tractors written about here have failed with between 250-750 hours, but I wonder about all the GC2310 still running fine we never hear about. Some posters here mentioned "thousands and thousands of dollars" and someone $6000 for cost of repair, but those posts are all from around 2008-2012.
My Serial is JPA-20275. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the service manual split between pre-JNA and post-JNA was for an updated pump! Maybe I'll get lucky.
I am going to run it until (if) it breaks. The estimated cost of repair is not excessive in my opinion for the tractor I am getting. Wish me luck!
-Phil
Tidewater Virginia
