Buying Advice Older 4X4 25-50 HP?

[whodat526]

all ford nh's made up to about the year 2000 or 2001 that i know of will use the same parts no matter where they where made the only difference would be the parking brake set up and lights because they had to meet gov. requirements i believe JD is the same i have bought and sold many tractors that was imported from europe now kobuta on the other hand there is alot of them that was made for the japanese market and they dont have parts for them because if it was not made for the US market after 15 years they quit making many of the parts for these tractors

 

[Soundguy]

Rtimgray,
I was actually interested in how to consciously avoid grey market tractors, not because anything is wrong with them, but because I'm concerned with the long term availability of parts. How does one identify a tractor as grey market? This seems like something that sellers might not disclose.

you need to look at the model numbers. for instance, on yanmar, the grey models are 4 digit.. the us models are 3 digit ( except the 177 ).

I don't have the orange (grey) models in my head.. but on them.. some of them are even weirder with backwards pto.. etc.

and yes.. parts support on grey can be spotty and could get spottier as time goes by.

soundguy

 

[whodat526]

shabiru is just as bad about the grey market parts unavallable

 

[dook]

Thanks for the replies. A grey market tractor might be OK if it sold at an appropriate 30% discount. I've been known to make my own parts. I would venture to guess that most grey tractor buyers don't know what they're getting.
I generally try to stay away from wierd and exotic products. What amazed me about my 8N Ford is that almost all the parts were easily available, many even at the local feed store! The only reason parts would be available for a 58 year old tractor is that the production numbers were high. I would like to stay away from tractors that had low production numbers.
This place is full of great info!

 

[RoyJackson]

I'd look for a Deere 770 (24 engine HP, 20 at the PTO), 870 (28 or 30 engine HP and (I think) 25 at the PTO), 970 and 1070. An early 790 would also be a good choice. All gear tractors, BTW.
Solid machines all and parts are still available. Quite a bit of the sheet metal looks to be the same as the 790 (current designation is the 3005).

Others would be the Deere 855 or 955. These are hydro machines. Basic parts are still around, but if you want a loader, buy one with a loader.

Figure $8000 to $12000.

I think you'll find most Kubotas or the age you're looking for to be well under 30 PTO HP. Good machines, but maybe less HP then you need

 

[dook]

I'd look for a Deere 770 (24 engine HP, 20 at the PTO), 870 (28 or 30 engine HP and (I think) 25 at the PTO), 970 and 1070. An early 790 would also be a good choice. All gear tractors, BTW.
Solid machines all and parts are still available. Quite a bit of the sheet metal looks to be the same as the 790 (current designation is the 3005).

Others would be the Deere 855 or 955. These are hydro machines. Basic parts are still around, but if you want a loader, buy one with a loader.

Figure $8000 to $12000.

I think you'll find most Kubotas or the age you're looking for to be well under 30 PTO HP. Good machines, but maybe less HP then you need

Thanks, Roy. The horsepower ratings confuse me. My 8N was about 22HP and powerful enough for a bushog or back blade but possibly not for a loader (I didn't have one). Does a loader rob lots of horsepower? How many horses are needed to nimbly move a half yard of dirt around?
It seems older machines had half the horsepower and twice the weight. In a race car you want the highest HP to weight ratio, but all I want is a rugged workhorse with torque and the right gearing to do the work. Preferably a manual transmission.

 

[dcyrilc]

Thanks, Roy. The horsepower ratings confuse me. My 8N was about 22HP and powerful enough for a bushog or back blade but possibly not for a loader (I didn't have one). Does a loader rob lots of horsepower? How many horses are needed to nimbly move a half yard of dirt around?
It seems older machines had half the horsepower and twice the weight. In a race car you want the highest HP to weight ratio, but all I want is a rugged workhorse with torque and the right gearing to do the work. Preferably a manual transmission.

I have a Deere 2240 4x4 with loader (50HP at the PTO) and love it. It's smaller brother is the 2040. These are going to be 25-35 years old though. I paid $7500 and it came with a disk, 8' rear blade, 7' landscape rake, and mounted duels plus extra tires. It's needed a little work which I'm plugging away at, but it runs strong and has been usable from day one. The deals are out there if you're willing to look.

 

[Soundguy]

Thanks, Roy. The horsepower ratings confuse me. My 8N was about 22HP and powerful enough for a bushog or back blade but possibly not for a loader (I didn't have one). Does a loader rob lots of horsepower? How many horses are needed to nimbly move a half yard of dirt around?
It seems older machines had half the horsepower and twice the weight. In a race car you want the highest HP to weight ratio, but all I want is a rugged workhorse with torque and the right gearing to do the work. Preferably a manual transmission.

Hyds use hp.. however hp is not the issue you want to judge with an N with a loader.. it's whether you are running live hyds or not, and if the laoder is full hyd or trip dump. not to mention the front axle kingpin is a lil anemic for a HD loader, there is a lack of good loader attach points, thus loaders were afterthoughts and usually used rear axle fender bolts as a rear mount, and a hanger from a repalced axle pin as the front hanger... that and the lack of power steering.

drawbar hp is about 23 on an 8n.. pto 27

soundguy

 

[dook]

Hyds use hp.. however hp is not the issue you want to judge with an N with a loader.. it's whether you are running live hyds or not, and if the laoder is full hyd or trip dump. not to mention the front axle kingpin is a lil anemic for a HD loader, there is a lack of good loader attach points, thus loaders were afterthoughts and usually used rear axle fender bolts as a rear mount, and a hanger from a repalced axle pin as the front hanger... that and the lack of power steering.

drawbar hp is about 23 on an 8n.. pto 27

soundguy

I was warned about loaders on 8N's a long time ago. I would not own a tractor-loader without power steering, hydraulic dump and full width bucket. There are plenty of 8-9N's with loaders for sale.

My property is all steep terrain. Rear-only left-right brakes are a little dangerous. Driving an 8N down a steep road is a little spooky for me.
I noticed many of the later model tractors had hydraulic brakes all around, some with single pedals. When did manufacturers start building them like that?

 

[Soundguy]

I've seen hyd assisted brakes.. though havn't seen hyd front brakes very often.. in 4wd though, and especially with diffy lock.. rear braking will translate to the front.. etc.

that said.. 2wd, and no ps on steep or hilly ground is not my idea of fun.

soundguy