The Adventure Continues
Model Year: 2006
Howdy Folks! Just a few lines to catch you up on my MF GC-2310TLB. Actually, I got carried away, this post is HUGE! Anyone considering the purchase of this tractor will be glad to hear that I am still extremely pleased with this tough little machine! In Northeast Oklahoma, we get all kinds of weather -- especially heat and DUST DUST DUST! It has been more than three seasons now since I bought this amazing little tractor and I am more amazed each time I climb aboard! After more than 250 hours of hard use, everything still works and the tractor still looks very sharp. I have had very few problems and I have acquired a large stable of attachments and implements. Problems to date: Busted fitting on hydraulic hose in the backhoe Slow leak in the left rear tire Numerous seeping hydraulic cylinders!!!! High rate of blade wear (60" Deck) Sticky, binding movement of four-way control valve Torn dust boot on left front steering rod Poor dealer support (Read non-existant!) Typical jobs: Mowing (Heavy and either dusty or wet) -- 60" MMM Driveway maintenance (Gravel -- box blade and rake) Ditch maintenance (Call Before You Dig!!! -- You had better listen to me!) -- Backhoe Moving a myriad of heavy items around my property -- FEL Massive amounts of tree limb cleanup -- Flatbed Trailer and FEL Clearing overgrowth (a lot! -- landscape rake) Digging out stumps -- Backhoe And today... raising my wife up in the FEL bucket so she could pick mulberries. (Yes, I know that's a no-no, but mulberries make great ice cream!) As you can see, this awesome little machine has become my constant companion when I work outside. It is always ready to work its heart out and asks for nothing more than a little regular maintenance. I stop just short of giving it a name -- I am not a name kind of guy, and besides, I don't know if tractors are male or female... Hmmmm... It sure is purty... Speaking of maintenance, I have done just what the manual said. No more, no less. It is a very happy little machine. Concerning the above problems, the dealer from whom I bought the machine grudgingly warrantied the broken hose (but couldn't find the time to install it unless I left it there for a week -- took me 15 minutes including fishing it down the backhoe boom. Nobody seemed to want to address the cylinder seepage problem and now it is out of warranty. I read that some folks found loose glands on the cylinders and tightening solved the problem -- I am gonna give that a try and see if it's a fix. I cannot believe that MF would market crappy cylinders. I will let y'all know if it works. Now Boys and Girls, let's talk about those mower blades! I have been going through about four sets per year! I am not kidding! My property is sandy/dusty and simply eats mower blades. The first year, my dealer sold me blades for $60 per set. Not too bad. Last year, with no explanation or apology, the price jumped to $140 per set!!!! Unacceptable!!! I have searched far and wide and have thus far found no aftermarket substitute! You will find nothing on my tractor that doesn't say Massey Ferguson -- even down to the oil inside, but I am looking to jump ship on the blades! This year, because of the high cost of blades, and the fact that none of the THREE dealers I have access to kept them in stock, I decided to reweld and regrind the blades. I had heard of a process called hard-facing and I looked into it. I called my local Air-Gas Supply looking for some hard-face rod to use with my TIG machine and they handed me to their guy who specializes in REPAIRS. He proceeded to give me a very detailed education about hard-facing mower blades! (Massey Ferguson should make their dealers meet this guy to learn about customer service!) This fine fellow had me bring him a set of blades and he used his process to hard-face the entire set at no cost to me while teaching and coaching me!!!! He said that the fact that I am an airgas customer was good enough! WOW!!! (did I say WOW???) Anyways, I won't go into the process (it is pretty simple but does require one $500 piece of specialty gear and about $200 in supplies -- which will last you for years). What I WILL say is that this man made my life much, much better! No more multiple sets of blades each year! In fact, the more you mow, the sharper they get! No kidding! Bring on the dust! I asked him how long the hard-face would last and he replied: "You might have to touch them up once a year with a grinder." When I asked him why OEM's didn't offer hard-faced blades, he said: "Think about it... they're in business to sell their products!". Makes sense to me! I am gone from home a lot and often get behind on mowing. In the past, that has been a real problem, but, since hard-facing the blades it is no problem whatsoever. High grass that used to come out of the mower deck in clumps now comes out in fine, small clippings and the deep whine of the blades during cutting has been replaced by an angry little hiss as those blades chew the grass into tiny mulch. I mowed yesterday after three weeks growth. The grass was between 10 and 12 inches tall and wet with dew. I was able to mow at a speed that I would on a normal length lawn. My two acre lawn again looks absolutely beautiful. With factory blades, there would be thick windrows and grass balls everywhere after mowing such high, wet grass! Instead, with the VERY SHARP hard-faced blades, it is completely mulched and there are absolutely no grass balls and only a thin suggestion of windrowing. Most amazing is that this is the fourth hard mow on this set of blades and if you run your finger over the cutting edge, you will draw blood! This really works! If you weld -- buy from AirGas -- these folks are great people! Now for the list. As I begin my fourth year of MF ownership, I look over the stable of attachments in my tractor shed with a little embarrassment. I have kinda gone crazy with tractor toys! Here we go: Tractor (Duh!) FEL (Came with it!) Backhoe (In know you already know about that, but I like a LONG list!) 60" MMM (Happy with it again since hard-face!) Ag and Turf tires (Wanna buy the turf tires?) 5' MF Box Blade 5' Land Pride (I think) Landscape Rake 24" Draw Bar (With trailer ball and mods) Quick Hitch (Cat 1) 4' Rotary Cutter (Topro -- bought today to clear brush) Now, for those of you whom are contemplating the purchase of a sub-compact Massey, I can say that this tractor has become my pride and joy (originally because it looked and sounded cool, and now because I have learned what it will really do and how to use it effectively). It is very well engineered (with a few small exceptions) and performs like a much, much larger tractor! It has, so far, been a very good purchase! I am a careful owner and operator and respect my machinery (do NOT construe this statement to mean SLOW!). The little tractor is quick and versatile. It does a LOT of work in a short time! There are specialty machines that will do their intended job much quicker (a ZTR mower will run circles around it), but none of those machines can do the variety of work that this one can! The little diesel engine sounds totally awesome and with the FEL and backhoe attached, it lumbers across the bumps like its much bigger cousins! The difflock and the 4WD are must-have items. This machine is heavy with all toys attached and it CAN be buried in mud or very soft soil. I have buried mine a couple times, but each time, the 4WD and diff lock just eased it right out (except for once when I had it so buried that I had to walk it out with the FEL and the Backhoe). You should never have to call for a tow unless you are under water! You will love this machine! Remember, this is a very small, full-featured backhoe. Everything is shrunk down and crammed into a tight little unit. That usually spells impending disaster, but the Massey engineers did a pretty good job. As to engineering-type shortcomings, there are only a few: The folding ROPS does not provide enough clearance for tall category 1 implements. The top link hits the ROPS -- bad design! The folding ROPS gets rattelly after a couple hundred hours. Should be rubber-insulated and better designed. In fact, the ROPS is generally a pain in the behind -- except for when you need it -- when it becomes a priceless item! There really needs to be a soft-start on the PTO. The rotary cutter I just bought really slams it when I engage the PTO! I wonder if there is a fix for that -- anybody know? It is scaring the heck out of me! I would love to have 5 more horsepower and a valve and hydraulics at the rear PTO and an additional valve and circuit at the FEL bucket. The hydraulics generate an alarming amount of heat. I wonder if the 1/4" system is adequate. Perhaps it should be 3/8"??? Maybe that would reduce fluid friction and heat generation. The $50 amber lights mounted outside the ROPS are in a rediculous place! How stupid! I am gonna put mine inside the ROPS. Additionally, if you really want get MF's goat, when you break those lights (and you will) go down the counter and buy the replacements from the Kubota dealer for $16. Need a light to tell us when the glowplugs are working/hot. Finally, this tractor should come with a nice power washer and a buffer because it is so pretty that you hate to put it away dirty! Well, I am getting older and I have forgotten why I started this post... sigh... I guess I will stop for now and check back to hear what you all think! I hear that the new models are improved but my wife won't let me go anywhere a new tractor dealer unless she is there to keep me from looking anywhere but the parts counter! Did I say "Toy Timeout?" You guys go ahead and buy your new tractors and go ahead and brag -- GOOD FOR YOU!!! I am still happy with my broke-in version, and.... mine's paid for!!! Regards to all! mike...
Pros: Tough, Reliable, Versatile
Cons: Poor Dealer Support! Expensive consumables, Poor (but improving) factory online resources
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