1710 vs 1900

[De La Farmer]

Hey everyone. I'm new to the forum, but have read quite a bit about older Ford Tractors. I'm going to sell my Farmall 656 and get something a little smaller around 30 hp. I'm currently trying to decide between a 1986 Ford 1710 with 1800 hours and a FEL for $5000. Or, a 1979 Ford 1900 4x4 with 1600 hours and a 771 FEL, old bush hog, and blade for $6800. The 1900 has new tires all around too.

I've seen some good comments about these types of tractors and am wondering which model may be more prone to problems.

Thanks for helping out the new guy!

 

[JC-jetro]

Hey everyone. I'm new to the forum, but have read quite a bit about older Ford Tractors. I'm going to sell my Farmall 656 and get something a little smaller around 30 hp. I'm currently trying to decide between a 1986 Ford 1710 with 1800 hours and a FEL for $5000. Or, a 1979 Ford 1900 4x4 with 1600 hours and a 771 FEL, old bush hog, and blade for $6800. The 1900 has new tires all around too.

I've seen some good comments about these types of tractors and am wondering which model may be more prone to problems.

Thanks for helping out the new guy!

1900 is beefier, heavier (about 275 lbs) and few more horses (4hp at the pto) than 1710. 1900 has a live PTO as an option but 1710 comes with Live pto (dual clutch). It would be more advantageous to have live PTO than couple of extra horses in my opinion. What is your application? If you do any finish mowing live pto would be a lot better but for field mowing 1900 transmission driven pto probably is okay. Is the 1710 FWA (front wheel Assist)?. 4x4 and live pto is decision maker for me. They both are great tractors.

JC,

ps. welcome to TBN blue

 

[stuartshomepc]

Hey everyone. I'm new to the forum, but have read quite a bit about older Ford Tractors. I'm going to sell my Farmall 656 and get something a little smaller around 30 hp. I'm currently trying to decide between a 1986 Ford 1710 with 1800 hours and a FEL for $5000. Or, a 1979 Ford 1900 4x4 with 1600 hours and a 771 FEL, old bush hog, and blade for $6800. The 1900 has new tires all around too.

I've seen some good comments about these types of tractors and am wondering which model may be more prone to problems.

Thanks for helping out the new guy!

I agree with JC that the type of use should dictate which model that you get. Both sound attractive. I have a 1620 4wd Hydro but before that I used a friends 1710 a lot. It was a nice reliable tractor and with 4wd and Ag tires it went everywhere.

The 1900 with lower hours, more implements and new tires sounds like a nice deal. Tires will set you back a bunch of $$.

But as JC said you should look at your needs, the type of 4wd (on the 1710) and if you need a live PTO. More HP is always nice and the physical size of the tractor is probably close. I think the 771 FEL has a 68" wide loader bucket, where the 1710 probably has a 60" one.

my 2 cents...
Stuart

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I have a 1900 fwd and it is a tank. Power steering is a must with a FEL .Are they both fwd. Make sure the fwd works properly because it is expensive to repair. I would go with fwd. When I broke the front end on mine I disabled the fwd untill I got the parts and couldn't beleive how much difference not having the front axle pulling made when using the FEL. My 1900 has a dual clutch. When mowing if you push the clutch pedal half way down it stops the movement of the tractor but the mower keeps spinning.When you push the pedal all the way down it stops the mower.
Bill

 

[De La Farmer]

Thanks guys for your input. After reading a lot of the different posts, it's nice to know that I'm acutally getting advice from people who know about these tractors.

Application of tractor: I wouldn't be using my tractor with a finishing mower. I'm lucky enough to have previously bought a Kubota ZD60 zero turn. The primary purpose will be to move dirt/gravel/rocks ect. I also plan to get a rotary tiller (about 60 inches wide) to use behind my tractor.

I'm not sure if the 1710 is fwd, the dealer website I'm looking at only has one profile picture to go off. The 1900 does have power steering, a new alternator, battery, plus the tires like I mentioned earlier. I haven't seen pictures of it yet because the Craigslist add didn't have any, but I did talk to the owner.

Anyways, below are a few pictures of what I'm auctioning off this weekend to help buy my new one. Farmall 656 with a 14' Woods mower.

 

[De La Farmer]

I copied some pictures of the 1710. After looking at them again I think it is fwd. What do you all think?

 

[JC-jetro]

I copied some pictures of the 1710. After looking at them again I think it is fwd. What do you all think?

Farmer,

You can not see drive shaft for the front wheel drive in the first pic but second pic confirms front wheel drive for the 1710. It appears the whole tractor is spray painted and for me it is always a negative as if they are trying to hide something, specially if the work looks shoddy. Although it is great to have live pto but I rather have 4wd, power steering, more heft and a good loader specially with your intended use. Both tractor if they are in good working condition will take care of your need. You would not need live pto for you future 5 foot tiller. Additionally if you were to change the clutch down the road single clutch will set you back a lot less ($120 vs around $1000). Post the picture of 1900. I would be more leaning toward 1900 and beefier tractor and still smallish.

JC,

 

[stuartshomepc]

I copied some pictures of the 1710. After looking at them again I think it is fwd. What do you all think?

Did you notice the bend in the bucket on the 1710. That shows some heavy work was done with it.

Also there are no headlights on the 1710?? I would assume the hood got mashed and a patch job was done. I thought that they all had headlights. That may be more signs of hard use.

And the mix of R4 tires on the front and Turf tires on the rear. You may be putting tires on it in a year or so, that will be $1500 to $2k.

It would be interesting to see pic's of the 1900.

Stuart

 

[De La Farmer]

Thanks again guys. Very helpful as usual. I didn't even notice the spray paint job on the 1710. I don't have any pictures of the 1900 yet. I'll probably try to look at it this Sunday. I'll bring my camera and take some then. Is there any problematic areas that can be seen with a picture? Meaning, should I take a picture of any certain area so you all can look it over?

 

[sld]

The 1710 looks funky with the mismatched tires. Not good.

If the 1900 doesn't look abused, weathered, leak any fluids and everything works good it would be a no brainer, especially if it has fwd.