2320 questions before purchasing

[Mackinac Joe]

Hi Phil D,

I use exactly the same setup you describe -- 2320, 62D mower, loader, and 54" front blade. I mow about 3/4 of an acre of yard and I clear about 400' of gravel driveway. I maintain trails for cross country skiiing in 40 acres of woods, a couple small clearings and a large garden. I'm in Central Michigan.

The 2320 with 62D has very good turn radius (better than my 44" 1976 Cub Cadet 1250). I have broken one ROPS-mounted flasher just in 3 years by shearing it off with a tree! It is a bit heavier than the ideal for mowing, but I have never left noticeable depressions with R4 tires. I mow without the loader and the tires are not loaded. My soil is sandy. I can mow it carefully in less than an hour. This includes the major passes through a small orchard (about 20 trees).

In the heat of the summer sometimes I leave lasting "tracks" in the grass that gets the most sun, so I may be getting a bit too much soil compaction. Because of this, I tested a ZTR, but it wasn't that much lighter than the 2320 and the actual compaction may have been no better. Also, the ZTR method of turning actually tore my turf, a problem I have never had with the 2320. The ZTR was a little faster.

I have been very pleased with the 54" blade for snow removal over three seasons. I have the hydraulic angle setup. I use a ballast box with probably 500# in it, no chains. The driveway is level. Probably the biggest snow I've handled all at once was 15". I did not slip badly but I was not driving on ice either. So far I haven't felt like I needed chains, but I have slipped enough to consider them. I've looked into front weights to help keep the front end down, but I don't think the stock front weight kit is compatible with the stock front blade mount. (I could be wrong.) I think the longest it ever took me to plow out after a big snow that came on top of snow was about an hour.

Removal of the blade, as well as the 62D mower and 200 CX loader, is super easy. The blade and the loader cannot be mounted at the same time.

When I was new to the tractor I think I spent nearly 40 hours pushing around 600 yards of sand with the blade to improve my trails in various places. I was limited much more by my skill than the capability of the machine.

I use a 4" brush hog for rough cut on the trails in the woods.

If the ZTR had not torn up the turf on my yard, I would have been tempted to spend the extra to dedicate the ZTR to mowing and maybe get a slightly bigger tractor for everything else. As it is, I'm not disappointed to stick with the 2320 as my "all purpose" machine.

Hope this is helpful. If you'd like to PM me with specific questions, I'll try to answer.

Mackinac Joe

 

[T-Bow]

Hello Phil,

I also have a JD2320 that I use for mowing about 1.5 acres and plowing a 150 foot long paved flat driveway. I have the 54D MMM and the independent lift. My only complaint about the independent lift is that I do not get great adjustment. Pretty much I can get a 3" cut or something like a 1" cut. Since I am happy with the 3" cut that is where I leave it. When mowing, my lawn is open enough so that I can change direction of cut every other time. If I do not do this I think I would see depressions if I followed the same cut path every time. When mowing I do not have anything on the machine but the MMM and my tires are not loaded. I also have turf tires on the tractor. My soil type is clay - I live in Connecticut. I went with the 54D MMM instead of the 62 MMM because one of my friends told me that I might get scalping of the lawn in some uneven places with the larger MMM. I'm happy with the 54D MMM. As far as plowing snow I have the 54" blade with a rubber cutting edge. This winter I only used the blade to move snow. I just used the tractor without any extra ballast and when needed put it in 4X4. I also have a front mounted snow blower. I find that the blower works better when you have a deep snow or an ice packed snow. I'm sure that the plow would work in these situations but since I have the blower I find it easier.

Good luck with your purchase. I am happy with my 2320 and would recommend it if it fits your needs.

T-BOW

 

[Phil D]

The great thing about the internet is moments like this: I've been doing taxes all day and log on to TBN and get great quality respones from this group. I thank you all, T Bow, Mackinac Joe, defreest and gone green sincerely. The cost of the machine with the FEL, 62" mmm and plow is a real stretch for me but the thought of mowing my property this season and the future with my 42" craftsman and 1963 no-power-steering hard-to-maneuver-in-my-orchard Farmall is really depressing! I really appreciate the input from actual users of the machine. My local dealer, a nice guy, didn't seem overly familiar with the machine controls and was trying to convice me that I need 2 machines. I'm still keeping my smaller mower as I have a great cyclone rake attachment for leaf pick-up in the fall but really want to be able to do the bulk of the mowing-both lawn and field/orchard- with the 2320. Do dealers (other than my local guy..??) customarily allow test drives? I keep asking about mowing because my .5 acre of lawn and 2.7+ of field take up more time than I've got to dedicate to the task. I miss my wife and daughter on the weekend! Where are you in Ct T-Bow? Any specific concerns I should be looking out for when considering a used machine?

Again, thank you all for taking the time in responding to my questions!!!!

 

[Phil D]

Another question-sorry-for the group (as TBow mentioned..) is there another hydraulic lift feature for the mmm that will allow a more precise height for the mower other than the independent lift? Thanks again.

 

[texas42]

I also have a 2320 with the 62D MMM. It mows great and the job looks good. I stagger my mowing swaths each mowing to be on the safe side as far as soil compaction. I mow with the 200CX loader on, but remove the bucket.
I run R4's and unless I'm trying to mow when its still wet after a rain I don't leave any marks even when turning as long as I slow to a reasonable speed .
I have the independent hydraulic lift kit and it works fine and the way its supposed to.
For those of you that are having trouble being able to adjust the mowing height please look at the parts catalog for the mower height adjuster that is on the tractor deck. Something is wrong if you can't adjust the mower to whatever height you want and have it return to that height each time. Remember the hydraulic lift is to only lift it - not to hold it. The mower is held at the height you want including all the way up with the knob on the tractor deck.
In the fall I use a Cyclone Rake XL behind the 2320/62D MMM setup. Now that combination is a leaf eating monster but as you can imagine the noise and the dust is pretty stout.

 

[Joe Llama]

I bought a new JD 2320 last July along with the 4 foot rotary brush cutter, FEL and ballast box and I cut 10 acres of overgrown scrub effortlessly. I bought the snow thrower but haven't installed it yet. For rough cutting, the 2320 does an excellent job, but you have to use the low range. The 4WD function helps out in the soft spots. I never buried the unit and I have some seriously muddy areas. I also tow a Vermeer 625 chipper into the woods, an 8 foot utility trailer loaded with firewood and a boat now and then, and this unit performs flawlessly. I sold a Massey Ferguson 65 because it was too heavy (4500 lbs) and because I couldn't maneuver it very well in the woods. The MF was also 2WD and that doesn't help much on soft ground. The 2320 is shurefooted and agile and uses less than a gallon of fuel per hour. I put in about 150 feet of road with the FEL by first putting down 2 inch drain rock and then laying down road base on top of the drain rock and it appears that it wintered very well. I'm located in western Wisconsin and we had about a foot of snow on the ground for most of the winter and it didn't stop the 2320 at all. I used a ballast box but no chains. So far I haven't found anything that this tractor can't handle, within reason. My other tractor is a JD 4010 row crop tractor, used for larger farm work.

 

[jcmseven]

I have owned the following John Deere's: a 495,595,335,757, 4310, 3720x2, 4520 and a 2320, which I have now. In all honesty, I have enjoyed using my little 2320 as much or more than any machine I have used. It is very stout for its size, manuverable and capable. It has a few detriments but they are small:

1. It has a single hydraulic pump. This makes the loader a bit slow and it is somewhat affected in both lift capacity and speed when actively steering. Not a big issue to me with no more than I use my 200cx loader, but if this is an issue a 2520 would be a better choice.

2. The R4 tires are not good in snow. If you have snow removal plans I suggest investing in a set of chains. The R4s are durable tires that are meant to carry weight, not get snow traction. With chains, the 2320 is a bulldozer in snow.

3. The HP is relatively low. For PTO work this is an issue. For example, the 2320 will only effectively power a 48" RC and would struggle operating a 72" RFM. But for ground engagement I am not sure it is not better than its larger siblings.

I would buy another 2320 in a heartbeat. It is a great little tractor that will serve you well.

John M

 

[irvingj]

Phil- JD lists the 2320 as a "Compact Tractor," but if I'm not mistaken it's the same general size as the MF 2310 I have (described as a "sub-compact").

If they are roughly equivalent-- mine, with a 60" mower, does extremely well for me. An excellent cut, agility, and the traction to do some rather steep slopes. I've been very happy with it as a mower, which was a surprise for me- I got the tractor primarily for snow removal (blower). It has saved a ton of time over doing it with my old push-mower.

As you can see, I have turfs on it... and, except for this day:confused2:, have the ROPS up and the seatbelt on for the sloped areas....

Yeah, mine's red, not green, but I think they're both very similar, and make pretty decent mowers- at least mine's a lot better than I thought it would be.

 

[Phil D]

Great info. and thanks, again, to all who have replied. How much does your Massey weigh, irvingj?

Any serious questions I might have with considering a used machine?

 

[jcmseven]

The 2310 MF tractor is the physical size of a JD 2305. The 2320 is quite a bit larger machine physically. It often takes looking at them side by side to appreciate the difference.

John M