596 troubles

[mark.r]

Is it a Dyna-4? I think you will be happy.

Good Luck, and keep us posted.

Will

Yes, it is a '07 which has the Dyna 4.

The 3645 really caught my attention when I was at the dealership looking at a 5455. I could believe how a small it really looked yet it was rated at 91/75pto horsepower. I have never had the good fortune to run one but I picked up all the literature. I would be happy with one with the power shuttle and loader. The only reason I am looking at the 5400 series or the NH5070 is because IF I go for a larger tractor I am going to make darn sure I get something that I can do EVERYTHING I need, period. Even if it means 10-15hp over kill. I am not looking to by another tractor anytime soon. I have my 45hp DK for raking/tedder and even loader work so the next on is going to be as close to 100pto hp as I can afford.

 

[chh]

I don't know about going small. I looked at Kubota's on the way to the MF dealership. The intent being if something wasn't done to make me happier I was going to have them stick a hose on it and trade it in on a Kubota if I could make a deal. The salesman kept trying to push me off on a smaller frame size Kubota that was rated at 95 hp if I remember correctly. I was really afraid the tractor would be too light. Being pushed around by a round baler isn't fun. And I have some steep hills to work and move equipment on. I have heard so much about the Dyna 4 tranny though that I am really hoping now for some nice weather so I can see how it really performs.

BTW, I didn't mention that I also test drove a new 596 while I was waiting for them to get the 5455 ready for me to take. The new one shifted better(easier & smoother) than mine ever did. Even after all the work that has been done on it.(or maybe because of it ) That leads me to think there is still something not set up right in the shifters or ??? Anyway it will be interesting to see what they come up with after they use it for a bit.

All this going one is something I really hate and tried to avoid. I wanted to go into the hay season set up and rolling. Not chasing around trading tractors. I greatly prefer doing all my equipment purchases in the winter so I have time to shop for deals and be familiar with everything. As it stands now it looks like the weather is going to break off after the round Thursday for a week or so(1.5 inches of rain again today). So I will most likely be hitting the fields again Saturday or Sunday ,after church, if the ground isn't too wet with a tractor I am still learning to use.

 

[mark.r]

We're on the same page. That's what I didn't feel comfortable with about the 3645. It has the power but dimenionally its one class to small.

 

[chh]

Rained yesterday so we went and worked at a church camp getting a cabin ready for campers, but that is another story. Way to wet to do much work and a 70% chance of rain tonite, but I had the feeling I really had to get the 5455 out and do something to start getting used to it, so today I put the spikes on and started shuffling round bales off to the sides of the field. I'm in my late 40's, been around equipment my whole life and running tractors since I was 6 or 7, run dozers, heavy equipment , trucks , I even have a private pilots license. I couldn't believe I as sitting in a field looking at an operators manual trying to figuire why that one little light kept blinking at me feeling as dumb as a brick. Not to mention flipping the shuttle lever the wrong way and generally thrashing around the field like a drunken fool. The rows of round bales off of the first field are not straight or even. How can something that is so effortless to run make a grown man feel like he got his tail kicked today? After a couple of hours I started getting the hang of it. One finger shifting and shuttle, near effortless power steering and loader controls. It is really a nice tractor. But the owners manual will have to stay in it along with the baler manual until I am a lot more comfortable with it.
It really does have several neat features that I have never had before. If both brake pedals are pushed the MFWD enages to provide braking action thru all the wheels, all the controls all well placed and easy to use(once you know what they all do), toggle switch 3 pt, great visibilty, air ride seat(my back likes that), the list just goes on. I rarely ever used a parking brake on a tractor, this one requires that it be on to keep it from rolling and the trans won't engage if the lever is up. The only time the foot clutch is required is to start it.
My wife says I will probably be permantly spoiled. My truck isn't this nice.

 

[mark.r]

Rained yesterday so we went and worked at a church camp getting a cabin ready for campers, but that is another story. Way to wet to do much work and a 70% chance of rain tonite, but I had the feeling I really had to get the 5455 out and do something to start getting used to it, so today I put the spikes on and started shuffling round bales off to the sides of the field. I'm in my late 40's, been around equipment my whole life and running tractors since I was 6 or 7, run dozers, heavy equipment , trucks , I even have a private pilots license. I couldn't believe I as sitting in a field looking at an operators manual trying to figuire why that one little light kept blinking at me feeling as dumb as a brick. Not to mention flipping the shuttle lever the wrong way and generally thrashing around the field like a drunken fool. The rows of round bales off of the first field are not straight or even. How can something that is so effortless to run make a grown man feel like he got his tail kicked today? After a couple of hours I started getting the hang of it. One finger shifting and shuttle, near effortless power steering and loader controls. It is really a nice tractor. But the owners manual will have to stay in it along with the baler manual until I am a lot more comfortable with it.
It really does have several neat features that I have never had before. If both brake pedals are pushed the MFWD enages to provide braking action thru all the wheels, all the controls all well placed and easy to use(once you know what they all do), toggle switch 3 pt, great visibilty, air ride seat(my back likes that), the list just goes on. I rarely ever used a parking brake on a tractor, this one requires that it be on to keep it from rolling and the trans won't engage if the lever is up. The only time the foot clutch is required is to start it.
My wife says I will probably be permantly spoiled. My truck isn't this nice.

Oh stop it, just stop it. You're killin' me over here (actully tell me more). I love the machine. I'd really like to hear as much as you can stand to tell us as you continue to use it. That really is great looking tractor. Some more pics if you get a minute.

 

[chh]

Well Friday turned out like this 1.5 inches.


Finally started cutting again this morning. I might get something done if I could keep a tractor under me. Mowed about 2 hours and stopped between feilds. Diesel fuel was coating the side of the block. The dealerships head mechanic will be out first thing in the morning. He thinks it is a return line leaking, I guess we will see. I have a hay customer that wants me to move a couple of miles down the road and do a 20 acre field for him in addition to the hay he is buying. I'm still not sure I have a tractor I'm willing to trust out on a custom job and I've got big ones lined up for as soon as the weather settles down. Top it off with orders for more hay than I have been able to get cut in the last couple of weeks and things are going to start getting interesting.
The 5455(if it straightens out) will be a haying machine though. The Dyna-4 is really nice as you go through the various field conditions. I was cutting in 2nd range D speed, (4.9 mph,1950 engine rpm, 520 pto rpm) over much of the field today. Dropping down to C or B was just a quick flip on the reverser/gear lever. I sure have never run anything like it before, much less had all the info in front of me like that.

 

[mark.r]

Well Friday turned out like this 1.5 inches.
View attachment 105242

Finally started cutting again this morning. I might get something done if I could keep a tractor under me. Mowed about 2 hours and stopped between feilds. Diesel fuel was coating the side of the block. The dealerships head mechanic will be out first thing in the morning. He thinks it is a return line leaking, I guess we will see. I have a hay customer that wants me to move a couple of miles down the road and do a 20 acre field for him in addition to the hay he is buying. I'm still not sure I have a tractor I'm willing to trust out on a custom job and I've got big ones lined up for as soon as the weather settles down. Top it off with orders for more hay than I have been able to get cut in the last couple of weeks and things are going to start getting interesting.
The 5455(if it straightens out) will be a haying machine though. The Dyna-4 is really nice as you go through the various field conditions. I was cutting in 2nd range D speed, (4.9 mph,1950 engine rpm, 520 pto rpm) over much of the field today. Dropping down to C or B was just a quick flip on the reverser/gear lever. I sure have never run anything like it before, much less had all the info in front of me like that.

Goodness, I can't believe your luck with tractors. Keep us updated as to what the problem is. As for the weather, I got home just in time to cut the yard and then we got dumped on for about an hour so so. Wasn't a lot but enough to ruin anyone's hay day and to keep the stuff growing FAST like it has been lately . . .

 

[chh]

This is going to get interesting yet. "First thing this morning," turned into "Sometime after lunch" when I called the shop late this morning. At 3 when I still hadn't heard back from them we are back to "first thing in the morning". I talk to him about what to look for and pull the plastic cover from over the injectors. #1 injector is leaking. Called in again, tighten the nut where the injector line connects. Now it misses when you throttle up for about 4 to 5 seconds and belches black smoke before leveling out. Mechanic says he is ordering new injectors. Then I called and talked to the owner and asked for my 596 back. He has sold it! They never tested a thing, just stuck another new line on it and sold it to the first person to ask about it. So I have a tractor I can refuse, but the tractor I am supposed to be able to turn it back for is gone.
To top it off, I found the former owners name on a piece of not paper in the back of the loaders owners manual this evening. Put the name in anywho and called him. Turns out, yes he did trade it for a larger tractor, but it was having injection problems and he was tired of taking it back trying to get it fixed. Sound familiar? Other than that it is a great tractor he says .
With that info I am sure going to take this one back, for what I'm not sure. The dealer just keeps telling me he is going to make it right.
I have been dealing with them regularly since 2000 and bought a baler and a rake from them in the early 90's. The father ran it up until about 2004 and has been turning it over gradually to his son and is pretty much completely out of it now. All my dealings up to this point have been basically trouble free. Of course this is the first time I have ever had serious warranty problems.
My new baler and mowers came from another MF dealer a little farther away. Most of the reasons for that come back to the way they where taking care of the problems on the 596. I am most likely going to take all future dealings to them, but first I have to get this mess straightened out.

 

[mark.r]

Didn't they have another 5455 on the lot that was basically new . . . newer than the one you have now? Can you get that one?

 

[chh]

Well just got a deal done for the new 5455. They have it on another lot, so they have to transport it to the main dealership to prep it and put a DL 280 loader in it. I am supposed to have it late tomorrow evening or first thing Friday morning. Since it was going to take time to get it here, I asked if it was going to hurt this tractor to bale with it. They said to go ahead it was theirs no matter what happened. Just finished rolling 40+ bales. It ran good under a light load, but when the baler got full it sounded terrible. My wife and #1 rake hand said she thought she was in the field with an old poppin' johnny part of the time. We have a good chance of rain starting tomorrow and running thru the weekend, so being shut down isn't going to put me any farther behind than I already am. I will post a couple of pics when it comes in and I hopefully will have it working the first of the week.