65HP Utility Tractor

buckeye21 · May 13, 2017

Great ideas everyone but doesn't appear I will be able to afford a FEL. I checked all the used inventory and I did find a 5055e for a really good price.

Does everyone think that the 5055e be enough tractor for me?

I did find a 5075e for only $2,000 more, should I just spend the extra money on it since it's in the price range?

BrokeFarmerJohn · May 13, 2017

To run a 7ft rotary cutter, 2 bottom plough and a 6ft disk? Lol I feel it's overkill

5HP per foot on the cutter, 35 PTO HP, JD calls for 40hp. With a 75hp tractor, you could easily run a 15ft batwing cutter.

You could also pull a 3-6 bottom plough depending on the day and soil conditions, 15-25hp per bottom or 1-1.5hp per inch of the bottoms.

I think 2k is more than worth 25 more hp, if there around the same hours that's kinda a no brainer.

rScotty · May 13, 2017

buckeye21 said:
Great ideas everyone but doesn't appear I will be able to afford a FEL. I checked all the used inventory and I did find a 5055e for a really good price.

Does everyone think that the 5055e be enough tractor for me?

I did find a 5075e for only $2,000 more, should I just spend the extra money on it since it's in the price range?

I've been following the thread and just wanted to put in my opinions. Too bad about not being able to afford the FEL. But FEL's are kinda addicting. Once you do do add one, you'll never want to be without it. So avoid it while you can.... If you can. I agree with others about SSQA and simply dropping the bucket when not using the FEL. Much easier than taking off the FEL and accomplishes the same thing. As for maintenance, I've had about half a dozen FELs on tractors from 15 to 110hp and used them all hard. Don't think I can remember a single repair issue other than grease zerks.

Your "unfixable" leak on the JD2350 bothers me. If that were my tractor I'd want to know more about the hows and whys of that "repair". There's got to be more to that story. I was a mechanic for year. Something just doesn't sound right. Seals are easy to fix and they are fixes which last a long time. Makes me wonder if the mower or PTO shaft are out of balance - but of course both those are things that any mechanic would have checked out when doing that job for the second time so he probably did that. Still, something is being overlooked.

I think that 6000 hours on a 1980s tractor means it is time to look at new ones too. Sure, that tractor will probably last another 6000 hours for some young farmer and it will be without major repairs and be a good deal for them. But it needs to go to someone who doesn't mind replacing the belts, hoses, leaks, switches, and such which are simply part of owning an older machine. It'll make someone a good machine; let it go.

Sure, I'd stick with JD if that makes you comfortable, but I'd sure go with either a different JD dealer or if staying with this one I'd write some sort of guarantee about repairs that last into the next sales contract. Like I said - and others have said the same thing - those repeated repairs sound wrong.

Do have someone take a look at the mower. What kind of shape is it in? Time for a new tractor might well be time for a new mower too.

$2000 for the extra HP is a no-brainer if the condition of the machines seems the same. For me, condition always is the number one thing I'm looking for in used. Comfort too. Drive both around. Extra HP is nice. You don't have to advance the throttle, but it's there if you need it.

Good Luck, rScotty

buckeye21 · May 13, 2017

Yeah thanks John, I was wondering the same thing. It would be nice to jump to a 10-15 bushhog down the road to get more mowing done. I didn't know if it could hurt the mx7 any by going with that much HP. I read online that a guy had a mx7 with the 5075e and he said it was working great for him.

I don't plow much at all, only to break new ground. So the 6ft disc is the main implement for plots.

BrokeFarmerJohn · May 13, 2017

Also with a 73hp tractor if it was properly weighted you could pull a 18ft disk on flat ground, 14ft and below for sure. That would prob mean lots of weight and maybe duals to run at a decent speed on the bigger disks, depends on the angle of cut, dual disks, size of disk blades and the concave angle of the blades ext.

A 6ft disk on a 75 HP tractor would be laughable lol.

as far as the 75hp tractor being too big for the 7ft cutter? My thoughts is as long as the PTO spins at 540 you should be ok.

I could see where the extra HP might damage the cutter if the shear bolt or clutch fails and it's a 75hp engine vs a small tree with a metal cutter blade in between. Like Scotty said, you don't have to run full throttle. At full throttle you burning a lot more fuel anyway.

After doing some research the 5055E and 5075E look to be the exact same tractor other than the 5075e it turned up more, 23 more HP and 40 lb-ft more torque looks like. All the lift capacity ext is the same on both. You would gain 16 PTO HP going with the 5075. The tractors even weigh the same.

It's interesting that that line of tractor has a 2.9L 3 cylinder and mine has a 2.4L 4 cylinder, both are turbocharged.

buckeye21 · May 13, 2017

Thanks Scotty and John. I went back and dug through files and the cost of repairs from this shop is absurd. I spent over $950 in just labor one year, just for a leak. They recorded over 8 o-rings and other odds and ends with a bill that totaled 1,700. It did keep it out of the shop for 1year and 7 months until I had to replace the clutch that year. They are the only jd dealer close by so I wonder if I can find someone else. I think it's time to get rid of this 2350.

I did get a quote of $16,200 for a trade in on that 5075e, broken down like this:
Tractor-18500
Canopy and bracket - 900
Weights- 800

Trade in value-4000

buckeye21 · May 13, 2017

buckeye21 · May 13, 2017

Here's the 2350

BrokeFarmerJohn · May 13, 2017

Like I said I wouldn't do a trade in, I would sell it private party. I would power wash it and hit it with some green and yellow paint make it look decent.

I browsed CL earlier and guys are asking 5-7k for similar tractors.

buckeye21 · May 13, 2017

Condition of the 5075e looks great, almost looks new. It has 270 hours so probably not much use on it. The mx7 I have has only probably 400 hours of use and it's still cutting great to this day. I feel like I should have 5year+ out of it.

Yeah I would like to get new food plot implements but the deer don't seem to mind. I don't have an issue with it taking me longer to get them done either. More money for seed and fertilizer.

Turbys_1700 · May 13, 2017

Offer 15K. They will come to 16K easy. You will probably get it for 15,500. Not bad for a 270 hour tractor. It's barely broken in.

jenkinsph · May 14, 2017

I would certainly give all of this a hard look. What is the net difference in cost between your existing tractor and this 5075E with weights on front? There is about big difference in weight between the 2350 and a 5075E, about 2,200 lbs more for the 2350, very noticeable with a MX7 on the three point. Have you tried the electric pto with the 5075E starting up an MX7 yet? IIRC the 2350 has a lever to engage the pto clutch, see which one you prefer.

It would be great if we could see ahead another 5000 hours to compare the costs of operation having the 5075E at 5000 hours vs. the 2350 at 10,000 hours. I am betting the 2350 cost would be a lot less even including some restoration.

jeff9366 · May 14, 2017

jenkinsph said:
It would be great if we could see ahead another 5000 hours to compare the costs of operation having the 5075E at 5000 hours vs. the 2350 at 10,000 hours. I am betting the 2350 cost would be a lot less even including some restoration.

jeff9366 said:
Better tractor weight in strengthening chassis steel than dumb front weights IF you can get your JD2350 properly repaired.

I agree.

buckeye21 · May 14, 2017

Yeah I wonder the same thing myself. I haven't started the PTO on the mx7 yet on any of the 5000 JD series. I guess if I could find a great mechanic that could give me a cost for a complete restoration, I would have a better idea. The way I look at it is that it took us over 30 years of mowing to get to almost 6,000 hours. So saying that I will be almost 60 to get there. I will probably be buying an 85hp cab tractor with batwing by then.

buckeye21 · May 14, 2017

I keep thinking about this FEL. How much cost would be involved to add a FEL to a 2WD that has no mid valve? Would you wait for a 4WD with power reverser to add to it instead?

BrokeFarmerJohn · May 14, 2017

buckeye21 said:
I keep thinking about this FEL. How much cost would be involved to add a FEL to a 2WD that has no mid valve? Would you wait for a 4WD with power reverser to add to it instead?

You can put a FEL on anything, only thing is with a 2wd you will need lots of rear ballast for a FEL, if I'm on a slight hill pointing down with a round bale on dry grass my rear wheels will spin pretty easy and start digging up my turf, I have found myself kicking it in 4wd often.

Also going down hill with a load up front you only have rear wheels to break, there's a few guys on here that went for a ride because there rear got too light and there barn stopped them after there forks put a hole in the wall, that scenario can be dangerous for obvious

If I didn't have a FEL I wouldn't own a tractor, that's 90% of my use for it.

jenkinsph · May 14, 2017

buckeye21 said:
Yeah I wonder the same thing myself. I haven't started the PTO on the mx7 yet on any of the 5000 JD series. I guess if I could find a great mechanic that could give me a cost for a complete restoration, I would have a better idea. The way I look at it is that it took us over 30 years of mowing to get to almost 6,000 hours. So saying that I will be almost 60 to get there. I will probably be buying an 85hp cab tractor with batwing by then.

If you are about 30 years old what is preventing you from learning more about your tractor and performing more of the maintenance yourself? That would lower your cost of operation I would think.

buckeye21 · May 14, 2017

BrokeFarmerJohn said:
You can put a FEL on anything, only thing is with a 2wd you will need lots of rear ballast for a FEL, if I'm on a slight hill pointing down with a round bale on dry grass my rear wheels will spin pretty easy and start digging up my turf, I have found myself kicking it in 4wd often.

Also going down hill with a load up front you only have rear wheels to break, there's a few guys on here that went for a ride because there rear got too light and there barn stopped them after there forks put a hole in the wall, that scenario can be dangerous for obvious

If I didn't have a FEL I wouldn't own a tractor, that's 90% of my use for it.

Ok yeah I did read without 4WD, you lose braking ability with full load. If I did go with a 4WD and decide to put off the loader for the first year or two, would I need weights up front still or would that take away the slipping.

buckeye21 · May 14, 2017

jenkinsph said:
If you are about 30 years old what is preventing you from learning more about your tractor and performing more of the maintenance yourself? That would lower your cost of operation I would think.

I don't have many tools or time to mess with it. Working 45 hours and then needing to work another 10 hours on the weekend on the farm, I'm kinda limited. If I'm not mistaken, all of the leaks on this 2350 involves at least one split.