Buying Advice Branson Parts Availability in Australia

[Bullstrode35]

I'm thinking of buying a used Branson 6530R. The tractor and FEL look fine, in fact very good. But I've seen a few comments about the difficulty of getting parts in Australia.

It's not certain the current Branson distributor here will service machinery not bought from them. I did check US Branson parts suppliers as a contingency but they seem only to supply within the States - a territory thing I guess.

Any advice please if, say, I need to get some new clutch parts in Oz in the near future?

With thanks, B35.

 

[poosniffer]

From what you describe,there will obviously be some questionable parts availability.Not worth the hassle in my opinion.

 

[Grandad4]

You may be able to get a really good price on an off-brand with sparse support. Up to you to decide if that's what you want. If I could swing it financially, I'd stick with a more well-established make.

 

[Texasmark]

Maybe you should have a talk with the dealer. Tell him you are buying a used tractor and will need his support if you need repairs. See what he says. I have had mine since 2007 and have had few problems, all I was able to fix myself. I passed over the popular colors when shopping for a new tractors and settled on this one because of the sturdiness of it, Cummins engine, amenities, and company history.

Good luck on your decision.

Mark

 

[Raised on a Deere]

A Branson dealer is in no position to be unsupportive of any Branson. It works against what he needs. He needs people to feel comfortable buying a Branson. Not going to happen in days of the internet if there are Branson tractor owners stranded all over the place with no support. Talk to Him.
I paid a visit to a local Branson dealer before buying my 6530c from out of state. great people and gave me all sorts of advice about service and trouble parts and got my confidence up so I bought it. Nice tractor. Put a smile on my face every time I fired it up. Only minor problem has been the lawnmower quality idler pulley for the air conditioner compressor, but it only took a trip to a lawn mower dealer for a bushing, bolt and new pulley. Glad I noticed it wobbling while checking radiator screen one day or else could have been worse.

The clutch cable is going to wear out, and a guy I know keeps one hand for his for a change every couple of years. Mine is getting sticky right now. Dealer says new cable in a week $125. Would not be good if I was in a money making operation but for my use it is of no real consequence if I have to use something else for a while. Yea don't want to be breaking any axle housings or stuff like that, might be down for a while.

 

[Bullstrode35]

Just to say thanks for all your advice and to provide some feedback.

In consequence, I did talk to the current distributor for Australia Midway Sales and although they don't sell that model (I think they only took over Branson in late 2013), they will attmept to help and can order from the manufacturer. I also talked to the previous distributor, Global Tractors who still have some stock relating to the 6530 and who proved very helpful. - I'm putting these links up in case anybody else finds themselves in a similar position and wants some reassurance in future.

In consequence, now satisifed that I'll have no problem with parts and servicing, I've gone ahead and bought the tractor. That's just in time for Spring here in Australia, and I'm looking forward to getting out there on the 6530R and seeing what it can do.

So, thanks again to those who were kind enough to read through my query and to offer advice,

cheers,
B35

 

[Texasmark]

Only minor problem has been the lawnmower quality idler pulley for the air conditioner compressor, but it only took a trip to a lawn mower dealer for a bushing, bolt and new pulley. Glad I noticed it wobbling while checking radiator screen one day or else could have been worse.

The clutch cable is going to wear out, and a guy I know keeps one hand for his for a change every couple of years.

My first failure on my 2007 model was that pulley. Kukje has since redesigned it and rather than one bearing, they made the housing wider and added a second bearing of the same type.....6203 standard across the counter sealed bearing, as I recall. The tractor was in warranty and the field service guy was instrumental in getting me replacement parts in very short order at no charge. Not only that they sent me a new mounting arm and Vee belt to boot.

On your clutch cable, how do you know it is going to wear out? Is there something that the tractor is exposed to that may be the root cause?.

Mark

 

[Raised on a Deere]

My first failure on my 2007 model was that pulley. Kukje has since redesigned it and rather than one bearing, they made the housing wider and added a second bearing of the same type.....6203 standard across the counter sealed bearing, as I recall. The tractor was in warranty and the field service guy was instrumental in getting me replacement parts in very short order at no charge. Not only that they sent me a new mounting arm and Vee belt to boot.

On your clutch cable, how do you know it is going to wear out? Is there something that the tractor is exposed to that may be the root cause?.

Mark

Tractor had about 290 hours, clutch would get difficult to make a smooth move doing close work, worked with the adjustment but could not make it operate nice. Dealer said change cable and back to being nice. Just happened to be talking to a guy who had two of these tractors. He said if you want to stay in operation on mission critical stuff like a big hay crop then keep spares on hand. When I changed mine I saw that it is bot a straight pull but makes a sharp 180 on the lower end. Not ideal for a cable. My engineering judgement says yep it is a wear and maintenance item. Something after having done once no big deal but at same time could have been designed to be more friendly to the cable. I believe most will be changing more times than they might prefer. It gets rough a while before it fails so lets you know when to have parts on standby.

 

[Bullstrode35]

Re: Branson Clutch

Just a comment on that clutch cable wear-out.

When I bought my 6530R with 900 hrs on the clock, the previous owner had hit the same problem but solved it by removing the cable and installing a push-rod which conveniently fits vertically. See picture. It works fine .... but, since getting parts is not a problem, I've taken the precaution of obtaining a spare, correct, cable and fittings from the local agent just in case.

cheers,

B35

 

[Raised on a Deere]

Re: Branson Clutch

Just a comment on that clutch cable wear-out.

When I bought my 6530R with 900 hrs on the clock, the previous owner had hit the same problem but solved it by removing the cable and installing a push-rod which conveniently fits vertically. See picture. It works fine .... but, since getting parts is not a problem, I've taken the precaution of obtaining a spare, correct, cable and fittings from the local agent just in case.

cheers,

B35

I recall it appeared to be a straight shot down through there but yea the actuating lever on the other end is underneath and inboard a bit and end is up in a tight space. it would be interesting to see a picture from underneath of how he made the transition. Several approaches could be taken but a picture might save a lot of time when in a pinch. Thanks for the pic. If nothing else just lets one know that there are many ways to skin a cat and that keeping these tractors going is not rocket science.