Both older tractors are worn to the point of requiring constant repairs, minor and major. They are no longer reliable.
Both older tractors are dry clutch & gear, 2wd, no fel, no power steering, no telescoping link arms or quick attach 3pt.
I need a reliable cranking/running 4wd fel tractor with some modern advancements so I can enjoyably perform landscaping, farming, bushhogging, grading, etc tasks.
I currently have a heavy duty 5ft bushhog, light duty 6ft bushhog, 5 ft disk and a leveling drag. I also have a dozen or so skid steer QA scoops, stump buckets, ditch diggers, lift poles, graders, work platforms, forks, etc. my FIL is selling his skid steer but I’m keeping the items a tractor could use.
I have a tractor made two years ago that is quite similar to yours. Mine does have power steering and its dry clutch transmission is synchronized, and I went and put a loader on it. It is open station, 2WD, has fixed draft links, and no quick hitch. I find this to be a very handy piece of equipment and wonder if you would really find much of a difference in a very different kind of unit.
- I have driven tractors with wet clutch hydraulic reverser transmissions and personally prefer a dry clutch unit as I actually have clutch feel and can feather it easily. I have zero issues with using a dry clutch transmission with a loader, in fact, I find it easier than a wet clutch unit as I can very easily feather the clutch on a dry clutch unit as the clutch pedal connects to the clutch plate and not a computer's clutch pack engage/disengage switch.
- I run a brush hog, pull a straight and box blade, plow/cultivate/rototill a garden, and run hay equipment with my tractor and don't miss having a driven front axle. In fact, in this size of tractor, the 2WD units are noticeably more maneuverable and that
is helpful. I have used MFWD tractors and rarely used MFWD on those units. However, they have all had ag tires, industrial tires get much poorer grip, a MFWD tractor with industrials would get pulled around all day by a 2WD tractor of the same size on ag tires.
- I change 3 point implements a lot and don't miss extendable draft links, I have had them before and rarely used them. The tractor is easy to maneuver and back up (thanks to being able to feather the clutch vs. having the computer dump a wet clutch pack in a reverser transmission) to attach implements. That is also why I don't bother with a quick hitch, that and I'd have to take the thing on and off as I use both category 1 and 2 implements.
- You can easily put a quick hitch on any tractor, you can go buy one at a dealership or farm store for a few hundred bucks.
- You can also put a loader on older tractors, there are several aftermarket makers like Westendorf that will sell you one for about half of your budget for a newer tractor. However, it is less pleasant (not impossible) to use a non-power-steering tractor with a loader, although proper rear
ballast helps here. This would be the most reasonable reason to get a newer tractor that I can think of unless yours are so broken a rebuild of an engine won't fix them.