Ford 5610 vs. Zetor 5245

[stevewatr]

New member here. Hello. I am contemplating the purchase of one of the 2 following tractors. First is a Ford 5610, the other is a Zetor 5245. I see pros, and cons to both, but am interested to hear opinions.

The 5610 has more HP, and has a side mounted hydraulic motor driven flail mower. I like it because it is a Ford, and I like the mower because I wanted a brush hog, and this mower looks like just the ticket. It has it's own large hydraulic resovoir, and a large hydraulic pump driven off the front of the tractor.

I wish it had a loader, and the hour meter reads about 3000 hours, but it is inop, so who knows. 2WD, Rear PTO engages, unable to load test. Brakes work, all gears work, it is a 4 speed with hi lo range for 8 speeds total. Can't see the serial numbers because of the flail mower mounts, but it must be an 82 to 85 model, because my understanding is the series II 5610 came out in '86. It was used for roadside mowing for a municipality, so it may have lots of hours. The flail runs well, but some knives are broken, and many are worn. One hydraulic lift cylinder is leaking, but the rod is not pitted, so it might just need repacking/seals. The large front mounted pump for the mower is leaking, and will need service. The tractor itself starts right up, stops smoking after a short warmup, and has no knocks or other bad noises. One leak was noted in the area of the injetor pump, looks like oil, or maybe diesel coming from an area behind the injector pump, not the valve cover. crankcase oil level was low during initial inspection. No blowby noted from dipstick tube while running engine. Coolant looked clean, and green, and no bubbles venting out the top to indicate head gasket issues.

Was ready to pull the trigger on this one, when driving down the road today, I saw this Zetor 5245. It caught my eye because it has a loader, and is a 4WD. Less HP than the Ford, but a little newer, 1985. Loader works well, no leaks. Starts right up, but I did not drive this one. Owner says its a 5 speed with hi/lo for 10 speeds total. Comes with a three point mounted log skidder type of winch, I forgot what he called it, looked like a small backwards facing dozer blade, and had a cable winch driven by the rear PTO. He also made a homemade frame to protect the hood front end, and canopy from falling branches, making it look like a small log skidder. Did not make as thorough an inspection, and did not drive it, but I can go back if I decide to go for it. Wanted to do more research on the brand first. I woory about parts cost/availibility on this one.

Both tractors have ROPS, and a simple overhead canopy, no cabs. Both machines have a $6k price, but the Ford is firm, and the Zetor is an asking price.

I look forward to hearing your comments.

Thanks,
Steve W.

 

[Bigfoot62]

First of all, :welcome: to TBN.

You don't say where you live, (you can add that to your profile) but I wouldn't touch the Zetor with a 10' pole. I know absolutely nothing about them, and there are no dealers in my area. The nearest one is over 100 miles away. I don't even know anyone that has a Zetor.
My pick would definitely be the 5610. They were great tractors, and NH dealers support the Ford brand.
As for the flail mower, they are not a brush hog. That's probably why the blades are broken.

 

[stevewatr]

First of all, :welcome: to TBN.

As for the flail mower, they are not a brush hog. That's probably why the blades are broken.

Hello. I'm in Massachusetts. Thanks for the tip on avoiding Zetor's. I posted on several forums tonie asking for advice, and all replies say take the Ford. Some say walk away from the Zetor, a couple guys suggest running away! lol.

As for the flail mower, I have seen youtube video of guys using flails much smaller than this one too handle brush. Are you sure there are not some flails suited for this kind of job. I did some research and found there are different types of blades used on different flails. Maybe that makes a difference?

Worst case scenario, I'll sell the flail, and buy a big brush hog for the 3 point.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I'm not an expert on flail mowers, so no, I'm not sure that some can "handle" brush.

This I do know:
Around here, the only flail mowers that I see used regularly are the ones on golf courses, and that's just a very few. Most flail users have gotten away from them.
A couple of the local municipalities have bought them to mow road ditches. They don't keep them long. The cost of blades and repairs are just too much. Flail mower blades are fragile compared to brush hog, or even finish mower blades. A single rock, say the size of a chicken egg, can break several blades at once.

If you decide to buy it, you could just always try the flail and see what YOU think about it. If it fits your purpose, good for you. If not, you can sell it. The tractor is probably worth the money, even without the mower.

Just my :2cents: worth.

 

[whodat526]

the ford is a still a 6k they normally bring from 8500-12500 and the zector is about 3k to high

 

[D7E]

The 2 tractors dont compare . Before Renze adds to this ..i know the newer zetors are better but of this generation i would buy the right 7000hr 5610 over a 2000hr zetor and expect less problems from the ford .
Fine for an acreage tractor bit if you expect it to "work" is a different matter !
We've had 7245's etc and ursus /cyrstals..... all been problems from new. I must say few engine problems..the rest run run away from !

 

[jimmysisson]

I also favor the Ford (solidarity) but this one is encumbered with a bulky mower you may not want, a single-use type machine. Plus municipal use, which means perhaps many operators with different level of skill or care. 3k hours is fine, but as you say not likely to be accurate. Any way you can find the last owner and verify anything about the maintenance?
Once you take the mower off, you'll have a sturdy powerful tractor (if it checks out) and you can start buying implements - a career move!
Good luck, Jim

 

[Dill]

I've owned a zetor 7745, never again. Hands down the worst piece of machinery I have ever bought. Lost probably 10k overall. The major issue is that people who bought them had no money for maintenance so I was always behind the 8 ball. Basically I could get a day's worth of work out of it before I'd have to replace something. However parts aren't that bad to get. I could have them drop shipped directly to me, usually in a couple days.
The Fords of that vintage are very well built strudy tractors. For some reason you see tons of 5610s and 6610s setup that way with Alamo mowers for road side mowing. The tractor probably has never done anything else. But what you have to ask yourself is do you need a loader? Its probably better to find a tractor with a load and then buy a mower rather than viceversa.

 

[Dill]

And fail mowers are made for brush. I believe the previous poster is confusing them with reel mowers. Night and day here. You can wreck serious havoc with a fail mower that's what they are made for. However you not going to get a nice clean fairway cut either.

 

[rdbigfarmboy]

We have had Fords. I have a couple Zetors 20 and 30 years old Zetors( 8011 , 7711). I havent seen a Zetor problem. I have a neighbor that has had problems with 4 wd drive Zetor he ran it out of hydraulic fluid (line to a disk leaked) and burned some gears in the transmission.

My experience is go with the Zetor with loader on it you will probably have to replace some brake parts maby 200. But a very good tractor. I think the 5245 was only sold for a year or so.

The Ford mowing tractor might be OK but you wont know till you run it a bit. The ford is by far the most popular tractor in the South, great machines many one owner farmer used low hour tractors get 70 to 90 % of the original price back. Im saying clean and near perfect with 50 to 100 hours of use per yer and everything working correctly. Defintely get rid of the flail chopper they work fine but too clumsy and limiting.