JD-950 question

RobertN · Jul 26, 2005

Could anybody tell me about a JD-950? I saw one, and thought it might work well for my Dad, who wants to upgrade from an old Ford-2N. His needs are to mow, maintain a gravel drive, and various chores on a rather level 8 acres. Right now, I let him use my Kubota, a '86 B8200HST. It does everything fine but mow; it only has 16hp on the pto. His grass is really thick stalked. Even craawwling along, I struggle in that stuff(With a 4' rotary mower).

I saw this tractor for sale. It lists as a 1986 JD 950. It is 2wd, gear tranny, and has a JD model-8 backhoe. The meter shows about 3100 hours. The engine is 3-cylinder. The backhoe is not hooked to the pto; I would assume it is powered from tractor hydraulics instead of a pto pump?

Any idea about HP on this machine? It would be nice to run a 5' mower. The physical size reminds me of a Kubota "L" series.

Thanks /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

RRacing · Jul 26, 2005

Hi Robert,
We bought a JD 950 back in 1978. It was an awsome tractor!!!It had if I remember correctly about 30 HP and was a very durable tractor. We used it 80 acre farm that was mostly woods . But farmed about 15 acres of fields with it.We had a JD 506 bush hog with it and it handled it very well.The tractor was in the family until resently and was sold to a friend of the family . it was way up there in hours and still running. The 8 backhoe runs off of the tractor hydraulics if I remember correctly. I hope this helps . /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Jim

ScottAR · Jul 26, 2005

JD 950 has around 26-28 hp. Should run a 5' cutter really well.

Has the same engine as the 1050 (1050 is turbocharged)
8 forward /2 reverse speeds. two stage clutch. Weighs around 3000lbs. tractor only.

The #8 backhoe runs off the power beyond circuit from the tractor.

Very simple to operate and repair. Bombproof CUT if there was one. Check the brakes for wear. If they're the same as the 1050, they're $45 PER SHOE (!!!) but simple to change. Good bargaining chip.

joe_padavano · Jul 26, 2005

Robert,

I have a JD850, which is the 950's slightly smaller brother. JD sold the 850 (23 hp at the PTO), the 950 (27 hp), and the 1050 (33 hp). All three have a lot of common parts. They were built by Yanmar for JD. The 850 is nearly identical to the Yanmar YM2500 and the 950 is equivalent to the YM3000. These tractors were built from about 1978 through 1987. There was a block change at S/N 16000 for the 950 (S/N 09000 for the 850) where a two-stage clutch was added (when you press half way in, the tractor drive stops but the PTO keeps turning) and there were some detail changes to the rockshaft and hydraulics plumbing.

My 850 is an early version (1979). I've had it for about six years now. Got it with 520 hours and it now has over 1850. It's been a real workhorse. I use a 5 ft bushhog, 5 ft finish mower, post hole auger, post driver, cement mixer, PTO generator, and a few other attachments. I also added a Model 75 loader that I found used.

The only problems I've had were the voltage regulator and the starter drive went bad. Oh, and a seal on one of the brake shafts went bad, causing the brake housing on one side to fill with hydraulic oil. Parts are readily available at JD dealers.

Joe Padavano

bczoom · Jul 27, 2005

RobertN

I agree with the others that it's a great tractor.

The one thing that's coming to mind is that I was told when I bought my 770 (which has the next size smaller Yanmar engine than the 950) that I could expect to get about 4000 hours before it'll probably need an overhaul. Not sure how many hours your Dad may put on it but at 3100 hours it may be getting close (if 4000 hours is also true for that engine).

Brian

BB_TX · Jul 27, 2005

Robert-I have a 950. As mentioned, it is 27 PTO hp. I run a 6' rotary cutter on mine. It handles the 6 footer quite well. Have to slow down a little in really tall and/or thick stuff, but normally I run in 3H which is as fast as I want to go when mowing. The tractor weight is about 2700 lbs + I have an FEL which adds more. No backhoe. Mine is MFWD (4wd). Traction is not great when in 2wd. Not a problem when mowing. But can be when using the FEL or box blade or dragging large logs. Otherwise, it is a great tractor. Mine has about 2200 hours.