Low hour used tractors

[Too many Kubotas]

I wouldn't spend much time trying to figure that out.
rScotty

Gotta occupy the brain cell with something while doing menial work.

 

[rScotty]

Are used low hour tractors something to be concerned about?

For example, local dealer as a 2021 MF 1835m with 72.4 hours. That's like 18 hours per YEAR that the tractor actually ran!

I once bought a low mileage F150 that had sat a lot and it was nothing but problems with leaky seals, gaskets, etc.

Looking back over half a century of trucks and tractors, my wife remarked the other day that we may look at 'new', but somehow always buy "low hour used". Might as well let someone else pay the depreciation, hassle warranty issues, and prove the model is reliable.

There is very little competition in the "low hour used" market locally. That's changed in my lifetime and now there are lots of choices. I wonder how much of that change is the recent preference of credit vs cash.

BTW, those old tales of leaky gaskets and seals are just another urban legend. Mechanics have been kicking stories iike that around the shop forever. Those tales are speculations for fun and for teasing new guys - not solid facts for believing....& sugar in the gas tank won't crystallize the motor.
For best use, season those tales with salt and discrimination.
Fact is that neither leaky gaskets nor seals have much to do with sitting.
Some things change slowly. I heard the same old stories in my dealership shop 50 years ago.

rScotty

 

[scootr]

Agreed. I buy low hour tractors and low mile cars. Let somebody else take the financial hit. My tractor was 4 yrs and 149 hrs old, garage kept. I put 300 hrs on it in 2 yrs. It hasn't missed a beat or dripped a drop. I do think it takes a bit of knowledge to buy the right used vehicle but if you're not confident, bring a friend who is. That's how I bought my first used tractor. 30 yrs and 3 tractors later they have all been used. Never a repair bigger than a starter or battery. More people buying new means more used tractors for the rest of us lol. To each their own. I saved a bunch of $.

 

[ptsg]

I was all dead set into buying an used tractor, except they all seem to be more expensive than the new one I ended up buying. I wasn't even looking at really low hour ones, because low hours over here is typically up to 1000 hours or so.

One tractor that I looked and stuck to my mind, was a New Holland TCE50 with 3000 hours and ball tires. They were asking €15000 for it. I paid about €2000 less than that for a new tractor. I liked this TCE50 because it was the typical European tractor, low profile, radial tires.

I was also interested on a low hour-ish Kubota, can't remember the model now, but no one in that Kubota dealer even bothered to lift their rear end out of the chair to even come talk to me, let alone showing the tractors.

 

[scootr]

Sometimes it takes patience and luck to find the right deal. It took me a year to find my tractor but I could wait. I already had a tractor.

 

[ptsg]

I had 3 tractors at the time. I had no hurry at all.

The same day I went to this dealer, he drove by my house a couple hours later to check on the tractors I had to trade. Gave me a price for each one and we made the deal right at my house.

The dealer that was actually interested in selling tractors, got me the better deal and got my business. It really came down to this.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Fact is that neither leaky gaskets nor seals have much to do with sitting.

It can. When buying backhoes and cranes at auctions, some of which had sat around (outside) for decades, I generally went for the ones they couldn't get started.

Getting a simple diesel engine running is easy, but the ones they had photographed "in action" to show that everything worked usually needed new seals on many cylinders...because of the crud on the rods that they didn't bother to clean off.

But other than that, machinery doesn't seem to mind sitting still. Or cars, or pickups, for that matter.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Speaking of leaks, has anyone seen a cylinder with only one hose and the other end with a mini flapper on it?

Well, it was more of a very enthusiastic spritz than a leak, but anyway.

 

[ptsg]

Speaking of leaks, has anyone seen a cylinder with only one hose and the other end with a mini flapper on it?

Well, it was more of a very enthusiastic spritz than a leak, but anyway.View attachment 3540044

That's a double acting cylinder being used as single acting. Usually the non used port gets a breather, instead of an oil cup meant, well, to oil things.

If it's leaking from there, you have bad piston seals in that cylinder.

Sometimes they also route that port straight to the tank using low pressure hose. This way there is no moisture that can possibly get in there and any leaks go straight to tank.

 

[Tractorable]

I recently priced a low hour used Kubota cab tractor vs the same model new. A three year old Kubota with three hundred hours was sixteen thousand dollars less.

I’ll take that.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

My tractor is low hour... Because it's a compact, not an ag tractor. It sits in a clean, dry barn with a concrete floor. Maintenance done on time. I guess someone could avoid it, but that would be dumb . I'll put 12 hours per day on an ag tractor, tilling acreage. That's just not what a compact is made for

 

[ptsg]

My tractor is low hour... Because it's a compact, not an ag tractor. It sits in a clean, dry barn with a concrete floor. Maintenance done on time. I guess someone could avoid it, but that would be dumb . I'll put 12 hours per day on an ag tractor, tilling acreage. That's just not what a compact is made for

People over here and most Europe would strongly disagree with that statement, given how many thousands and thousands of hours they put on their tractors.

A compact tractor is still tractor made to do tractor work, just in a smaller size. A compact tractor can and will go where the bigger ones can't. They will still stack thousands and thousands of hours.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

That's a double acting cylinder being used as single acting. Usually the non used port gets a breather, instead of an oil cup meant, well, to oil things.

If it's leaking from there, you have bad piston seals in that cylinder.

Sometimes they also route that port straight to the tank using low pressure hose. This way there is no moisture that can possibly get in there and any leaks go straight to tank.

Thanks, that's what I figured it had to be. Just haven't seen a setup like this before.

If I'm lucky the seals are still good, but weren't good enough to keep fluid out while the cylinder was under pressure for several years.

Either way, a filter is probably in order since that vent is low and quite close to the trencher when in operation.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I recently priced a low hour used Kubota cab tractor vs the same model new. A three year old Kubota with three hundred hours was sixteen thousand dollars less.

How things have changed since I got mine in '10.

Was about to buy an ex rental with 300 hours on it, but the rear tires were already half worn and the interior looked like (what I imagine) a NYC bus would.

For $3K more (10%) I got a new one, from the same dealer.

 

[ptsg]

Thanks, that's what I figured it had to be. Just haven't seen a setup like this before.

If I'm lucky the seals are still good, but weren't good enough to keep fluid out while the cylinder was under pressure for several years.

Either way, a filter is probably in order since that vent is low and quite close to the trencher when in operation.

There is usually a residual amount of oil that can bypass even with good seals. Eventually, it accumulates enough oil on the rod side of the piston that when you extend it all the way, it will just gush all that oil out.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

People over here and most Europe would strongly disagree with that statement, given how many thousands and thousands of hours they put on their tractors.

A compact tractor is still tractor made to do tractor work, just in a smaller size. A compact tractor can and will go where the bigger ones can't. They will still stack thousands and thousands of hours.

In the US a 35hp compact with 30-50 hours per year is pretty common to see.

 

[ptsg]

In the US a 35hp compact with 30-50 hours per year is pretty common to see.

Around here is more in the 300 to 500 hours a year.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Around here is more in the 300 to 500 hours a year.

Yeah, in the US you have big ag, and you have homeowners. Not much in between. So a low hour 35hp unit is common. A small farm in these parts is 200-500 acres.

 

[skramer360]

Around here is more in the 300 to 500 hours a year.

I've only put 60 hours on mine in almost 3 years. I bought it used with a bit under 1000 hours on it. It was almost 20 years old when I bought it.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I've only put 60 hours on mine in almost 3 years. I bought it used with a bit under 1000 hours on it. It was almost 20 years old when I bought it.

Yeah, mine basically tills ground. Maybe 15 hours per year. But it's not something that is cost effective to hire out either.