Hi everyone,
I am new here, but I learned a lot here already, so let me tell you about myself first and give some feedback to help others.
We got 100 acres with 2/3 being grass and bush land that we want to convert into hay and cash crops to rent out. I got the little 1560 because it can run a bigger bush hog and snow blower, work in the bush and has a front loader. It is a 2006 model with cab. Seemed like a good choice at the time. I buy used and usually do a fair bit of research. It had only 930 hours and only homeowner used. Previous owner cooked (needed new crank assembly) it, because he ripped off the cooling hose valve at the front right and drained the cooling liquid while pressing hay bales. Dealer re-build and gave me the (verbal) guarantee that it is as good as new.
Now, what I learned since owning it for about 4 months.
He did basic maintenance, but didn't really care for the tractor. Meaning, he never cleaned it and everything is in an ugly grime cover. Granted, it is a tractor, but I prefer my things clean. He bend the step and broke off the rear glass window handle. The biggest issue is, he apparently dropped something (probably snow or manure) onto the hood and it did get bent down so much that the hood support rubbed through the AC pressure hoses. I found out the hard way, no AC at +37 Celsius outside temp.
Now, in my opinion, these small tractors are very cramped in the engine compartment. I fear the first oil change. It has absolute no space to remove the oil filter. Actually I need to remove the engine side cover bracket (the part that the cover clips onto) just to get the oil filter off. It will be a lot of fun.
Otherwise, first morning start up maintenance is easy, all covers to clean and oil change is all easy, even easier if one has compressed air handy to blow out the dust. The only downside is that opening the hood is much easier with the loader in raised position. So I end up checking oil and then starting, lifting the loader and cleaning the air screens. No chance to check on belt tension though. So I end up on a weeknight doing a detailed walk around. Bush hog works great so far, and using an Adam hitch to tow trailers around sure is handy. Not certain about the Diesel consumption. It seems decent, but not sure if I could work 8 hours without refueling, that would be negative in my opinion.
Repairs so far, I had to replace all hydraulic hoses on the loader due to age. For a 6-7 year old machine probably not a surprise, but frustrating nevertheless. 3-point-hitch doesn't lower without implements, I assume that plenty of oil over time will fix that though. One of the grease nipples at the loader is stripped and requires a replacement. Of course it is at the very front, inside the main frame, so it will take some time...more like a winter job. And now the AC lines, we will see how much that costs. Problem is, with an all glass cab (great for seeing everything around you) it is also like a green house, the thing heats up like nothing.
Oh, one more repair, one of the wheel brackets (no idea of proper term - attachment part of the front wheel to the axle) was loose when I got it, so I did check the proper seat of nuts and bolts everywhere. Something I may do annually in the future.
Anyways, I do like the tractor, time will tell how it holds up. I do seem to have a decent dealer close by and MF has the part diagrams free and easily available online, that always helps in case something needs to be fixed.
So, I hope I will get more great info here and maybe I can share some more about my MF 1560 tractor experience.
Have a great day everyone and if you have any questions or want details, let me know.
![IMG_0806[1].jpg](https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/data/attachments/297/297468-919ebd2d239e0de819a9d8b9acbe9295.jpg "IMG_0806[1].jpg")
I am new here, but I learned a lot here already, so let me tell you about myself first and give some feedback to help others.
We got 100 acres with 2/3 being grass and bush land that we want to convert into hay and cash crops to rent out. I got the little 1560 because it can run a bigger bush hog and snow blower, work in the bush and has a front loader. It is a 2006 model with cab. Seemed like a good choice at the time. I buy used and usually do a fair bit of research. It had only 930 hours and only homeowner used. Previous owner cooked (needed new crank assembly) it, because he ripped off the cooling hose valve at the front right and drained the cooling liquid while pressing hay bales. Dealer re-build and gave me the (verbal) guarantee that it is as good as new.
Now, what I learned since owning it for about 4 months.
He did basic maintenance, but didn't really care for the tractor. Meaning, he never cleaned it and everything is in an ugly grime cover. Granted, it is a tractor, but I prefer my things clean. He bend the step and broke off the rear glass window handle. The biggest issue is, he apparently dropped something (probably snow or manure) onto the hood and it did get bent down so much that the hood support rubbed through the AC pressure hoses. I found out the hard way, no AC at +37 Celsius outside temp.
Now, in my opinion, these small tractors are very cramped in the engine compartment. I fear the first oil change. It has absolute no space to remove the oil filter. Actually I need to remove the engine side cover bracket (the part that the cover clips onto) just to get the oil filter off. It will be a lot of fun.
Otherwise, first morning start up maintenance is easy, all covers to clean and oil change is all easy, even easier if one has compressed air handy to blow out the dust. The only downside is that opening the hood is much easier with the loader in raised position. So I end up checking oil and then starting, lifting the loader and cleaning the air screens. No chance to check on belt tension though. So I end up on a weeknight doing a detailed walk around. Bush hog works great so far, and using an Adam hitch to tow trailers around sure is handy. Not certain about the Diesel consumption. It seems decent, but not sure if I could work 8 hours without refueling, that would be negative in my opinion.
Repairs so far, I had to replace all hydraulic hoses on the loader due to age. For a 6-7 year old machine probably not a surprise, but frustrating nevertheless. 3-point-hitch doesn't lower without implements, I assume that plenty of oil over time will fix that though. One of the grease nipples at the loader is stripped and requires a replacement. Of course it is at the very front, inside the main frame, so it will take some time...more like a winter job. And now the AC lines, we will see how much that costs. Problem is, with an all glass cab (great for seeing everything around you) it is also like a green house, the thing heats up like nothing.
Oh, one more repair, one of the wheel brackets (no idea of proper term - attachment part of the front wheel to the axle) was loose when I got it, so I did check the proper seat of nuts and bolts everywhere. Something I may do annually in the future.
Anyways, I do like the tractor, time will tell how it holds up. I do seem to have a decent dealer close by and MF has the part diagrams free and easily available online, that always helps in case something needs to be fixed.
So, I hope I will get more great info here and maybe I can share some more about my MF 1560 tractor experience.
Have a great day everyone and if you have any questions or want details, let me know.
