MF 1030 info good? bad?

mattman · Nov 20, 2008

I posted also in the massey section but have not got any feedback as of yet so here it goes. I am looking at a used 1030 2wd seems to be in good shape overall, would not hurt to have a paint job. Are the tractors good tractors as far as being reliable, cost of parts, any things I should look over carefully before buying? I am not a farmer, main thing tractor will do is bushhog and box blade work, also going to get a disk to plant some food plots in the woods. Any and all info would be appreicated. Thanks Matt

Richard · Nov 20, 2008

I don't remember the model I looked at but does this have the V-8 engine?

I seem to remember looking at one of their larger tractors that had a (fantastic sounding) Perkins V-8 however, as I understand the story on the model I was looking at, they had NOTHING but transmission issues with them. It (the one I looked at) was built during a time of a strike with MF and the workers essentially, did a 'half-hiney" job on the assembly line to try to force management to deal on something or another (or so the story was told to me)

Unfortunately, I don't remember what tractor we looked at, the only thing I remember clearly is it was a V-8 and had a fantastic growl to the engine when running. Didn't buy it.

scott_vt · Nov 20, 2008

mattman said:
I posted also in the massey section but have not got any feedback as of yet so here it goes. I am looking at a used 1030 2wd seems to be in good shape overall, would not hurt to have a paint job. Are the tractors good tractors as far as being reliable, cost of parts, any things I should look over carefully before buying? I am not a farmer, main thing tractor will do is bushhog and box blade work, also going to get a disk to plant some food plots in the woods. Any and all info would be appreicated. Thanks Matt

Good Afternoon Matt,
If the tractor is in good shape and you can get it for a reasonable price, then it might work out for you. I own the MF 1040 and I have had very good luck with it so far. I bought it with 1300 hours on it and now have over 1500. No major repairs so far. The problem with this series of tractors from Massey is there were so few of them that parts can be a real problem ! Alot of your bearings and seals can be cross referenced if you take the time to da it that way. Its also cheaper than going to Massey Ferguson, Napa will be able to supply alot of parts this way ! I paid $6000 for mine a few years back and so far so good. If you have some mechanical ability, I think you should be OK. But remember that any castings or such will be almost impossible to obtain !

If you dont know alot about tractors, you might think about bringing a more knowledgeable person with you to look at it !
TractorData.com Massey Ferguson 1030 tractor information
Here is a link on the MF 1030 !

And here is a pic of my MF 1040.

Good Luck !

mattman · Nov 20, 2008

The parts being hard to find is a big hurtle. It scares me not to know wether a part would be readily acessiable or have a long drown out search to pay an arm or a leg to get what you need. Thanks Matt

knute_m · Nov 21, 2008

mattman said:
I posted also in the massey section but have not got any feedback as of yet so here it goes. I am looking at a used 1030 2wd seems to be in good shape overall, would not hurt to have a paint job. Are the tractors good tractors as far as being reliable, cost of parts, any things I should look over carefully before buying? I am not a farmer, main thing tractor will do is bushhog and box blade work, also going to get a disk to plant some food plots in the woods. Any and all info would be appreicated. Thanks Matt

I don't want to be sending you all over the site, but you should be a be able to find a lot of good information in the Grey Market forum. Although the MF1030 was not a grey market tractor, it was built by Hinomoto as a Model 2304. It was also sold as an Allis Chalmers -- I just don't remember the model.

A good Massey dealer or a good AGCO-Allis dealer should be able to provide most parts. There are also a number of tractor parts dealers on the Grey Market forum who can provide you with parts.

Hinomotos, under any name, are very tough and reliable tractors.

Good luck,
Knute