MF 725

[Farmwithjunk]

Farmw/junk: The current owner says hes used them for many years w/o any probs. He got the 2nd as a parts machine but uses (or did until he got a discbine) them both b/c they work OK. He thinks theyre 70s vintage. I just havent yet had time to stop by the local MF dealer to see what I can expect for parts. Ill likely do that the day I look the machines over. As for price hes willing to part w/ both for $900. While the price seems right Im concerned about age and parts availability. LOL, the last thing I need right now is a project. OTOH I will have 2 working machines.

Would you mind passing pointers to the manuals? I didnt find those when I was searching.

Did a Google search (Massey Ferguson 725/925 manuals) and found this one.

www.manuals.us/browseproducts/Massey-Ferguson-725-925-haytender-mower-conditioner.htm

(Hope this works. Having a heck of a time posting the link)

OR... I found a couple on EBAY yesterday.

Hope this helps.

 

[jimg]

Thanx, the link didnt work but I did find it after some sorting around. I was looking for info aside from manuals and didnt even think of ebay or searching for that.

That mower looks exactly like Hesstons current line!

 

[jimg]

Had a chance to look over the mowers this w/e and what I saw looked OK. He had both out, ran them and mowed w/ one. Wet grass doesnt seem to bother this mower. It turns out the original owner (sellers father) was a Massey mechanic. So, I think theyre well maintained....at least to my eye. According to the seller parts are still available thru MF and Badger (original maker). I still need to verify that most wear parts can still be gotten. Both have suffered from mowing too close to immovable objects. These are belt driven and to my mind thats not all bad. Slippage will occur before they tear themselves apart. I think replacement belts are expensive though. The conditioning rollers are heavy duty! I think they might never wear out. One part I didnt like is the disappearing drive line (thru the draw bar). If that ever went bad I think repairs might be difficult and expensive. I would have preferred and exposed driveline. I have no idea how problem prone they might be after almost 30yrs.

Here are some pics...

 

[farmerjim]

from the pics that machine doesn't look 1/2 bad. granted it has its sheet metal flaws but the knife and rollers look in good shape. does the machine end of the drive line have an opening to gain access to the wobble box? if it does it looks like all you would need to do would be remove the u joint and pull the drive line out from the tongue side for any repairs or a new driveline. the drive belts can probably be had from napa by matching them to the ones currently on there. good luck, jim

 

[jimg]

Hi Jim
No, I didnt see any access to the wobble box. Im sure it was there but nothing looked obvious. Im not sure if the owner knew or not. I should follow up on that though.

I did call the local MF dealer yestreday and all common parts are available...but most arent in stock.

 

[threetrees]

Did you end up buying these machines? I've been running a 725 that works pretty well. I need to adjust the guards so that it cuts a little better. Occasionally the right side of the cutter bar will get kind of clogged and will not cut about 6-8" and push that hay down. Most of the time, if I see that the right side is not cut clean behind the machine, I can stop and raise the machine up a little and it will chug a big clump through the rollers and be fine. I think it is better if the crop is good and dry. If I'm still cutting when the humidity goes up in the evening, it occurs more frequently.

Anyway, do you know of any 725/925 machines around that are being parted out? I need the sheave that drives the rubber roll and the knife pitman. I've broken it a little in trying to remove it to get to the bearing behind it. It is threaded on (or so I believe), rather than being keyed, and I just can't get it off. Is anyone aware of procedure for removing this sheave? BTW, MF says they can get this part for me through Badger but it won't be cheap.

Thanks for any help!

 

[jimg]

I did (both of them). The seller demoed both and they cut well as far as I could tell, at least nothing I saw raised any flags. I was thinking about borrowing a tractor and running both at once.

Ive heard that stub guards help in regard to mowing wet grass but, as you said, the best idea is to wait for things to dry out a bit. The seller also mentioned about clearing slugs. As you said he also stops and raises the head to separate the rollers and let the slugs pass thru.

I dont know of any parts machines BUT from my research all of the parts youll need are still available from MF. I know the pitman arm is and one of my machines has a replacement. Id call the local MF dealer and see if they can help. I think also Badger has parts. I say this b/c the rubber part between the cutter bar and arm is new on one of my machines. The owner said he recently got it from Badger. He also said it wasnt fun to replace.

BTW are you using bolts or rivets to mount the sections?

ETA
Look at the last pic I posted. Thats the replacement arm.

 

[rdbigfarmboy]

You can probably find a sickle bar mower to be a better machine. Most of the hay just doesnt need conditioning. I have had 2 Mower conditioners and now dont know why I bought them cept thats what everybody else had. Sickle bar mowers go from 200-1500 used. I might go with one of the new double action things CCM sells.
I personally would buy a used disc mower. The smaller 5 to 7 ft models sell between 600 and 2000. I know dealers always ask more but, at an auction thats all.

 

[rdbigfarmboy]

theres a Badger at a local yard its been there several years. I dont know the condition. Looks OK from the front

 

[rdbigfarmboy]

The local dealer Rays Equipment Sales has a 1000 M badger it looks good he said it needs a belt and will work it looked 9 or 10 ft wide. He asked $450 on the phone and has 350 wrote on it.
I just dont need it.
I looking at trading or buying an old used bushhog he has.