Pearls, DaBear. I appreciate it. BTW, I'm at 66 ft. above sea level and generally flat, so my thoughts are turning back towards the 5145. I had momentary HP lust, but I really don't need it. My previous tractor was a 45, but I was only using a 6' cutter. I'm surprised about your dealer's claim of 12', but that question is now on my list for the dealer here. I'd be elated with 10' Good info about the drive line. Thanks again.
The original electrical problem was the battery not charging, so I wanted to swap the alternator. Agco said it was discontinued and I couldn't find a cross for it. The local rebuild shop said the problem was not a winding but the internal regulator, which they could not help with. So I finally found an alt with the right specs -- admittedly, part of the problem was my own ignorance. Then, the new alternator was not getting exciter voltage, and the exciter wire came from the tachometer assy (not sure why), which also houses the hours meter and 4 warning lights. I assumed the unregulated voltage spikes fried something, plus the tach was reading nonsensically -- going to ~2400 RPM just by turning the key on (not starting, so no real RPM). So I started looking for a new tach assy, and they are discontinued. Although a basic tach function is generic, the integrated assembly is not, so I might have to rig something. But first I am going to dig deeper and try to find out for sure what happened to the exciter voltage (swapping the tach assy was the easy way out). I could jumper a 12v line to the exciter, but I don't think that will fix my crazy tach reading. Anyway, that's what I mean by electrical problems. This tractor is a lot simpler electrically than some of the more modern ones. Truly, the MF 451 has been a sturdy little tractor, and yes, I secretly want a new tractor anyway, to get a loader, etc. When I got the 451, I had a separate Case 470 backhoe (now also out of commission), so I only needed the tractor for mowing at that time. And the quick connect would add welcome flexibility.