Old Yanmar vs what I have now?

[782Diesel]

In the near future, I might look at selling the two diesel tractors I have now and getting a Yanmar SCUT. I had a YM135 years ago, it was a nice little tractor. Then I had the GT14 and other that certain engine parts being impossible to find, it was nice, especially the power shift transmission. Right now we have a Cub Cadet 782d with the Kubota diesel under the hood, 3pt and 50" mower deck and a Hinomoto E14 2wd that I am restoring to running condition. I would not want to go to much larger in overall size from the Hino, but I think I would like 4wd unless there is a reason not to spend the $$ a 4wd fetches over the 2wd version. I am looking at YM 1700's, which is a gear drive, 2 cylinder or the 1510 which is power shift, 3 cylinder. Unless a 135D or a 155D pops up locally but my wife thinks the green ones are butt ugly. I am torn over what to do. I know parts are easier to come by for the Yanmar over the Hino we have, it was just super cheap and local so I grabbed it. I do not know its build quality vs the Yanmar brand which is well known to be a great build quality being right up there with Kubota. Our primary use would be mowing with a finish mower, tiller work in the food plot and general chores. We are about 2-4 years away from moving from the suburbs to the country so I have time to research and find the right deal if we change tractors.

 

[2manyrocks]

Don't know much about those specific models, but will say my 226d with the 3 cylinder and power shift transmission has been very reliable, runs smoothly, and is very fuel efficient. Mine is 2wd, but I'd say 4wd would be a big plus in putting useable power to the ground.

 

[Yander]

You can buy the newer model Yanmar SA221/223 used for a very good price. You can even get the 324s and 424s w/ loaders for around $11k if you are patient. At least around here you can.

 

[bmaverick]

In the near future, I might look at selling the two diesel tractors I have now and getting a Yanmar SCUT. I had a YM135 years ago, it was a nice little tractor. Then I had the GT14 and other that certain engine parts being impossible to find, it was nice, especially the power shift transmission. Right now we have a Cub Cadet 782d with the Kubota diesel under the hood, 3pt and 50" mower deck and a Hinomoto E14 2wd that I am restoring to running condition. I would not want to go to much larger in overall size from the Hino, but I think I would like 4wd unless there is a reason not to spend the $$ a 4wd fetches over the 2wd version. I am looking at YM 1700's, which is a gear drive, 2 cylinder or the 1510 which is power shift, 3 cylinder. Unless a 135D or a 155D pops up locally but my wife thinks the green ones are butt ugly. I am torn over what to do. I know parts are easier to come by for the Yanmar over the Hino we have, it was just super cheap and local so I grabbed it. I do not know its build quality vs the Yanmar brand which is well known to be a great build quality being right up there with Kubota. Our primary use would be mowing with a finish mower, tiller work in the food plot and general chores. We are about 2-4 years away from moving from the suburbs to the country so I have time to research and find the right deal if we change tractors.

A Yanmar in an SCUT with PowerShift for mowing and odd easy jobs, one with a popular enough engine for parts into the future, and 2WD

The 3-clyinders run smoother vs. the 2-clyindars with the loud Yanmar hammering noise.

These come to mind,

Yanmar - Model Cover Pages

I think he is referring to Rear end loader.

www.tractorbynet.com

Yanmar - Model Cover Pages

Yanmar - Model Cover Pages

I think he is referring to Rear end loader.

www.tractorbynet.com

Personally, you get a better machine in a YM1720 vs the plain no thrills YM1700 on the same platform.
Yanmar - Model Cover Pages

Yanmar - Model Cover Pages

YM1700 Originally a Tree Frog. 🤑 A real cheesy production logo. In a rare instance, a YM1700 Tree Frog restored to showroom new condition. This is a beauty. The machine was on a market place, the only image left in the cache to pull from. It would have been great to have more...

www.tractorbynet.com

Yanmar - Model Cover Pages

YM1700 Originally a Tree Frog. 🤑 A real cheesy production logo. In a rare instance, a YM1700 Tree Frog restored to showroom new condition. This is a beauty. The machine was on a market place, the only image left in the cache to pull from. It would have been great to have more...

www.tractorbynet.com

If you want a bit modern but not the latest out there, then the Yanmar Cub Cadets are good machines for SCUTs.

TractorData.com Cub Cadet Sc2400 tractor information

www.tractordata.com

TractorData.com Cub Cadet Sx3100 tractor information

www.tractordata.com

TractorData.com Cub Cadet Ex2900 tractor information

www.tractordata.com

Other than Yanmar for a reliable Japan tractor, my next pick is Mitsubishi. The MT 3-digit series is very reliable. And made from the 90s up to almost 2012.
The MT 2-digit are the 80 into the 90s era. Its a mix, some gas and some diesel. You would need to check out Tractor Data to find the diesels. And the Mitsubishi engines went into the Iseki machines and in some cases the Isekis are just re-badged Mitsubishi's just in blue.

Here are a few examples,
TractorData.com Mitsubishi MT260 tractor information

TractorData.com Mitsubishi MT301 tractor information

www.tractordata.com

TractorData.com Mitsubishi MT2000 tractor information

www.tractordata.com

Mitsubishi in their larger CUT tractors use Yanmar engines for a duration of time too. These are 60Hp to 110Hp.

 

[ponytug]

I really like the Yanmars, both for build quality of the engine, and the design for small areas.

There is also a Power-Trac, e.g. 425.

T8 Class

Compact Tractors, Slope Mowers, Articulated Tractors, Tractor Attachments, Trailer Packages

power-trac.com

Depending where you are, they occasionally come up for sale used.

I think that especially when buying a used one, it helps to know what goes wrong in certain machines, which ones are the oddballs for which parts can be unobtainable, because at the end of the a well cared for unit will make more of a deal than a trashed one, even if you are handy with a wrench. This forum is a great place to read up on the ins and outs of particular models.

All the best,

Peter

 

[bmaverick]

I really like the Yanmars, both for build quality of the engine, and the design for small areas.
There is also a Power-Trac, e.g. 425.

T8 Class

Compact Tractors, Slope Mowers, Articulated Tractors, Tractor Attachments, Trailer Packages

power-trac.com

Depending where you are, they occasionally come up for sale used.

I think that especially when buying a used one, it helps to know what goes wrong in certain machines, which ones are the oddballs for which parts can be unobtainable, because at the end of the a well cared for unit will make more of a deal than a trashed one, even if you are handy with a wrench. This forum is a great place to read up on the ins and outs of particular models.

All the best,

Peter

Those are like taking a tractor and a skid-steer morphed into 1 machine.

The only downside is, the T8 top speed is only 8mph. Depending on the acreage the OP is looking at, 8mph will be too slow for all the mowing.

 

[ponytug]

Those are like taking a tractor and a skid-steer morphed into 1 machine.

If you aren't plowing, I think that they are great little machines for small properties. Since they are hydraulically direct 4WD drive wheels, they just don't have the ground ripping force of a geared machine. They definitely have their quirks, and the build is low tech, but rock solid.

With center articulation, and the ability to have the front tilt +/-15 degree relative to the back, they are very stable and great at hugging the ground. Finish mowing they do quite well with low ground pressure, and no tearing of turf on turns.

Where they are untouched is their ability to work on slopes. I brush cut 30 degree slopes with a PT-1445, (that is a 58% slope).

The rototillers are great, though not available with alternate tines the way Yanmars are.

At the end of the day, I think it comes down to what you want / need to use your tractor for.

But, and for some owners it is a big but, there are no dealers, just the factory support (which has been excellent for me), so you have to be able to turn a wrench if service or repair is needed. The Power-Trac sub-forum here is what convinced me to buy one, and the group there has been invaluable and supportive since then. (Like the Yanmar sub-forum!)

All the best,

Peter

 

[782Diesel]

I dont mind oddball machines, just as long as they do not have inherent weak points where something breaks that is nearly impossible to replace now. For the use we will need, the old Hino, once proven to run ok again might be fine with very little cash outlay. That remains to be seen once I replace the bad head gasket. I do like the 1510 Yanmars with the power shift, they do pop up in my area, as does the 1700 and 1400 series. I am about an hour north of Indianapolis.

 

[bmaverick]

I dont mind oddball machines, just as long as they do not have inherent weak points where something breaks that is nearly impossible to replace now. For the use we will need, the old Hino, once proven to run ok again might be fine with very little cash outlay. That remains to be seen once I replace the bad head gasket. I do like the 1510 Yanmars with the power shift, they do pop up in my area, as does the 1700 and 1400 series. I am about an hour north of Indianapolis.

I offered the Yanmar Cub Cadets in my listing since you do have a Cub Cadet now.

 

[bmaverick]

I dont mind oddball machines, just as long as they do not have inherent weak points where something breaks that is nearly impossible to replace now. For the use we will need, the old Hino, once proven to run ok again might be fine with very little cash outlay. That remains to be seen once I replace the bad head gasket. I do like the 1510 Yanmars with the power shift, they do pop up in my area, as does the 1700 and 1400 series. I am about an hour north of Indianapolis.

Your Hinomoto looks cute.