Fantastic Brass Ninja
New member
Good day!
I suppose this might turn into one of those threads that often trend on forums likes these. "John" buys X brand tractor, then goes to the forums to find out weather its a good one or not. One or two people reply with little info and the thread is forgotten for years until some other Joe Blow comes along in search of the same info. Ah, the Ouroboros of the internet.
Anyway, enough of that. This past weekend my newly acquired Massey 174S arrived in my yard. I'll get to the pictures to retain your attention........
Note the show, these pictures are fresh from today.
As you can see, she didn't just roll off of George Glooney's vineyard. With brushed over rust, wire holding the non-functional lights together and nearly 6000 hours of the clock, one might think she's been rode hard. However, looks don't tell the whole story in my opinion. Her belly is nice and dry without a single drop at ether end. The 3.9 Perkins winds up and purrs like a satisfied safari lion at 1200 RPM, and the 20 speed (4 per Low/med/hi, plus extra hi/low minus main hi range) transmission shifts tightly wile running smoothly.
Now, like any Italian machine from the 80's that comes equipped with a license plat bracket, the level of performance does not carry over to the level of quality materials. The "dash" is plastic, of the kind that tends to flex under finger weight. The ignition spins in its hole and the choke wobbles about. As you can see in the first picture, the left side of the dash it taped up, surly after "Big Bone" Bill leant over it one day at lunch. But alas, these are merely cosmetic issues.
Speaking of issues! Here come the questions!
First off, why cant I find any info on these? I mean, I can find more info on the model 174, 174-4, 174C (crawler) and 174-4S. But Very very little on the 174S. Tractor data tells me the most about the the technical data (minus the "S" model destination), but I haven't been able to find any references on forums or otherwise. The one reason I ask is because I'd like to order a service and owners manual, but haven't been able to determine if there's any significant difference between the 174S and the other models.
Next, I have break issues. About 20 min's after the tractor was unloaded, I took off down my field to move some "larger then I care to lift" logs. Wile in top gear at about 2000 RPM, I made it half way there when the left wheel came to a screeching halt. I wasn't sure if I had touched the breaks or something other as I was.........adjusting at the time (come on guys, you understand.
). After I checked that nothing might have come loose, I took off only to have it happen again. This time I was sure I didn't cause the problem. I quickly found that the break pedals were not responding positively. The left pedal can be pressed in fully without any resistance, where as the right pedal only moves half way under full "stompage" force. The break fluid is up, although there being a layer of grunge above the clean oil.
And lastly for the moment, my 3PH is goofy. Not only does it take longer to rise that it should, there is no downward movement through the controls. It will creep down on its own, but at its own very slow pace. Two grown men's weight do nothing to speed it up. I'd like to get ahold of a user manual thou to confirm that it's required to leave the lever in the up position in order to hold.
Well, if you managed to make it through that memoir, I applaud your efforts. Of course, I'd immensely appreciated any help you might have to lend.
Thanks much.
Ti
I suppose this might turn into one of those threads that often trend on forums likes these. "John" buys X brand tractor, then goes to the forums to find out weather its a good one or not. One or two people reply with little info and the thread is forgotten for years until some other Joe Blow comes along in search of the same info. Ah, the Ouroboros of the internet.
Anyway, enough of that. This past weekend my newly acquired Massey 174S arrived in my yard. I'll get to the pictures to retain your attention........
Note the show, these pictures are fresh from today.
As you can see, she didn't just roll off of George Glooney's vineyard. With brushed over rust, wire holding the non-functional lights together and nearly 6000 hours of the clock, one might think she's been rode hard. However, looks don't tell the whole story in my opinion. Her belly is nice and dry without a single drop at ether end. The 3.9 Perkins winds up and purrs like a satisfied safari lion at 1200 RPM, and the 20 speed (4 per Low/med/hi, plus extra hi/low minus main hi range) transmission shifts tightly wile running smoothly.
Now, like any Italian machine from the 80's that comes equipped with a license plat bracket, the level of performance does not carry over to the level of quality materials. The "dash" is plastic, of the kind that tends to flex under finger weight. The ignition spins in its hole and the choke wobbles about. As you can see in the first picture, the left side of the dash it taped up, surly after "Big Bone" Bill leant over it one day at lunch. But alas, these are merely cosmetic issues.
Speaking of issues! Here come the questions!
First off, why cant I find any info on these? I mean, I can find more info on the model 174, 174-4, 174C (crawler) and 174-4S. But Very very little on the 174S. Tractor data tells me the most about the the technical data (minus the "S" model destination), but I haven't been able to find any references on forums or otherwise. The one reason I ask is because I'd like to order a service and owners manual, but haven't been able to determine if there's any significant difference between the 174S and the other models.
Next, I have break issues. About 20 min's after the tractor was unloaded, I took off down my field to move some "larger then I care to lift" logs. Wile in top gear at about 2000 RPM, I made it half way there when the left wheel came to a screeching halt. I wasn't sure if I had touched the breaks or something other as I was.........adjusting at the time (come on guys, you understand.
). After I checked that nothing might have come loose, I took off only to have it happen again. This time I was sure I didn't cause the problem. I quickly found that the break pedals were not responding positively. The left pedal can be pressed in fully without any resistance, where as the right pedal only moves half way under full "stompage" force. The break fluid is up, although there being a layer of grunge above the clean oil.And lastly for the moment, my 3PH is goofy. Not only does it take longer to rise that it should, there is no downward movement through the controls. It will creep down on its own, but at its own very slow pace. Two grown men's weight do nothing to speed it up. I'd like to get ahold of a user manual thou to confirm that it's required to leave the lever in the up position in order to hold.
Well, if you managed to make it through that memoir, I applaud your efforts. Of course, I'd immensely appreciated any help you might have to lend.
Thanks much.
Ti
