Trade MF1547 for MF1749?

Hilbilly · Feb 2, 2019

I've got a 2008 MF 1547 open station tractor with the Powershuttle and really like it but I'm getting too old to be out in the open when the temps drop to -20C and I have to plow or blow snow. So I'm looking for a cab tractor. My local Massey dealer is a small outfit and when service is needed it can take quite a while to get the work done. So I went to the local Kubota dealer (much bigger operation) to check out their stock for used and new. They happen to have a used 2015 MF1749 HST in stock with only 185 hrs on it. I'm interested and have been doing a bunch of research last night and this morning and I'm getting mixed reviews. There seems to be a lot of owners that say it's the best tractor they've owned and others that have had considerable issues with their brand new units. It appears the problems are mostly associated with the HST tractors. I've never owned an HST and may not even like them but I'd really be PO'd if I got one and found it has a bunch of design / construction flaws. I can't recall which owners were having problems but I do recall that 2 of them eliminated the problems by changing to a Chevron synthetic oil and then loved their tractors.

Seems odd to me that someone would buy a new tractor and trade it in after only putting 185 hrs on it. Unless there were problems. Plus it was traded in on a different brand. Seems like a red flag to me but maybe not. The salesman said the owner traded it because of some personal preferences but I would think he would have sorted those out before buying it.

I'm going to look at it on Monday morning and would like to get an idea of what to look for, especially regarding the HST, as I'm totally unfamiliar with them.

Also any feedback regarding this particular model would be appreciated.

Wobblin-Goblin · Feb 2, 2019

I'd avoid it for the exact questions you've raised. New model, traded in with low hours, and to a different brand dealership.

Nope nope nope.

3gunr · Feb 2, 2019

Not sure about the tractor your looking at but the hst I believe you will like .After 30 yrs of gear tractors I got my first hst a yr ago and love it.

onionfmr · Feb 3, 2019

Hilbilly - PM sent.

Hilbilly · Feb 4, 2019

Update: Went to town today and tried out the 1749 for about 2 1/2 hrs. I love the cab, especially with the temps being around -15C. The HST is nice and my take a bit to get used to but overall I like it.

I talked to the previous owner and asked why he traded it in. He said he was PO'd with the lack of service and run around he was getting from the Massey dealer. They would promise to go to his place to do the routine service but wouldn't show up. After several attempts to get them out he had enough and decided to trade it in. From talking to the Massey dealer and the Kubota dealer where he bought the replacement, I understand the guy has lots of money and taking a hit on the trade would be no big deal for him. The previous owner said he loved the Massey and never had any issues with it. In fact he said he made a mistake and should have kept it. He liked it better than the he replaced it with but was just PO'd with the Massey dealer. That made me feel a lot more confident about the tractor.

But after running it for a few hours I noticed a few things that might be an issue and I would like feedback from HST owners and preferably from 1749 / 1754 /1758 owners.

Onionfmr sent me a list of things to check but they required the tractor to be run up to operating temp (3 bars) and then a little longer to bring the temp up more. But in todays temps I could only get the tractor up to 3 bars and sometimes it would drop back to 2 bars. So I tried the other things he suggested.

Here are the things that I thought could be issues;
1) with the tractor at 2000 rpm I tried to lift the front of the tractor off the ground and sometimes it would do it slowly but there was a squealing noise, like the pressure relief was cutting in. Sometimes it wouldn't lift the front end off the ground and there was a squealing noise again. If I used the curl function to lift the front axle, instead of the loader arms, it would just pop right up with no squealing. I got the same results with the tractor at 2500rpm. When I got home I tried the same thing with my current tractor and loader and it would easily lift the front end with the curl or loader arm down functions. Even at idle and there was no hint of a squeal while doing it. Could be that the hydro fluid in my tractor was a lot colder, because it was outside, and that's why it didn't squeal. Or maybe the new loaders are weaker..... or there is problem with the one on this tractor.

2) I would slowly drive into a pile of loose gravel and use the loader to try and get a full bucket load. In low range I could get the rear tires to spin in 2WD and get a full load but in mid range the tires would spin sometimes but most times the hydro would slip making a squealing sound. I tried different methods to load the gravel and found I was able to do it in mid range if I ran into the pile a little faster. Is this normal? Should I always use low range for loader work? Or is this just lack of experience with HST.

One last possible issue is the hydro fluid color and volume. There is a sight glass on the rear axle which is used to check the fluid level, which should be at the center of the glass. On this tractor the fluid was above the top of the glass and therefore could be a little too high or a lot too high. Can't tell. The color seemed a bit murky too but it's hard to tell. There were no other tractors on the lot with sight glasses so I couldn't make a side by side comparison. When I got home I looked at my tractor (which just had all the fluids and filters changed) and the fluid seemed to be more clear but it's hard to say without having them side by side.

The price on this tractor was dropped $9,000 over the weekend which resulted in a lot of interest / calls (so the salesman said) and there was another person coming to look at it this afternoon. I put a $500 refundable deposit on the tractor to hold it and give me time to make a decision.

Thoughts please.

Motorboatin · Feb 5, 2019

You should read this thread

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ng-operating/360709-another-1758-issue-3.html

I took deliver of my 1750 in November and was concerned about the lack of power in mid range. I don't have many hours on it but I haven't noticed a problem unless the RPMs are low. I'll go synthetic when I change the fluids

onionfmr · Feb 6, 2019

Hilbilly - PM sent.

nrosario · Feb 6, 2019

Motorboatin said:
You should read this thread

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ng-operating/360709-another-1758-issue-3.html

I took deliver of my 1750 in November and was concerned about the lack of power in mid range. I don't have many hours on it but I haven't noticed a problem unless the RPMs are low. I'll go synthetic when I change the fluids

Question is this the product you are referring to?

CHEVRON SYNTHETIC ALL WEATHER THF (5 gal pail) | Alexis Oil Company

"Chevron Synthetic All-Weather THF"

Hilbilly · Feb 6, 2019

Motorboatin said:
You should read this thread

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ng-operating/360709-another-1758-issue-3.html

I took deliver of my 1750 in November and was concerned about the lack of power in mid range. I don't have many hours on it but I haven't noticed a problem unless the RPMs are low. I'll go synthetic when I change the fluids

Thanks for the link. I read every thread I could find about these tractors before I went to look at it the first time, including that one. Those threads gave me a very good idea of what to look for plus Onionfmr sent me a bunch of info.

So far I have spent 2 or 3 hours with the local Massey service manager to pick his brains and ask questions about the possible issues I have found with this particular tractor. He has been extremely helpful, considering I am looking at a tractor on another dealers lot. He went so far as to look up service bulletins about this tractor and found one about the mid range issue that I pointed out. He said there was a fix that involved changing the gear ratios in that range. I didn't get into specifics but maybe it can be done via computer link up. Worth checking.

I also found that it worked better in mid range if I kept the tractor revs up and didn't push very far on the forward pedal. I think this is my lack of knowledge / experience with HST.

My only real concern at this point is the hissing / squealing sound the loader makes even without a load. Lifting the loader arms or curling the bucket up causes a hissing sound. Just like when the relief valve opens at the end of the stroke, only not as loud. My current loader does not do this and has plenty of power. Does your loader make this noise?

Hilbilly · Feb 6, 2019

nrosario said:
Question is this the product you are referring to?

CHEVRON SYNTHETIC ALL WEATHER THF (5 gal pail) | Alexis Oil Company

"Chevron Synthetic All-Weather THF"

I don't see a 1750 in the Massey line up so might be a 1749 or 1754. Either way the new ones have a different engine and are now using the DL135 loader mine is a DL130. But I would really like to know if any of these loaders are making this hissing noise. Seems to me that there is a restriction somewhere. Maybe it's due to the cold weather (-20C) when I tested it out and the engine temp only got to 2 bars and would touch on 3 for short periods of time. Not sure what the hydro temps were. I talked to the local Massey service manager and he said this was normal in these temps but my current loader doesn't make this sound until it hits the relief setting. If others are experiencing the same thing without problems, then I will fell a lot more confident in this setup.

Got to go he is here. I'll get back in a while.

The salesman is just about here to take pics of my tractor and I expect to get an trade in offer later today. Then I will have to make my final decision.