Trade MF1547 for MF1749?

[Hilbilly]

In post #28 I mentioned there were some issues with picking up the new tractor and thought I would elaborate.

After digging out the trailer that was buried in snow in a field out back and shoveling 2 feet of snow off the deck, I loaded the old tractor up and headed into town at 7am. I stopped at the Massey dealer to ask some questions about a few concerns I had about the new tractor and when I got out of the truck I noticed the canopy on the old tractor was laying on the steering wheel. Great! I'm taking this to trade in and the canopy breaks off. Broken bolts, but they are welded on. Easy fix if I was at home.

Anyways I talk to the Massey service manager about the sticking loader joystick on the new tractor and he finds a service bulletin that states the fix is to adjust the cable and if that doesn't work, the valve needs to be replaced. Cost of valve is $2,200. Adding labor and taxes the fix would easily exceed $3,000. With this new info and my broken canopy mount I head over to the Kubota dealer, where the new tractor is. Tell the salesman whats going on and he says not to worry about the valve, I should just live it. It's not a big deal. I tell him it's deal breaker. I'm not spending $3,000 to fix a tractor I haven't bought yet. Now the sales manager gets involved.

I spent the whole day there while they checked it out, found it was the valve and not the cable. Then they did some searching to figure out what their cost would be to fix it and then to finally agree to do the fix at their cost ($2500). I took the new tractor and the old canopy home. I will have to haul the tractor back when the parts arrive and will take the repaired canopy with me.

Sure not the day I was expecting. But it ended well.

 

[MaineGuy1]

In post #28 I mentioned there were some issues with picking up the new tractor and thought I would elaborate.

After digging out the trailer that was buried in snow in a field out back and shoveling 2 feet of snow off the deck, I loaded the old tractor up and headed into town at 7am. I stopped at the Massey dealer to ask some questions about a few concerns I had about the new tractor and when I got out of the truck I noticed the canopy on the old tractor was laying on the steering wheel. Great! I'm taking this to trade in and the canopy breaks off. Broken bolts, but they are welded on. Easy fix if I was at home.

Anyways I talk to the Massey service manager about the sticking loader joystick on the new tractor and he finds a service bulletin that states the fix is to adjust the cable and if that doesn't work, the valve needs to be replaced. Cost of valve is $2,200. Adding labor and taxes the fix would easily exceed $3,000. With this new info and my broken canopy mount I head over to the Kubota dealer, where the new tractor is. Tell the salesman whats going on and he says not to worry about the valve, I should just live it. It's not a big deal. I tell him it's deal breaker. I'm not spending $3,000 to fix a tractor I haven't bought yet. Now the sales manager gets involved.

I spent the whole day there while they checked it out, found it was the valve and not the cable. Then they did some searching to figure out what their cost would be to fix it and then to finally agree to do the fix at their cost ($2500). I took the new tractor and the old canopy home. I will have to haul the tractor back when the parts arrive and will take the repaired canopy with me.

Sure not the day I was expecting. But it ended well.

Do you mean they will fix it and not charge you, or charge you the $2500?

 

[Hilbilly]

Do you mean they will fix it and not charge you, or charge you the $2500?

Reading it again I see that could be read either way.

They are going to eat the cost.

 

[onceacop]

On my 1758 when I changed filters and fluid for the hydraulics the sight glass was over the top using fill capacities exactly listed in manual. I wanted to extend my warranty to 10 years so went with cenex lubricants and their warranty plan. Your tractor is low enough hours that you could enroll also. I use Maxtron full synthetic hyd fluid and that is approved for MF. Very happy with it. I've hit -47F here in northern MN this winter and have 3 feet of snow on the level. -30 nights I've lost count of. I plow with my 1758 using a 96" Bobcat blade. I move a lot of snow. High range I wish was stronger but I do plow lighter snowfalls this way. 6 to 8" requires M range once the blade fills up. Do you have fluid in your tires? I wouldn't manage the work with empty tires. I also do not like R4 tires. R1 for me I need all the traction I can get. Nice tractor I feel you will be happy with it. Don't baby the engine, run good rpms when working it. Change fluids timely and the engine will go the distance. Too many people loaf their engine IMO. I get 2-3 bars on temp when it's-20f and I'm plowing. Plenty of heat. I run winter fuel year around since I only have one tank. I have never gelled and many of my 310 hours are seriously negative O temperatures that only few of us endure. Fuel is critical. I won't chance any summer or bio diesel in my system. My tractor is a lifeline. I live remote and long driveway. It's my only means of plowing.

 

[Hilbilly]

On my 1758 when I changed filters and fluid for the hydraulics the sight glass was over the top using fill capacities exactly listed in manual. I wanted to extend my warranty to 10 years so went with cenex lubricants and their warranty plan. Your tractor is low enough hours that you could enroll also. I use Maxtron full synthetic hyd fluid and that is approved for MF. Very happy with it. I've hit -47F here in northern MN this winter and have 3 feet of snow on the level. -30 nights I've lost count of. I plow with my 1758 using a 96" Bobcat blade. I move a lot of snow. High range I wish was stronger but I do plow lighter snowfalls this way. 6 to 8" requires M range once the blade fills up. Do you have fluid in your tires? I wouldn't manage the work with empty tires. I also do not like R4 tires. R1 for me I need all the traction I can get. Nice tractor I feel you will be happy with it. Don't baby the engine, run good rpms when working it. Change fluids timely and the engine will go the distance. Too many people loaf their engine IMO. I get 2-3 bars on temp when it's-20f and I'm plowing. Plenty of heat. I run winter fuel year around since I only have one tank. I have never gelled and many of my 310 hours are seriously negative O temperatures that only few of us endure. Fuel is critical. I won't chance any summer or bio diesel in my system. My tractor is a lifeline. I live remote and long driveway. It's my only means of plowing.

I checked the Cenex Warranty but it appears the tractor must be no older than 2 years. Mine is a 2015.

There were a bunch of threads about using Chevron synthetic and I found a local supplier at a reasonable price. So I think I will go that route when the next oil change comes up at 300hrs. I have around 200 on it now.

I've got really wide R4 tires and they are filled with calcium. This tractor is essentially the same frame and hp size of the 1547 I traded in but there is a huge weight difference. The 1547 also had calcium but I found the rear end would easily get pushed around when dragging a rear blade. Ended up getting a 96" HLA 2000 for the front and using chains on front tires. The tractor became a tank and would go anywhere. So far I don't have a lot of snow experience with the new tractor and we haven't had any dumps of snow but I have run it up and down the driveway to plow 6" of light snow and really noticed the difference in traction and weight. This tractor with the wider tires and cab is a LOT heavier and even without chains has done great so far. If need be I will put chains on the front tires.

It's been cold here too but only for a week and a bit so far. -30C overnight and when I was going through the tractor testing at the dealer (2 1/2 hrs) it was around -17C. Since then I found the cab would heat up pretty quickly and there would be 2 to 3 bars on the engine heat even in the current -20C temps we are having. Sounding good so far. I've been using the auto throttle advance that allows the tractor to return to idle until the HST pedals are pushed but when working it hard I have been running it at 2500rpm. The owners manual states that the trans works best at 2400rpm and more. My driveway is also long (1 mile) and steep (up to 15%). On the way down I run at 2500rpm in M and on the way up it is working hard at the same settings. In fact it struggles in some areas and the speed drops to about 10kmh from 13 (even slower on the 15% section). The dealer told me the same thing that these tractors need to be worked and problems occur with light usage, for short periods. Also said a lot of people don't follow the regen guidelines. I have read them several times and intend the follow them.

 

[stormcom]

I think the secret is full synthetic. It just works so much better. What color is your synthetic. it may be made by chevron. your dealer should be able to tell you.

 

[onceacop]

Blue and it smells good

 

[Hilbilly]

Yesterday I decided to drain some of the hydraulic fluid from the transmission to see if it was over filled or just above the top of the sight glass. I drained over 1 gal and the sight glass still showed full. Next time I go to the City I'm getting a new filter (already on hold at the dealers) and some Chevron "All Weather" HTF (synthetic I'm told) and I will fill to the 1/2 way point on the sight glass. I can see why people overfill these tractors. I double checked the owners manual and it states that the hydraulic fluid capacity is 38.0 l (10.04 gal) but another member on this forum told me his tractor only holds 8.5 gal when the fluid is up to the mid point on the sight glass and he drains the 2 brake housings as well. Those 2 drain locations are at the lowest point in the hydraulic system and not mentioned in the owners manual, as drain locations. So if you change fluids and don't drain those 2 low points,plus put in the amount of fluid the manual states, there will be way too much fluid in the transmission. In the owners manual for my previous tractor the manual stated that the fluid level should be at the mid point of the sight glass but in this manual it only states that the fluid level should be seen in the window. I can see where this could be taken to mean that you must see fluid in the window, not that the top of the fluid should be seen in the window.

 

[stormcom]

BlueSky PureBlu Hydraulic Oil 46 | 5 Gallon Pail

only info I found on blue colored hydraulic oil. fyi

 

[Hilbilly]

I just got back from the City where I picked up 2 5 gal pails of the Chevron All-weather Synthetic THF and a new hydraulic spin on filter. The oil was only $135 CAD each which is not much more than the Massey dino oil at the dealers.

Got to treat my new love with some goodness so she keeps me happy.