I was able to look at and drive the Ford 6600 this evening. It is fairly rough cosmetically, and obviously sat outside for many years. It was originally sold in Germany by the data plates on it. It also has a German brand front end loader (one small re-weld patch on the left side corner but doesn't appear structurally bent). The story of its late life is that an older man owned it and after he died his son took possession of the tractor. He decided to sell it for cheap, and a local country used tire dealer guy saw it as a turn around profit and bought it and is now selling it (he's had it since last summer). Serial number is 9H28B8-70V01. Can anyone decipher that for me as to year, etc. The tires are all dry rotted. The hydraulic cylinder for the pivot of the bucket leaks in streams (he says the seals cost $35), and the hydraulic block under the seat on top of the transmission leaks quite a bit also (it there a simple seal kit to fix this?).
The hour meter is showing 3700+ hours. He had to lug a battery to it, so I know it hadn't been started recently (it had rained here for several days), and it started immediately with very little smoke (diesel engine). Exhaust and oil look good. It had some clack noise to it, as diesels do. It operated in all gears 1-4 and R both Hi & Lo. Brakes seemed to work. He thought it was full time 4WD. Is the round lever that you pull up on the left side of the seat floor near the transfer case to the front drive axle how you engage and disengage the 4WD? The FEL controls were to the right of the seat and low (nearly underneath). Is there an easy way to move these to a better location, like a joy stick? My wife didn't care for the gear shift levers mounted on the floor between the knees.
It has a leaking seal on the right front axle. Are these too difficult to replace or expensive? It looks like it takes a special short long battery to fit under the cowl (he doesn't have one). How much will this set me back?
The bush hog is a 7 foot and fairly new. It is quite heavy. PTO seems to engage fine, no signs of leaks anywhere on the 3pt. area.
My overall impression, needs a lot of TLC. Engine and Trans seem good. Bush hog seems less than 1 year old. Is $9000 reasonable for this. He also has a box blade for $450.
