Posted: 2/20/2011 1:02:43 PM EDT
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I looked at a 1983 John Deere 750 2WD diesel tractor this afternoon for $3500. It has a rebuilt engine with less than 20 hours on it. He originally wanted around $4000 for it but came down $500. He would also deliver it at no additional cost (10 miles). The delivery is worth about $100 as it would cost me $67 to rent a utility trailer for the day. The rental and my time are probably at least worth $100.
It started right up and all the hydraulics and the PTO seemed to work fine. I drove it, but there seemed to be a lot of play in the steering. The owner agreed that there was a lot of play, but said he guessed he had just gotten used to it. He also told me that one of the front tires was solid rubber and much heavier than the other and could be causing the instability in the front end. Is this a good price for this tractor and does the tire explanation sound right. I did a search on the web looking for reviews/comments on this tractor. The comments were generally very favorable. Stating the tractors ability to operate a 48 inch tiller and a 5 foot bush hog as well as a box and regular blade. These are all the attachments I think I would use unless I added a front loader later. I plan on using it for a garden and general maintenance on my 10 acres. At this point I am leaning towards getting it. Does anyone here have any experience with a John Deere 750? Thanks |
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Is it basically this tractor?
I want to make sure I have the right specs before I give you my two cents. |
| I have one. My steering is tight. The excuse he gives is not the problem. Try for $3000 or lower. Would be worth what he is asking if it had the loader. Hydralics can be a little troublesome if you mess with the variable adjustment control under the seat. Do not mess with that knob unless it doesn't work (if it aint broke, don't fix it). If you get the tractor, just drive it home. I reguaraly drive mine long distances (6 miles or so). |
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No experience with that tractor.
I run a 5' Bush Hog SQ160 (60") rotary cutter with my 30hp Kioti CK30, the recommended hp for the SQ160 is 25-40 hp. According to the link the PTO hp of the JD750 is 18hp, that may not be enough to run that big of a cutter, you may have to step down to a 48" cutter for that tractor. |
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Yep, that's the one.
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Is it basically this tractor? I want to make sure I have the right specs before I give you my two cents. |
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Target, I really appreciate your post since you have an 750.
I looked on the web to see what this particular model is going for and its seems that most JD 750's are selling for $5000 or more, that's why I was thinking this is a pretty good deal. I don't think he is going to any lower than $3500. I think I am going to get a tractor mechanic who lives near me to go out and look at it to see what he says. I would drive it home, but there is no real good way to drive it home. The road network here is pretty limited unless you get on a 4 lane divided highway with a 70 MPH speed limit. That would scare the crap out of me. If I get it, I will just let him drive it out to me or to a dealer to service it before I get home. Quoted:
I have one. My steering is tight. The excuse he gives is not the problem. Try for $3000 or lower. Would be worth what he is asking if it had the loader. Hydralics can be a little troublesome if you mess with the variable adjustment control under the seat. Do not mess with that knob unless it doesn't work (if it aint broke, don't fix it). If you get the tractor, just drive it home. I reguaraly drive mine long distances (6 miles or so). |
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Seabee
I was looking at a 48" mower at Tractor Supply for $750. I will probably go with that. I really don't need one much bigger than that. Quoted:
No experience with that tractor. I run a 5' Bush Hog SQ160 (60") rotary cutter with my 30hp Kioti CK30, the recommended hp for the SQ160 is 25-40 hp. According to the link the PTO hp of the JD750 is 18hp, that may not be enough to run that big of a cutter, you may have to step down to a 48" cutter for that tractor. |
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The loose steering could be something simple (and inexpensive to fix) as wore out tie rod ends or a more costly failing hydraulic steering unit (still a relatively easy repair) or a steering gearbox that is worn (if that style tractor uses one) some gear boxes can be adjusted to take some of the slack out of the gears. (Once again I'm not familiar with that tractor so I'm not sure what steering system it uses)
That tractor is on the low side of the horse power scale for CUTs (Compact Utility Tractors) but as long as you understand it's limitations you'll get great use out of it. I'd start looking for a front end loader for it, you'll be surprised how handy they are once you get one. I call my Kioti "My 4x4 Wheelbarrow" I use my FEL for everything when working around the house. Check out the forums at http://www.tractorbynet.com/, it's the best forum I have found when it comes to anything to do with CUTs. |
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My two cents?
I don't think you'll do much better with any tractor at that price point. It's a nice combination of decent machine and decent price. Downside is you will want a FEL for it (added expense) and you might find it's a bit underpowered for tending 10 acres. Good luck. 
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I agree, that's a good price. You're talking Ford 8N pricing.
ETA: Of course I give you fair warning, once you get a tractor, you'll never stop finding attachments and other "things you need" to buy. I started with a Bush Hog and a FEL, then it was a box blade, then a tooth bar for the FEL, then a landscape rake, then fork attachments... |
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LOL, I bought a JD 750 at a gov auction a few years back, for $387 ,or something close.
I was third highest bid- Top bid came to look at it,and left, second never showed. I had planned on picking it up and parting it out, but one of my brothers decided he would take it. Needed a battery, and a relay to get it running (Shop manuals cost more than the parts!) Hydraulic filter was clogged- got it going pretty easily,and still running, but getting VERY tired. Picked up a spare Yanmar that was in a reefer unit, so have a replacement ready to go. I'd go bigger AND a FEL. |
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Seems like a good deal, given the recent rebuild. I paid about that for a heavily used IH that's bigger but not as nicely maintained.
I'd get a mower as wide as the rear wheels so you can cut in close to trees, fences, etc. Unless you are in thick brush, you should have plenty of horses to run it. I found a heavy home built box blade on craigslist, and would like to have a disc, someday. I also wish I had gotten a tractor with a loader on it, but economy is a big factor in everything I do. |
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that's not a tractor, it's a toy.
18hp? nooo, it's lawnmower with pretty green paint. it will barely run 4' equipment, barely and it will wear down quickly If you had one acre I'd still recommend you go bigger. 10 acres????? forget it Minimum appropriate size for a homeowner occasional use tractor is 30-35hp This puts you in a 5' wide tractor, which will easily run 5' implements (which are fine for homeowner use) That little pansy a$$ thing probably won't even LIFT a 4' tiller. (tillers are extremely heavy) Keep looking There are plenty of 30-35hp tractors with well under a 1000 hours on them built in the last 10 years for under 10 grand. In the long run, it will cost you much less money. |
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Quoted: I agree, that's a good price. You're talking Ford 8N pricing. ETA: Of course I give you fair warning, once you get a tractor, you'll never stop finding attachments and other "things you need" to buy. I started with a Bush Hog and a FEL, then it was a box blade, then a tooth bar for the FEL, then a landscape rake, then fork attachments... 8n's are half to a third of that around here. I also wouldn't use one with a tiller unless it had an extra add on gear box to slow it down. The hydraulics on them suck too. |
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I took your advise. I am going out to look at a Ford 2600 tractor with a front loader tomorrow. That's a 38 HP, 2WD, gas engine tractor. It comes with a bushhog and some other attachments for $4500. It's only about 3 miles from my house on a country road so I could drive it home if I need to. The posts responding here, have convinced me to look for a tractor with a front loader. I am really waking up to just how handy it would be around here. Thanks Quoted:
that's not a tractor, it's a toy. 18hp? nooo, it's lawnmower with pretty green paint. it will barely run 4' equipment, barely and it will wear down quickly If you had one acre I'd still recommend you go bigger. 10 acres????? forget it Minimum appropriate size for a homeowner occasional use tractor is 30-35hp This puts you in a 5' wide tractor, which will easily run 5' implements (which are fine for homeowner use) That little pansy a$$ thing probably won't even LIFT a 4' tiller. (tillers are extremely heavy) Keep looking There are plenty of 30-35hp tractors with well under a 1000 hours on them built in the last 10 years for under 10 grand. In the long run, it will cost you much less money. |
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The posts responding here, have convinced me to look for a tractor with a front loader. I am really waking up to just how handy it would be around here. Oh, yeah......once you have a machine with a FEL, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it. 
Good luck on that Ford. You'll ultimately be happier with that size tractor over the other one. |
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IMO the front end slack can be a good thing on a manual steer two wheel drive.
a long day of manual steering on rough ground will wear your arms out. FEL and 4x4 are a very nice thing to have. when you have your bucket on the ground in 2 wheel drive they dont steer as well |
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I took your advise. I am going out to look at a Ford 2600 tractor with a front loader tomorrow. That's a 38 HP, 2WD, gas engine tractor. It comes with a bushhog and some other attachments for $4500. It's only about 3 miles from my house on a country road so I could drive it home if I need to. The posts responding here, have convinced me to look for a tractor with a front loader. I am really waking up to just how handy it would be around here. Thanks Quoted:
that's not a tractor, it's a toy. 18hp? nooo, it's lawnmower with pretty green paint. it will barely run 4' equipment, barely and it will wear down quickly If you had one acre I'd still recommend you go bigger. 10 acres????? forget it Minimum appropriate size for a homeowner occasional use tractor is 30-35hp This puts you in a 5' wide tractor, which will easily run 5' implements (which are fine for homeowner use) That little pansy a$$ thing probably won't even LIFT a 4' tiller. (tillers are extremely heavy) Keep looking There are plenty of 30-35hp tractors with well under a 1000 hours on them built in the last 10 years for under 10 grand. In the long run, it will cost you much less money. good. but a 2wd loader is only good for moving loose materials (hay, bedding, etc) digging, or hard pack materials really requires 4x4 you also get stuck less (although when you do, you get stuck in a REALLY BAD PLACE )
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I wish I could afford a 4WD, but I can't. I am straining to afford the Ford Tractor. All the 4WD tractors around here are at least $7000 and those are 20HP and without FEL's.
I am just going to have to make do with the Ford. I haven't closed the deal on it yet, but think I am going to make an offer tonight. [ Quoted:
I took your advise. I am going out to look at a Ford 2600 tractor with a front loader tomorrow. That's a 38 HP, 2WD, gas engine tractor. It comes with a bushhog and some other attachments for $4500. It's only about 3 miles from my house on a country road so I could drive it home if I need to. The posts responding here, have convinced me to look for a tractor with a front loader. I am really waking up to just how handy it would be around here. Thanks good. but a 2wd loader is only good for moving loose materials (hay, bedding, etc) digging, or hard pack materials really requires 4x4 you also get stuck less (although when you do, you get stuck in a REALLY BAD PLACE )[/quote]
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but a 2wd loader is only good for moving loose materials (hay, bedding, etc) digging, or hard pack materials really requires 4x4 this. with a 2wd SCUT or CUT –– you stick the FEL into anything heavy, and try to lift and back away, the rear wheels will have no weight and you'll go nowhere. ar-jedi |
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Yep, the guy I am buying it from told me has to use a counter weight on the back to lift anything really heavy.
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but a 2wd loader is only good for moving loose materials (hay, bedding, etc) digging, or hard pack materials really requires 4x4 this. with a 2wd SCUT or CUT –– you stick the FEL into anything heavy, and try to lift and back away, the rear wheels will have no weight and you'll go nowhere. ar-jedi |
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Yep, the guy I am buying it from told me has to use a counter weight on the back to lift anything really heavy. ALL short wheelbase SCUT/CUT will benefit from a ballast box, in fact it dramatically increases safety as well since you are less likely to upset the tractor with the ballast in place (in this case, topple forward onto the FEL). moreover, it reduces the stress on the front axle as without the ballast there is a disproportionate amount of weight on the front end (and front drivetrain for 4wd models). below, each one of those pieces of PA bluestone in the FEL weighs about 80-100 pounds. without the ballast box hanging on the TPH (3 pt hitch) you are not picking the FEL up without a stability problem. even if you could pick it up the moment you started going downhill on a grade you are going to experience "tractor pucker factor" in very short order. there are no brakes on the front wheels of most tractors... and if you lose braking traction on the rear tires due to the load in the FEL you'd better have your seat belt fastened, the ROPS up, and thereafter keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times. 
in the ballast box you can put bricks, stone, or just fill it with concrete (and embed some PVC pipe in upright to hold some garden tools during transport). i use a pair of 5 gal dryall buckets filled with 3/4-minus aggregate, that works for most loads. for really heavy FEL use i have to add more weight to the ballast box via bricks or stone. if you don't have a ballast box, a PTO-driven tiller or other heavy TPH implement will usually work as well. ar-jedi 
ps: as noted above, for light loads you are fine without the ballast box. 
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ballast boxes are a HUGE waste of money
just put something on there like a blade or box blade that you actually use and get the tires filled. (tires filled makes a BIG difference in everything you do) do NOT run around with a tiller on tillers are very heavy and do not take well to getting jumped around on. (tractors ride really poorly) the arms will break, etc Only put your tiller on when you are using it. a 5' tiller is 2 grand or more a 5' box blade is about $500. |
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That's great advise. I am planning on buying a box blade, but hadn't thought of it as a counterweight.
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ballast boxes are a HUGE waste of money just put something on there like a blade or box blade that you actually use and get the tires filled. (tires filled makes a BIG difference in everything you do) do NOT run around with a tiller on tillers are very heavy and do not take well to getting jumped around on. (tractors ride really poorly) the arms will break, etc Only put your tiller on when you are using it. a 5' tiller is 2 grand or more a 5' box blade is about $500. |
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Quoted:
That's great advise. I am planning on buying a box blade, but hadn't thought of it as a counterweight. Quoted:
ballast boxes are a HUGE waste of money just put something on there like a blade or box blade that you actually use and get the tires filled. (tires filled makes a BIG difference in everything you do) do NOT run around with a tiller on tillers are very heavy and do not take well to getting jumped around on. (tractors ride really poorly) the arms will break, etc Only put your tiller on when you are using it. a 5' tiller is 2 grand or more a 5' box blade is about $500. I usually just leave my box blade or Bush Hog on the 3 point for a counter weight, I've never had a problem with stability. I do agree you'll need something back there or it gets pretty unbalanced using the FEL. 
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Seabee, is that a United box blade you have on your tractor?
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That's great advise. I am planning on buying a box blade, but hadn't thought of it as a counterweight. Quoted:
ballast boxes are a HUGE waste of money just put something on there like a blade or box blade that you actually use and get the tires filled. (tires filled makes a BIG difference in everything you do) do NOT run around with a tiller on tillers are very heavy and do not take well to getting jumped around on. (tractors ride really poorly) the arms will break, etc Only put your tiller on when you are using it. a 5' tiller is 2 grand or more a 5' box blade is about $500. I usually just leave my box blade or Bush Hog on the 3 point for a counter weight, I've never had a problem with stability. I do agree you'll need something back there or it gets pretty unbalanced using the FEL. http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/Seabee_Mech/My%20pics/101_0668.jpg http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/Seabee_Mech/KiotiCK30.jpg |
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Nope, it's a CountyLine® from Tractor Supply. It does ok, the only problem I've had with it is I got a little aggressive with it while we were clearing the land for our house, I had to do a little straightening on it. I have to keep reminding myself that my tractor isn't a D5 dozer.
It's as good as any other box blade in its price range and TSC is local here so I didn't have to pay shipping. ETA: My little Kioti has done a lot of work for me. I used it to restore several acres of over grown pasture at my house I had in Mississippi and I used it to clear around 4 acres of the wood lot we built on here in Michigan. I hired out the excavation for our basement but I used the tractor to back fill and do do the finish ground work around the house. I also used it to set the poles on my 38'x 56' pole barn and the prep work for the concrete pad. It's more than paid for itself with all the work I've done with it. |
| Anything less than 30 hp. is just a "yard tractor". I wouldn't own a tractor without a front end loader, they're just too darn handy. I currently own a Massey Ferguson 50 and it's a hell of a good tractor. Easy to work on, I bought it cheap, parts are as close as the local tractor shop etc..... |
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Thanks to all for the advise. It has helped immensely in guiding my research and in keeping me from making a hasty decision on a tractor. The comments from many here caused me to keep looking and lo and behold the Ford 2600, I ultimately purchased came to my attention.
I am pretty proud of what I got for the money. Below are a few pictures of the new addition to my work force. 
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Thanks to all for the advise. It has helped immensely in guiding my research and in keeping me from making a hasty decision on a tractor. The comments from many here caused me to keep looking and lo and behold the Ford 2600, I ultimately purchased came to my attention. I am pretty proud of what I got for the money. Below are a few pictures of the new addition to my work force. Cool! I think you'll be a lot happier with that tractor than the little one you were looking at initially. 
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It may be a little high, but he threw in a rough cut bush hog, yard rake, fork attachment, and a boom with the deal. Also the tractor did appear to be well maintained. The guy I bought if from was the second owner, the first being a golf course. The guy I bought it from used in his landscaping business and kept the tractor in a garage when not in use. I happened to get to know one of his neighbors here who said the guy was fanatical about keeping his equipment clean and serviced.
It had been just serviced and I went and test drove it for the first time at the shop where it was being worked on. I talked to the mechanic who serviced it. He told me that he had been servicing this tractor for years and that he felt it was a good buy. Having said that I realize, he has more loyalty to his long time customer than to me. However, at the end of the day it's a 30 year old tractor and is what it is. Quoted:
honestly that seems a tad high, but it's hard to say unless i put eyeballs on it. did he maintain it well? service it at the JD dealer? |
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It may be a little high, but he threw in a rough cut bush hog, yard rake, fork attachment, and a boom with the deal. <snip> However, at the end of the day it's a 30 year old tractor and is what it is. With all those implements along, I think you did well. Bought new, all those implements would probably cost you 75% of what you paid for the whole package. You'll love those forks......they come in real handy. 
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Thanks to all for the advise. It has helped immensely in guiding my research and in keeping me from making a hasty decision on a tractor. The comments from many here caused me to keep looking and lo and behold the Ford 2600, I ultimately purchased came to my attention. I am pretty proud of what I got for the money. Below are a few pictures of the new addition to my work force. http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/sneakypete6/Tractor5.jpg?t=1298995674 http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/sneakypete6/Tractor4.jpg?t=1298995674 http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/sneakypete6/Tractor1.jpg?t=1298995674 I like it!!! I'm assuming not a Huge chunk of $$ and it looks like it will WORK!! Nice I'm jealous and still lookin 
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