Kubota M9580

Hi Guys, I posted a few weeks back about looking for a 4x4 tractor. I was looking at the 2955 JD, but there wasn"t much good to say about them. I passed on that one and there aren"t many that I can afford in my area in that 80 to 100 ph range. However, I did run across a Kubota M9580 with a cab, 4x4, and loader that is in my price range. I know nothing about Kubota. What are your thoughts and opinions about this tractor or Kubota in genreal. The tractor is a 1997 and has just over 4000 hours on it.

Look at the Farmall 95 by Case/IH

Haven"t actually worked with one much. I test drove one once(M8580), didn"t seem too bad. Biggest problem I had with it was the dry clutch. Dual speed works nice, Has a mechanical shuttle which is a bonus, but it"s not power or on the steering column. Doesn"t shift as nice as a 2955, but not bad. At 4000 hours I would check the tie rods for wear. Not overly expensive to replace, but still another expense. Looking at the parts diagram, it looks like this tractor has a wet PTO clutch, which is a major bonus, Those 2 in 1 clutches can be a pain. Cab is smaller like any Kubota(withholding their newest cab), but certainly no worse than the John Deere SoundGuard. There seems to be alot of haters of the bevel gear 4wd, but it"s always the people that have never used one. Ask any Kubota owner how much trouble they"ve had and the answer will be none(withholding the M9000, with the undersized axle). The biggest downfall with it is that it won"t likely lug like the John Deere. As a utility tractor it would likely have less trouble than the John Deere, as a sole field tractor, I think you may be disappointed.

I bought a Kubota M9540 4x4 open station about 6 years ago. I have found it to be a great tractor with plenty of power and yes lugging power. I have owned some JD tractors and still do but I will pick my Kubota when I am going to be using a tractor for a long period of time. I use it with a 4 bottom plow and it was as if I had nothing behind me. It works great with my round baler to. The loader is very well made and works great.

A big plus is that it sips fuel.

When I say sole field tractor, what I mean is, if that's all you're buying the tractor for, keep looking, but if it's a dual purpose tractor, what it lacks in the tillage department, it will more than make up in the utility department.
If the one your looking at is the one on Tractor House in WI, then the 'downside' to this is the older style 6 point front disc and rim. It's very odd for a 1997 to have this, as most were switched over around 1995. Check the thickness of the disc and check for cracking around the lug nuts. I know the newer 8 bolt disc is VERY heavy. Over 1/2" on a 60 hp tractor. The up side to this tractor is the rear wheel weights. Kubota's tend to be a little light in the rear end, so this should help you stay planted on the ground.

Completely different tractor. 9540 came out around 2007. 9580 came out about 1993.

Well I usually stay out of these things but since I sold over 40 of the M 9580,s guess I have a little knowledge. First on the going backwards and forwards, there are two types of shuttle, tractor COULD have sincro shuttle which is oil on the column or could be manual . Never had anybody complain about the lugging, engine in those things were pretty much trouble free. I have one here on my personal farm something over 3,000 hrs and sure has been a good old tractor. Cheap 4 wheel tractors are hard to find. Someone mentioned wheel disk on the front wheels. MOST of the cracking and problems were caused by running the wheels and the bolts getting loose most times on loader tractors. He is right about their being an improved wheel.

Thanks for the info guys. The tractor is the one in wi. It will mainly be used to feed and haul hay. We have a 10 foot discbine and a Vermeer 5x5 round baler that we will use with it also. As far as tillage a 3-18's plow and a 12 foot disc. So I think it will handle these fine. Only thing it might have a little trouble with is a 2 row chopper for 5 to 10 acres of corn each fall.

Problem with the Kubotas is they are light in weight, they are good for hay but field work they don't do so swift, several guys around here have them, at first they were the greatest thing but now their opinion has changed.

If you think the Deere is trouble then you better damn well run from the orange one.
Anyone that says a bevel gear front end doesn't break either hasn't kept it long enough or hasn't worked it hard enough. A friend has an 85 hp Kubota of early 90's vintage and it seems like major front axle repairs are about an annual event in one form or another. It's mabey not much worse than the competition but it's certainly no better.
I think you'll also find that most guys that berate Manheim Deere tractors are the same guys that run down Ford's, Kubota's Doncaster IH's etc. The only thing in their minds that will do the job is a US assembled Deere... meaning it comes from the larger frame series of tractor... and doesn't get loaded nearly as heavily doing utility work... as long as you can get it away from the fuel pump.
My opinion... for what you're doing you'll get along fine with the larger Manheim Deere's (40-55 series), later Case/IH's of Doncaster heritage (885/985 or 95 series), Ford 10/40 series or NewHolland TS series. The Kubota is fine as long as you don't expect to do much loader work but if you plan to keep a loader on top of it all the time you can plan of major front end problems at some point in time; probably the not too distant future. I've got nothing against the tractor but realize that it's lacking about a ton of structural cast iron that is found in most of the other models/series I listed. That iron counts for a LOT in a loader tractor. Nobody seriously compares a 5000 series Deere to a 6000 series Deere even though their HP ranges largely cross over. The reason there's no comparison is weight. The Kubota compares quite favorably with a 5000 series Deere. Not so much next to a Manheim 6000 series...

Rod

Trying to decide on a Kubota M8950 or M9580.Could someone please advise me on these tractors...or should I not buy either one.