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Massey Ferguson 285

B

Bryce Frazier

Well-known Member
Thoughts?

I don't know a lot about Masseys... Other than they are kind of pretty looking... :)

Have the oppertunity to buy a Massey Ferguson 285, BIG tractor! 70 horse I think? Sounds like it has had a hard life. Guy I will be getting it from picked it up cheap, and was going to fix it, but lost interest. He is a good friend, and I really trust what I would be getting from him.

He says that the Perkins runs good, but has something wrong in the head. He thought it was a 4cyl Perkins. Sound right?

Anyone know if they are good tractors? What is a good price to pay for a decent condition tractor?
 
Yep, 4 cyl. Perkins, good engine and tractor.....but how can it "...run good but something wrong in the head..."? Check it out thoroughly, could be big $$ repair. Hope it works out for you; you'll never look at a Farmall again.... ;>)

Ben
 
The MF 285 is a pretty good tractor. They are 81 PTO horse power. The motors are usually rock solid in these tractors. As for value. They usually sell in the $6500-8500 range around here if in average farm shape. A real nice lower houred one can break $10K but it takes areal nice one. Since this one has an engine issue I think you would need to be in the $2500-3500 range depending on tires and sheet metal. While the Perkins motor is common I do not know what a used head might cost you. I do know you will have to try and source as many parts away form AGCO as you can. Agco is getting stupid on their parts pricing.
 
Has the A4318 Perkins diesel. Some did have head gaskets blow, maybe that's the issue. Head and block MAY be ok, but if they are torched out between cylinders a new gasket won't hold. Make sure the head is re-torqued again when hot after gasket is replaced or it WILL blow again.
 
I'll second what dieseltech said. I've done a couple head gaskets on that Perkins on 1085's (same thing basically), but have been known to occasionally be problematic with that engine. Otherwise, they are a good engine and Perkapillar parts are usually relatively cheap and easy to find.

Ross
 
Bryce,

IMHO they are a pretty good tractor. I have a friend that makes hay with one - his is mulitpower. Some like mulitpower and others don't. You might want to google and/or search it on this site.

If I found a 285 if good shape and the price was right - I wouldn't hesitate to add it to the fleet.

IMHO - it is hard to beat a Perkins diesel engine. The MF part of the tractor ain't so bad either!

Good luck,
Bill
 
Wow!! 81 horse huh?!

Can you guys imagine the trouble I could get into with that kind of power?! :p I would L O V E to have a machine like that...

I think that one day it would make a wonderful, true, Farm Tractor for me...

Massey wouldn't be my first choice, but they wouldn't be my last either. I have heard mixed opinions about Perky's, but one of my close friends has been working on them for a long time, and is very skilled with them!
 
Thats kind of what I thought... I get the idea that it DOES start up, but maybe smokes or runs rough, or is low on power??

I think he is just saying that it is a solid tractor, in need of some tlc... :)
 
With a turbo and some pump work it can be over 200 for pulling, but it WILL blow the gasket for sure then. That's why the same engine in my Super 90 puller has no head gasket anymore after some engine mods...
 
We've got a 285, Dad bought it in around 82. It's a 78 model. Was the biggest tractor on our farm for many years, and it's a great haying tractor. 1000 RPM pto was an option, but it's one of those that's hard to find the casting and stub shaft to do it, atleast around here where everyone and their cousin had a 285. Seriously a great tractor. Multi-power is a great feature for baling hay if you need to slow down some and then you don't have to clutch and shift gears all the time. It WILL freewheel in low though, so be careful on hills. You also can't pull start a Massey with Multi-power, so you gotta make sure the batteries and cables, etc. are in good shape, especially in the winter.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
They must have all gone to Wisconsin then as I have never seen one here in Ohio. Don't see anything newer than the 135-150-165-170-180-1080& 1100
 
That 4 cyl. Perkins when running right is one of the best engines around. It will use less fuel running under full load than anything else. If it has mechanical issues parts are available and its easy to work on.
 
My neighbor has been a massey mechanic for years. He said just like the others about the head gaskets. He said it seemed the ones that blew are the ones being treated as a 90-100hp tractor. Getting abused basically. Said the ones that get lighter use tend to never give a problem. I only know this because I was asking him about a 1085 at one point.
 
Just beware..sometimes "lost interest" is another phrase for "now I know how bad it really is and it ain't worth me fixin". "Lost interest" can mean a lot of things they just don't want to say.
 
(quoted from post at 18:33:30 11/29/15) Thoughts?

I don't know a lot about Masseys... Other than they are kind of pretty looking... :)

Have the oppertunity to buy a Massey Ferguson 285, BIG tractor! 70 horse I think? Sounds like it has had a hard life. Guy I will be getting it from picked it up cheap, and was going to fix it, but lost interest. He is a good friend, and I really trust what I would be getting from him.

He says that the Perkins runs good, but has something wrong in the head. He thought it was a 4cyl Perkins. Sound right?

Anyone know if they are good tractors? What is a good price to pay for a decent condition tractor?
Click to expand...

Here you go Bryce....might as well have a cab!

https://spokane.craigslist.org/grd/5338313163.html
 
CAUTION: the one we had used hydraulic steering
. No gear box, draglink, etc.. steering had a dedicated pump mounted on left side of engine supplying fluid to system. If it won't steer right: be advised the steering components are quite expensive and most are dealer only available. The value (called an orbit motor )on the end of the steering shaft is $3000. They do not have enough hydraulic pressure to turn good with a big rack of weights or a loader.
 
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