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Tractor models that are problem Childs!!!

J

JD Seller

Well-known Member
I find it interesting that many models of many brands have been call lemons, junk, duds, and etc. An example of this is the JD 2010. It just is a very poorly designed tractor that has serious issues. Another to a lesser degree would be the Oliver 1855 with the Waukesha engine that grenaded on so many farmers. We all can think of different models/brand that fit this description.

Now what is amazing me is how many guys are buying these problem models and thinking that they have some thing. I am willing to bet that there is at least a post per week from some one about their "New tractor" a JD 2010 or (insert your bad/lemon tractor) LOL If you do any kind of research at all you will find hundreds or even thousands of people telling you how bad these tractors are but guys still buy them. It totally blows my mind. Just this last week some one posted about how they wanted to get "More Power" out of his JD 2010 for when he was tractor pulling with it. WOW!!! I had a chill run up my billfold just reading that. LOL

Another one would be the fellow that post about how great a deal he got on a JD 2840 that runs great but has "SOME" hydraulic issues. Groan/cry/laugh or shake your head. LOL

I just hate to see these people get into some thing that can bankrupt them. The repairs on a JD 2840 hydraulic system can be $10K. You can have some parts on a JD 2010 that are just not available new or used. New has not been made in 30 years and all the used ones are shot.

So what do you guys think??? What are some other models that are just trouble????

Are some of these troubles regional??? Around here the MF 1135s had rear end trouble but many on here talk about how they were reliable in their area.
 
The only failed tractors I can add are grey market imports with unique or repurposed low production Japanese or Korean engines. Jim
 

I think, to some extent, the truly bad ones have been parted or crushed. The remaining ones either spent all their time in the back of the shed or were pretty decent tractors.

For example, My wife's cousin has a 2010 in Epworth that he swears is a pretty good unit. His dad bought it in the 70's, so they've had it 40 years now. Maybe it was the one 2010 that came off the line "good" the day it was built. The rest of them have been junked....
 
(quoted from post at 20:17:08 12/19/16) werent some of the Ford selecto speeds pretty bad too?
Click to expand...

Yes they were problematic, but nearly all of the originals were swapped out under a factory program, and many of the second generation SOSs that replaced them are still working. Some parts are getting difficult to find of course.
 
Larry, you are right. Our Red 1961 Ford 6000 was so bad, Ford recalled it and gave dad a blue one called the commander.

I was told the 8N rear end was used on the Jubilee, it was prone to failure. So far, my Jubilee is still going.

If I recall Farmall had a similiar issue by using the M rear end on the more powerfull model that replaced the M.

Geo.
recalled 6000
 
Some were bad tractors, some were victims of their owners. I've run a number of the "less desirable" Masseys. Bought them right, if they lasted a year, I was gaining. Never had to park one out back... My grandfather ran an 1100 Massey that got an engine rebuild every winter. It may not have needed it just then, but experience had taught that it wouldn't last another year. The 8" flame out the stack might have had something to do with it. But it was what he had and made it work. Parts and labor were cheap back then.
 
I'd add a Ford 6000 to the list. IH's 454- my uncle had one of those, perhaps one of the strongest flavored lemons out there. Deere's 1010 wasn't much better than the 2010.
 
i have a 2220 yanmar that resembles that remark.. in defense of the gasser 2010,. my neighbor had a good one 48 yrs ago ,, it had good power , never failed to start , and I don't think we ever had trouble with hydraulix , or pto issues,. couple neighbors had 2020 diesels, we all coveted those tractors ,. but along with jd sellers complaint ,, the sc Case was too close to horsepower as the little VAC,. "the little tractor that knew it would do it " and yet the sc Case looked so similar to the DC,. but since it had about 80 cubic inches lessthan big brother DC ,.the sc was labeled by many Case luvers in our family as the sissy of the CASE letter series ,.. it was nimble ,handled well and ran and started good , and many CASE promotional ads pictured the farm girls smiling proudly running them .. While the VAC was far more spirited and wild when the job demanded a fight , and in further comparison the DC would do far more work with ease ,,.the SC would struggle with smaller equipment ,,. it is the fault of Case executives that failed to give this mediumsize tractor more power from the drawing board,. they finally did in 1953 -54 ,. but it was too little too late and the reputation of the sc remained a sissy in our family
 
We had an IH 454 we used for cutting,raking and handling 400 round bales a year and only problem we had with it was one injector pump rebuild!
 
I had a JD 2010 diesel with a loader and sold it for 4500, a week later I go to a auction and a big farmer in my town pays 7500 for a beat up 2010 gas with a loader.

My dad had a JD 1010 gas that had overheating issues. We put a additive in the radiator and it never over heated again and you could work it like a dog.

We also had a ford 3000 selecto speed for a while. Didnt have it long but it worked perfect running a huge rototiller and the selecospeed was awesome.
 
Michael I did not say that the JD 2010s are not selling high right now. The reason is guys are wanting to have a complete "Set" of the 10 series tractors. 20 years ago you could not get $2000 out of a perfect JD 2010. Now they will bring that in pieces.
 
You cited the 1855 Oliver. We had a 1955 Oliver. I am not sure, but I think it was the same engine as the 1855, but with a turbo. We had that tractor for 3 years from 1976 to 1979. The engine was the most common component to self destruct, but in those 3 years, with the frequent trips into the shop, there was nothing that was not covered under some sort of warranty when it was traded off. Shortly after it went down the road, my father went into the file he kept on that tractor and added up all the repair bills, then factored the hours put on the tractor over those three years. I cannot recall the exact figure, but it cost back then over $16 an hour to run that tractor excluding fuel and oil costs. I don't think there was even a chip of paint on the front axle of that tractor from all the times it was winched onto truck or pulled in from the field. Some time shortly before its replacement showed up, the dealer stopped by to visit. He told us he found a buyer for the Oliver. Dad asked where it was going. The dealer replied, "California." Dad's final comment was, "It wasn't far enough!"
 
(quoted from post at 19:43:37 12/19/16) I find it interesting that many models of many brands have been call lemons, junk, duds, and etc. An example of this is the JD 2010. It just is a very poorly designed tractor that has serious issues. Another to a lesser degree would be the Oliver 1855 with the Waukesha engine that grenaded on so many farmers. We all can think of different models/brand that fit this description.

Now what is amazing me is how many guys are buying these problem models and thinking that they have some thing. I am willing to bet that there is at least a post per week from some one about their "New tractor" a JD 2010 or (insert your bad/lemon tractor) LOL If you do any kind of research at all you will find hundreds or even thousands of people telling you how bad these tractors are but guys still buy them. It totally blows my mind. Just this last week some one posted about how they wanted to get "More Power" out of his JD 2010 for when he was tractor pulling with it. WOW!!! I had a chill run up my billfold just reading that. LOL

Another one would be the fellow that post about how great a deal he got on a JD 2840 that runs great but has "SOME" hydraulic issues. Groan/cry/laugh or shake your head. LOL

I just hate to see these people get into some thing that can bankrupt them. The repairs on a JD 2840 hydraulic system can be $10K. You can have some parts on a JD 2010 that are just not available new or used. New has not been made in 30 years and all the used ones are shot.

So what do you guys think??? What are some other models that are just trouble????

Are some of these troubles regional??? Around here the MF 1135s had rear end trouble but many on here talk about how they were reliable in their area.
Click to expand...

Are you including foreign models? There are many that I wouldn't touch...but they keep making their rounds on the local CL.
 
There were not a lot of JD 2010s around here. The only one I knew of the owner was pretty happy with it. I can only recall one breakdown, something in the clutch/powershaft or something. Other than that he ran it year round for several years before selling it.
 
The case 1690 had some serious engine issues, but otherwise was an ok tractor. The only other thing I can think of that was not good from case was the 200/220/230 balers, they were too lightly built and didn't feed well with the sweep feed they had. Case lightened those balers up because the previous models were very heavy and they sunk in wet fields and farmers had trouble pulling them with the smaller tractors of the day. They just lightened too much with the 200 series balers. The 300 chopper also had issues, but that was mostly made by IH.
 
We had a 2010 gas utility with a loader for at least 10 years , used quite a bit . Never had a problem. Neighbors were a Ford dealer , if you mentioned a 6000 everyone in the building would hide .
 
I have 2 stories from neighbors that switched brands do to problems. First ones were green running JD 70 diesels. Both brothers were plowing with new 70 diesels and with in one day both tractors had crank/flywheel problems. The older brother walked home and had his mom drive him to town. A few hours later her drove home a brand new M and plow. The other brother did the same the next day. Never had a green tractor again. Second neighbor was plowing with a 560 and the axel housing broke. Him and his dad went to Deere and bought one of the first 4020 in the area and a 5 bottom plow. When they got it home they could not figure out how to shut it off. Worse tractor I had was a gas 4020 till we put a diesel in it.
 
I believe the Oliver 1955 had the turbocharged 310 with an oil cooler, 1855 had no oil cooler which caused it to throw rods. Real trouble behind it all was White Tractor parent company.
 
Neighbors growing up had a 2010 and bragged it was the best tractor they owned and they had the entire 10 series. 1010 to 5010, LOL. The Allis WD45 diesel had as bad a rep as any around here. The 560 was right up there along with the ford 6000 as ones to avoid. We had Allis including the ones that were known for problems and we had few issues, Dad would say some could tear up an anvil, Didnt we all had some of those in the neighborhood?
 
been along time since I heard the story but he said the next year the super M came out. So I am guessing it was 1953 or 54 so both the 70 and M should of be in production. Neither one of them are alive to ask.
 
We've generally had pretty good tractors here on the farm, but I'd say the 1086 I recently sold was s complete pile of junk....a lemon in every sense of the word.
 
I thought of mentioning the 560 as well... it did as much to put Deere in the number one sales position as Deere did...

We seem to be more on tractors with a bad reputation than tractors we actually owned that were lemons.

Despite 2010s and 560s having bad reputations, there are still plenty out there. And yet there are others that today you just don't see much of any more. Those could be an IH W-9 (I see many more JD R's), anything Belarus, Deutz 06 series, anything late Allis Chalmers. (my neighbor likes to joke that owning a big Allis was like having AIDS, once you got it, you can't get rid of it!)

Maybe some of it is numbers to start with, maybe some is lack of support?
 
How about the 350 IH diesel had a Continental engine 4 cyl engine no balancer vibrated so bad, broke fuels and any thing that was not bolted down tight. Ford about the same time frame i think 961 same problem Ford recalled them and put new block and crank in with a balancer
 
You can watch the local classified adds and spot some of the classic expensive machines. White 2-135 just needs new lift pump and drive gear... uh huh. 4500$ for the pump and last year there were 2 in North America. Even better white 2-150 trying to get 2-135/155 prices with that moline under pinnings.

Belarus or zetor that needs minor repairs, but has been sitting 5 years.

My favourite is excavators with new hydraulic pump that needs some tlc. Yup needs every part of the system taken apart and cleaned because you changed a blown up pump and three filters.
 
Any of those late series Allis Chalmers [7000 and up] were a piece of junk. The tranny would not stand up to long hard pulling and the engines will blow without warning, not to mention the shoe box of a cab.
 
Deere seller I would have to ad some longs/utb to the list! Always amazed me too how every once in awhile someone would have one of these "problem children" and get a lifetime of good service out of it. Be it a chainsaw, logging equipment tractor and so on!
 
One of our other neighbors was an Oliver guy and he had some of those problem child models but he also had the best dealer support that anyone could ask for. Did I mention he also had two gorgeous daughters that were always out in the field with him??? LOL Heck he couldn't get the mechanics to leave,,nor the rest of us young bucks for that matter,,,,
 
Guess my father-in-law was right.

He bought a new 560, used it a year, and dumped it for a new 806 that had just come out. Don't know what his problems were with the 560, he brought the new 806 home the day my wife and I had our first date. All I know is he cussed the 560 and liked the 806.
 
Add me to the list of people that have had very good service out of Fiat built tractors.I have them in Long,AC and Oliver for the most part they're good tough tractors.
 
Probably didn't like holding the glow plug button in for a minute to get the engine to start on the 560. It could be a 100 degrees outside and if you didn't use the glow plugs the D282 would never start.
 
I've never owned a 2010 but have owned some of the so called 'problem' tractors and had very good service from them such as Fiats and a Ford 6000 Commander.I think a lot of problem tractors were the result of abuse,operator ignorance/stupidity and just trying to use the tractor for way heavier work than it was ever built to do in many cases.Take any 70 HP tractor and try to do work with it that needs 100 HP and you're going to have trouble.Also turning up the HP puts way more strain on the drive train than it was designed for then broken and busted parts is going to be the result.
 
Uncle had a 2010 diesel utility and it lasted for years and he was one of those guys that could break an anvile. And the gas engine that is claimed was so bad in the 2010 is the same engine that ran all the 45 combines for years with no problems. Had 2 of them and one with that engine but the 165 deck plate instead of the 145 deck plate and no problems with it either.
 
In my years buying and selling equipment here is what I learned. The 2010 Deere especially the diesel(late gasers with the spin on oil filter were just ok)the 2840 and check a 2940 very well for the same hyd problems.Allis WD45 diesels were noted for cracked heads and stay away from Allis ED40's. Watch D14,D15,D17,D19,190 and 200's for jumping out of gear. Only buy the later 190's with the larger axles as the earlier ones could have rear end problems. On an IH always check the TA's and do not buy MD or 400-450 diesels as they were hard starters and also had some head issues.Do not buy 606's or 460 utilities along with B275's and B414's. Check over Massey 180,1080,1100's for hyd issues as they filtered all the hyd oil after they ran it thru the hyd pump. Check over any selecto-speed ford very good and do not buy 6000's. Oliver had some issues with the 55 series with the Waukashau(sp?) engines that used a two piece wrist pin bushing.I am sure some people owned some of these and said they were great but most were not. Some like the Massey hyd issues could be fixed with an on filter kit and the Oliver was good after being overhauled with updated parts. Tom
 
Some of it does depend on how you use them. AC's did fairly well on farms that did not call for much heavy drawbar work which meant a lot of hay harvest on small dairies. For 1500 dollars plus difference between a 190XT and a 4020 guys were very willing to live with the shortcomings of the Power Director. IH 560's were not well received here and most of it has nothing to do with the differential troubles. There was nothing really outstanding about the 560 in terms of features to simply look away from other makes. The Ford 8000 has a poor reputation and I had noticed in my travels during my college years that quite a few were on what I would call hard luck farms. Cheap to buy but plan on it being in the dealer shop periodically.
 
Dad had an Alis Chalmers 5040. Built by Fiat. Don't know if it lived a long life or not ? I never did like it.
 
In around 1976 we were looking for a small tractor. Were pretty much told the same info from many to stay away from JD 1010 and 2010 and any Ford with a select o speed. Used tractors back then were hard to find. Even new ones sometimes had a waiting list.
 
As good as a 3020 was,a 3010 was equally as bad. One of those radical new models that came out with a lot of testing,yes,but still had a lot of issues. A 730 diesel was the limit of what they could do with 2 cylinders. The sale at Archbold probably sold more of those things that were traded in in the 60s than any other tractor in history.

A Ford 6000 SelectoSpeed was a lemon right from day one too.

You mentioned the Oliver 1855. Add in the 1250 and 1450 too. Between those three tractors,they were probably the final nail in the coffin of the Oliver brand.
 
Don't get my finger prints on an 1855 though. Unless it's got a Perkins transplant. I've got one in the form of a White 2-105. Great tractor and the 1855 would have been too if White Motors hadn't cheaped out and went with that lemon 310 in them.
 
I've read all the posts and "Traditional Farmer" keeps hitting the proverbial nail on the head in my opinion and I agree 100% with his reasoning. If you "need" 90-100 hp then you better have 400 cubes or more if you want it to last. The Ford 6000 was marketed to compete with 4010 etc at way less than 300 cid and farmers pulling 4 bottom plows with them. And Oliver with 310 or less trying to compete with 4010 and 4020 and Oliver's marketing was just plain insulting to anyone who has ever farmed. " Oliver 1800" "6 plow tractor"..."Oliver 1900" "Mighty Monarch of Pull" "8 Plow Tractor" and all this from a little 310 or worse yet a GM 4cyl with blower screaming it's guts out to just pull 5 bottoms let alone "8" ?? Not just bashing Oliver...I was in love with them back in the '60,s but they became a "modular tractor" what with their tub frame and chain coupler from engine to trans which allowed Oliver to put any engine that was profitable and any thing to try to win the HP war (hence Cat V -8 in 2255) without any reguard to drive train longevity. I,m not hearing bad about the big late '60,s & '70,s 6cyl Case,MM or JD and not a lot of IH either. Most of them realized that good reliable power took lots of cubes and if and when they needed to turbo charge , they at least had an engine capable of taking it and lasting. Over engineering a tractor made it more expensive so some farmers just went for low cost and false advertising and caused a lot of bad reviews. Bottom line is that little screaming engines asked to do "big tractor" work is/was recipe for a "lemon". Just one example...in 1962 our JD neighbor bought a new 4010 diesel...he hauled a 5 btm fully mounted plow with two clod busters (old rolling type " and anhydous tanks on front...did a lot of "plow/plant" 1960,s version of min till. How long ya think that tractor lasted? How long did ANY 1900 Ollie last ? First farmer around here that had one new...got rid of it in one year. Farmers just have to be smarter than the "marketers".
 
(quoted from post at 17:27:15 12/20/16) I've read all the posts and "Traditional Farmer" keeps hitting the proverbial nail on the head in my opinion and I agree 100% with his reasoning. If you "need" 90-100 hp then you better have 400 cubes or more if you want it to last. The Ford 6000 was marketed to compete with 4010 etc at way less than 300 cid and farmers pulling 4 bottom plows with them. And Oliver with 310 or less trying to compete with 4010 and 4020 and Oliver's marketing was just plain insulting to anyone who has ever farmed. " Oliver 1800" "6 plow tractor"..."Oliver 1900" "Mighty Monarch of Pull" "8 Plow Tractor" and all this from a little 310 or worse yet a GM 4cyl with blower screaming it's guts out to just pull 5 bottoms let alone "8" ?? Not just bashing Oliver...I was in love with them back in the '60,s but they became a "modular tractor" what with their tub frame and chain coupler from engine to trans which allowed Oliver to put any engine that was profitable and any thing to try to win the HP war (hence Cat V -8 in 2255) without any reguard to drive train longevity. I,m not hearing bad about the big late '60,s & '70,s 6cyl Case,MM or JD and not a lot of IH either. Most of them realized that good reliable power took lots of cubes and if and when they needed to turbo charge , they at least had an engine capable of taking it and lasting. Over engineering a tractor made it more expensive so some farmers just went for low cost and false advertising and caused a lot of bad reviews. Bottom line is that little screaming engines asked to do "big tractor" work is/was recipe for a "lemon". Just one example...in 1962 our JD neighbor bought a new 4010 diesel...he hauled a 5 btm fully mounted plow with two clod busters (old rolling type " and anhydous tanks on front...did a lot of "plow/plant" 1960,s version of min till. How long ya think that tractor lasted? How long did ANY 1900 Ollie last ? First farmer around here that had one new...got rid of it in one year. Farmers just have to be smarter than the "marketers".
Click to expand...


You are oh so right, I could not of said that any better myself.
 
A lot depends on how well the manufacturer handled the problems. IH 560, Oliver 880, and JD 4430 are several models that had successful recalls to correct early problems and those tractors have not been mentioned on this "problem child" list. Tractors and combines tended to get updates quicker than implements that had problems.

Operators and maintenance can also make a big difference. Some guys can make lemonade with a tractor that most would call a lemon, while others can wreck an anvil with a rubber hammer.
 
What was the issue with the 880? I don't remember. I know there was an issue with the early 1600s from guys saying they didn't have the power of the 880s they traded in. Oliver fixed that problem with larger pistons right off the line and a free upgrade by the dealer if the owner wanted it. A lot of those were upgraded before they left the dealer lot.
 
(quoted from post at 19:43:37 12/19/16) I find it interesting that many models of many brands have been call lemons, junk, duds, and etc. An example of this is the JD 2010. It just is a very poorly designed tractor that has serious issues. Another to a lesser degree would be the Oliver 1855 with the Waukesha engine that grenaded on so many farmers. We all can think of different models/brand that fit this description.

Now what is amazing me is how many guys are buying these problem models and thinking that they have some thing. I am willing to bet that there is at least a post per week from some one about their "New tractor" a JD 2010 or (insert your bad/lemon tractor) LOL If you do any kind of research at all you will find hundreds or even thousands of people telling you how bad these tractors are but guys still buy them. It totally blows my mind. Just this last week some one posted about how they wanted to get "More Power" out of his JD 2010 for when he was tractor pulling with it. WOW!!! I had a chill run up my billfold just reading that. LOL

Another one would be the fellow that post about how great a deal he got on a JD 2840 that runs great but has "SOME" hydraulic issues. Groan/cry/laugh or shake your head. LOL

I just hate to see these people get into some thing that can bankrupt them. The repairs on a JD 2840 hydraulic system can be $10K. You can have some parts on a JD 2010 that are just not available new or used. New has not been made in 30 years and all the used ones are shot.

So what do you guys think??? What are some other models that are just trouble????

Are some of these troubles regional??? Around here the MF 1135s had rear end trouble but many on here talk about how they were reliable in their area.
Click to expand...
I think you are better off with a draft goat,...every tractor make and model has issues and break downs,..if they don't then you did not try hard enough
 
RRlund,

Randy, Are all Perkins engines good or are any of their series dogs?

Would you happen to know tractor makes/models of the 60s-80s that used Perkins engines besides MF and Fordson Dextas?
 
(quoted from post at 16:11:27 12/20/16) RRlund,

Randy, Are all Perkins engines good or are any of their series dogs?

Would you happen to know tractor makes/models of the 60s-80s that used Perkins engines besides MF and Fordson Dextas?
Click to expand...

Allis Chalmers used the 3.152 in the 160, the 4.236 in the 170 and the 4.248 in the 175
 
They used the 354 six cylinder in the 1850 Oliver,White 2-85,2-88,2-105 and 2-110. I've got an 1850 and a 2-105. Great engines and readily available with low hours out of combines in the boneyards. I replaced the one in my 1850 with a low hour combine engine for about the cost of a bottom end overhaul and got the low hour injection pump and injectors in the deal too.
 
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