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Ford 6610

M

modirt

Member
Have been looking at this model Ford tractor and am seeking advice on what is a reasonable amount to pay for one. They seem to be running from 10k to 16k+.....nicer ones closer to 16k. That is on CL and tractorhouse.

What is a reasonable amount one should expect to pay for less than 5,000 hours (hard to know if those are actual or just on that tach)? How much should loader contribute?

Would rather buy with the loader, as that seems to be cheaper than buying tractor, then loader and installing later, but if you can find a tractor with no loader on it, and no evidence it has had one on it, then you know it hasn't been abused and has the front end about to fall apart.
 
I try to never buy a tractor that has had a loader on it. The extra cost of putting a loader on a better tractor is off set by the better condition of the tractor.

As for the Ford 6610. Great reliable tractor. Good ones will be in the mid teens around here. The Ford 6610 being a simple reliable tractor makes the resale higher.
 
I don't have any one tractor in mind.....one that was on CL is no longer being posted. It may have sold or ad expired. It was a late 80's Series II.....2WD, canopy. No loader. 8 speed with duel power. Ad suggested around 3,900 hours, one owner. Asking price was $16,500.

I have seen enough about the S models to want to avoid those, so Series II.

If I do find one of interest, what do I need to be on the look out for? Any notably problems, concerns or issues?

BTW, my intended use is to help with a small hay operation......run a square baler.......plus light utility work. Bush hog, etc.
 
I think that price is too high.

I have that exact tractor, 1987 6610 series II no cab 3000 hours.

I think 9-11K for the tractor without loader is about right.

BTW, I love my 6610 it is a solid tractor, like no cab is the summer but not winter, 2WD turns a lot shorter than 4WD.
 
This is the type of ad I'm seeing and at about that price.

https://springfield.craigslist.org/grd/d/tractor/6734659595.html

Nice looking loader.....no dents, dings, etc.

BUT, it appears to me the tractor has been repainted. I worry about those.....you can hide an awful lot of ugly with a can of paint. Some paint jobs being better than others. I really worry about the kind where even the tires got hit with overspray.
 
BTW, I looked at two 5610S New Holland tractors this summer. Both were low actual hours (less than 1,000), 2WD with canopy and loaders. One sold for $14,000, the other for $18,500. I bid on both but ran out of money before the other guys did. These were the only two I've seen sell at auction in the past 6 months.
 
Wow, that surprises me, I paid 11K for mine with loader 10 years ago, sounds like I did OK.

It is a great tractor, just leaks somewhere most of the time, never is same place twice.
 
David you did well even for then. Also the simple "old school" tractors have picked up in value since the tier 4 emission systems went on the newer stuff.

I know you and your business involves these "new" systems, so you comfortable with them. The larger percentages of farmers want nothing to do with these systems. This is why good condition non emission tractors are selling for higher prices.
 
I believe long term they will have to be open systems so the farmers "can" work on them.

I think the implement companies are screwing the owners.

You should be able to buy a OBD2 like device or download software for a nominal price.
 
A Ford 6610 isn't bad a tractor (depending on the year) but the tractor has its issues. We have the 8x4 but I think we would rather have the 8x2 version. The tractor has power from what we've thrown at the tractor. We haven't worked the tractor enough (baling might be the hardest thing). With one tire filled, the tractor will pull its own weight. The hydraulics are a bit odd. You have to have the button in, to raze the 3 pt and the the button out to use the remotes which will be a pain (there more to describe about the hydraulics). The pto will stop on a dime, so I would recommend a over run clutch if your not running a baler (when the tractor is in idle the pto will stop a woods mower dead in its tracks). The transmission will shift easily if its all aligned (ours since we messed around with it, its hard). Some of the sink-rows (sorry if I'm butchering the correct word) are on their way out so only the even gears work (you can hold the shiftier forward but you kill parts). We have a loader on the tractor which runs off the remotes. The tractor will lift a lot (at least to us) the heaviest thing we lifted was a Ford 3000 without tires and the tractor went up in the air a little. The tractor will plow snow with a 3 bladed plow on the back. I would recommend stabilizer bars for the tractor to make live easier. The tractor doesn't drink that much fuel. I can make a tank last 2 or more 8 hours a days depending what I'm doing. Don't let the tractor idle for that long because the tractor will spit up oil (I guess that isn't good???).

If someone is to go and look at one (if buying); if the tractor is cold, I would pop off the radiator cap and look in to see if the tractor is making bubbles if so, bad head gasket or porous block and check all the regular stuff when looking at any tractor. We payed less than that when we first bought the tractor. We killed one tire and that costed almost $1000 after everything.

Sorry for my long rant or review.
 

You can pull a square baler and decent size brush hog with a 4610/4630.
I have a 89 6610 series II with cab, 8x4 trans with dual power and deluxe remotes. Had 2400 hrs when we got and now has 5000 hrs, all it does is pull a round baler and 15 ft batwing mower.
Only issues we've had where replacing the alternator, bushings in the side mount gear shift levers and a leaky power steering pump.
It does have a leak in the AC system that'll need to be looked at before next hay season.

A good one will cost $12-16,000 depending on condition, hours and tires.
I'd look for a later model Series II, 8x2 or 8x4 with dual power, dual hydraulic pumps with the deluxe remotes, the more the better.
 
I appreciate the comments. Was not aware of most of what you describe as "issues".

Is a 5610 about the same?

BTW, I have about a thousand hours on a JD 3020, so that is the benchmark I can relate to. Thinking back, I can't recall any of these issues with it. I might be looking at one of those, but of those I've seen locally, most are flat worn out or priced too high for what I'd be willing to pay.

Also, one of my reasons for Ford is they are the closest dealer. That, plus my assumption that either a 5610 or 6610 would offer the same level of utility and ease of operation as an old 3020.

If that isn't the case, then perhaps I need to rethink my choice?
 
Hmmmm......interesting comment about modern tractors. Recently had contact with a guy who claimed the emission system on a tractor malfunctioned and took out his turbo and some injectors. A time consuming and expensive repair.....and for what environmental benefit? In the big picture, a few tractors are not going to matter to anything.

I still think JD hit a home run with the 3020 and 4020 tractors. They could have made them exactly the same for the next 50 years and would have owned that market forever.
 
If you could go back and look you would find that ANY tractor had its share of problems, especially early on. There were always a few bad ones in any given brand or model that gave some farmer somewhere a bad taste in their mouths for a certain brand. Throw in the odd incompetent/indifferent dealership, and it just compounds. Had a good dealership stepped up and fixed the problem immediately and fairly, their opinion might be different.

Fact of the matter is as complex as modern tractors are it is a true miracle that ANY of them run. Any given tractor made in the past 10 years has as many "moving parts" (metaphorically speaking, meaning mechanical and electronic) as 100 Deere 4020's. In a group of 100 Deere 4020's you could guarantee there was a problem with one of them. You could say the same about any tractor model.
 
(quoted from post at 10:48:06 11/26/18)

In a group of 100 Deere 4020's you could guarantee there was a problem with one of them. You could say the same about any tractor model.
Click to expand...

I'm curious if you have any documentation to back up your statement about problem with one 4020 out of a 100? I was employed at a JD dealer from '66-'87 & I don't remember any 4020's giving problems until after many hrs of use or abuse.
Thanks,Jim
 
I forgot to say, the dif lock can be annoying, when you have your foot on the brakes and can't get your foot on the dif lock, I like to carry a pipe or wrench to engage the dif lock.
 
I think that was the point I was trying to make, and may have failed to do so.

Yes, today's tractors are incredibly complicated, and that also makes them expensive, not to mention prone to breakdowns and high repair bills. The question I'd have is do they need to be? Given a choice, I'd far and away prefer to buy a new, bullet proof, tried and true 3020 or 4020 for half of what one of the new whiz bang models would run, but they don't make em anymore. They could, and I wish they would, but they don't.

Wasn't long ago I saw an ad for a JD combine that had a heated seat. Really???? And many of them have more computer power than NASA had to send men to the moon. I don't need all that to just bale hay.

BTW, two tenants showed up to bale two neighbor's hay fields this summer. Both used over $250,000 of equipment to do the same thing I did, and with my old, but still good used equipment, I have less than $10,000 invested in all I have. I suspect the JD sales guys like them better than me.
 

Why are you using the brakes and diff lock at the same time?
I've got 7 Ford tractors, 4000's, 5000's and 6610, any tractor will have it's little quirks but overall I've had good service from my Fords, some I've had for over 27 years.
 
(quoted from post at 10:29:13 11/26/18)
Why are you using the brakes and diff lock at the same time?
I've got 7 Ford tractors, 4000's, 5000's and 6610, any tractor will have it's little quirks but overall I've had good service from my Fords, some I've had for over 27 years.
Click to expand...

I live on a hill. During the winter when I moving snow. I have to backup a hill so; once in reverse and the right tire starts spinning and the left tire doesn't I have to; press down on the clutch with the brakes on (so I don't roll forward) and get my trusty 16 or so inch wrench or my 16 or inch pipe (piece of scrap or something I found) and press down on the dif lock. Then I need to take my foot off the clutch slowly and then the brakes (once the tractor starts moving) and move out in reverse with the dif lock on. Then I should be out.
 

When you put it in reverse as you letting up on the clutch take your foot off the brakes and step on the diff lock before it starts spinning.
At times when the tractor would start spinning I'd clutch it , hit the diff lock and let out on the clutch before the tractor had time to roll.
A good set of chains is also beneficial if your going to use a tractor much on snow and ice.
 
DO NOT buy one of those S Fords. They are made in Mexico, use a different engine than the regular Fords, and do not have many parts that interchange with the regular ones either. A customer of mine runs some of them, and we have to get him parts from New Holland, can't find many of them aftermarket.
 
(quoted from post at 19:36:45 11/26/18) DO NOT buy one of those S Fords. They are made in Mexico, use a different engine than the regular Fords, and do not have many parts that interchange with the regular ones either. A customer of mine runs some of them, and we have to get him parts from New Holland, can't find many of them aftermarket.
Click to expand...

???????? I have not had any problems with the 'S" tractors and parts. even the 5900.
 

Didn't the 6610S and 7610S use the 304 Genesis style engine like in the 6640 and 7740?
A neighbor has a Mexican made 5900, hasn't given him any trouble and parts are common to other Fords.
Don't think the S models were available with the optional dual pump hydraulics.
 
Can you elaborate on what you mean by duel pump hydraulics and also on the difference between standard and deluxe?

Sorry, but I'm new to these tractors and still trying to get up to speed on them.

It also strikes me that finding one setup in a certain way is going to take some looking, which is further complicated by lack of information from sellers. When looking at the ads on CL or tractor house, there is often very little information provided. At best, they sometimes will offer clear, decent pictures....but often times, only one or very poor pictures.
 

Dual hyd pumps on these model Fords is called "closed center load sensing" that when hyd's are utilized a signal is sent down a small hyd line so both pumps supply oil for increased flow speed. I once owned a 5610 that had deluxe remotes/breakaways that gave me a lot of trouble blocking flow. My present Ford 6700 has regular breakaways which for my needs I like better.
 
This is the type of concerns I hear about the S models. I think I heard once that no two are alike, as they were made with an assortment of parts.

Of the two 5610 S tractors I bid on, one had replaced the original lower 3 point link arms with the old style with telescoping link ends. I talked to the seller and he said it was a royal pain to try to use the original arms that didn't telescope....made it very difficult for that old man to get implements hooked on. Why they would chose that as a way to cheapen them up was beyond me. If they did that, what other important features did they cut out?
 

Not just a S model thing.
I have telescoping arms on some of my Fords and yes they do help when hooking to implements, but the loose movement in those lifts arms makes adjusting some implements to run properly near impossible.
My 89 model 6610 Series II did not come with telescoping lift arms, nor did it come with the interchangeable ball option, something I wish some of my other tractors didn't have. It's also not a stripped down model, it has dual power, deluxe hydraulics with 4 remotes and is also a cab model.

The standard 10 series production ended in 93 when the 30 and 40 series tractors were introduced, the S models where a continuation of a few 10 series models that still looked like a 10 series but shared some components of the newer 30-40 series tractors.
Parts aren't hard to get, one just needs to till the parts people what year model they have and that it is a S model.
If you have a 6610S and tell the parts person you need a part for a 6610, they'll look up the wrong tractor and likely give you the wrong part.

Personally I like the Series II models or ones build after 85, they have the upgraded hydrostatic steering instead of the leak prone mechanical columns. Dual power isn't a necessity but I find it very useful when baling hay, the 8x2 trans is pretty much standard on a open station models and super dependable
The deluxe dual pump hydraulics isn't a necessity but the higher flow rate mades a big difference when using a loader.

If I'm looking for certain features on a tractor and the add doesn't mention or show a photo I call and ask.
 
Forgot to say, make sure the tractor has a block heater depending were you are. The block heater will make the tractor start at 0 degrees.
 
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