How to Buy a Used Tractor: Visual and Mechanical Inspection Steps

the question I'm most frequently asked about tractors is about buying them you want to know what to look for and what to inspect so that you can buy with confidence I've created a buyer's guide video so at the end you will have confidence to buy your own use traffic [Music] first let's discuss a visual inspection these are things that I subconsciously go through in my mind but I've broken them down into a checklist of six different things that you can visually look at and inspect on the tractor the first thing would be tires and this one will cub I have an example of really good used tires there's no weather cracking or dry riding and they still have plenty of tread on them they hold air well that's what we want to see on a rear tire however this Ford 600 we example of poor tires you can see how cracked they are along here they're very very dry rotted and cracked these tires aren't going to last much longer they do hold air now so if I was going to buy this tractor and think about using it I'd realize that they'll last me for a short period of time but not longevity while this wouldn't scare me away from buying the tractor the price needs to reflect the condition of the tires tires are easily replaceable you can often find good use tires or you can buy brand new ones these are a common size however they're expensive it's not a cheap replacement if you need to replace the tire so pay attention the tires and keep that in mind with the offer that you're gonna make on the tractor the second thing that I like to inspect is the sheet metal on a farm all Cub for example they often are cut out sometimes when the 12-volt conversion is done while a cut hood will never affect the mechanical operation of the tractor if it's a tractor that you want to do a full restoration on you're going to need to calculate the cost of replacing the hood I also like to purchase tractors that have fenders on them just for safety reasons and for a complete look to the tractor so that's always something to evaluate this moline is an example of a tractor that has a pitot hood you can see that it's just really really pitted if I was going to restore this moline and sand and do bodywork on this hood it would require a whole lot more work than a hood that's in better condition like that Farmall cup wood the third thing I'm looking for is any leaks on the tractor now these tractors if you're buying one this old it's probably going to leak but it's important to know what is leaking and what would be required to stop that leak this Massey Ferguson does have a leak here but it's just fuel that's something that would be very easy to repair and contrast let's look at how this John Deere behind me is leaking this 3020 has a more serious leak down here in the rear I see hydraulic fluid coming out of the load shaft that's a pretty major repair that most home mechanics wouldn't want to tackle on their own so if you see a leak like that on a tractor you're looking to purchase calculate the cost of what that repair is going to cost you the fourth thing to consider is the wiring harness this 656 has many wires like this that are just hanging loose the wiring harness is homemade it's not a real harness it's not something that I like to see in addition to that somebody has added this washer for the ignition so the key broke off in the original ignition and you have to get this washer in here just right we're gonna turn the key it's just not something that I like to see however it wouldn't stop me from buying this tractor because an ignition is really simple and affordable to fix and a wiring harness can be corrected but if you don't have electrical experience it's not something that you should tackle on your own you should only tackle a wiring harness repair if you're really knowledgeable about electrical systems the next thing I look at an antique tractor is just the general upkeep and maintenance of the tractor when I look at this 451 I noticed that the grills been smashed in over here on the side I can tell from the filter that regular maintenance hasn't been performed on the tractor the seat is torn there's a pretty serious hydraulic leak on the other side these are all indicators to me that this tractor just hasn't been maintained as well as I would like a tractor to be included this one in the line because it's newer much newer than some of the other tractors that I've shown you but I want you to think that a newer tractor doesn't always mean that it's the better choice I would rather purchase a tractor that's 10 or 15 years older than this one that's been taking care of its whole life rather than this one that's newer that has been abused by the owner now when you're looking at a tractor and you're determining the general upkeep and maintenance you can look at the oil filter like I mentioned however that's not a surefire indicator a dishonest seller could sell it could change the oil right before you come or they could write different hours or date on the filter to make you believe that it's been changed more frequently so while that is something that I look at consider it's not always a surefire indicator for you you can pull the dipstick on a diesel you're looking for antifreeze inside so the oil will be turned gray if there's antifreeze mixed in you can take the cap off of the radiator and look for oil inside of course you take that cap off when the engine is cool definitely not while it's hot so take some time and just consider the general upkeep and maintenance of the tractor and include that in your decision making process the sixth and final thing that you want to look for is a weld or repair you could look for a weld on the engine block this a 10-4 it has actually had a repair to the black it's you can't even tell I know that it's been repaired because my dad repaired it years ago he did a good job and sometimes when a black is broken and repaired it will hold well for many years and never be an issue but a break can also be corrected with j-b weld and that won't hold so you need to inspect in a value way if it's been broken and how it has been repaired and what you think the longevity of that repair is going to be also inspect to the front axle for a weld if a tractor has three-point hitch on it you're going to look at the three-point arms or if it has final drives those can be broken from improper implement use inspect all of those castings on the tractor look for damage from freezing or improper use and evaluate the cost to make those repairs now all of these buyer guide steps are included in the book that I've co-authored called the farm all cub encyclopedia and walnut book is a focused just on the farm all cub model you can see that these buyers guides tips apply to all different makes and models of antique tractors also in the book there's history so if you are a tractor enthusiasts you'll enjoy reading all the history about the farm all cub model and the repairs while they are demonstrated on a farm all cub many of those techniques apply to all the letter series farm all tractors so if you are an antique tractor enthusiasts consider adding the farm L cub encyclopedia to your library you can purchase it on my website farm tractor repair comm slash cub book after the visual inspection the next thing I'll do with the sellers permission is start the tractor up and see how it runs this is what I'm looking for initially I want to make sure that it starts easily on its own and that when it's running it runs smoothly without missing or smoking when a tractor first starts a little puff of smoke is completely normal but not excessively smoking the brat for the rest of the time that it's running the second thing that I'm initially looking for is a charge a positive charge to show that the charging system is working so let's go ahead and start this one up and see how it runs this one runs good I didn't see smoke you did hear a little bit of a gallop but that went away it just needs a little fine-tuning on the adjustment there I didn't have to run it with the choke on it just need a little bit of choke to get started so I like the way this runs and I would be happy buying a tractor with it running this way on the contrast let me show you what an engine will sound like if it is missing I'm going to start up this Ford 600 so you can hear how I hope you could hear how it was missing on one cylinder now when a tractor is missing it could be something as simple as one sparkplug that's bad or it could be more serious like a valve that's stuck so it's worth determining taking some time to try to figure out and determine what your level of mechanical competency is if you can repair something like that or if you'd rather pass on that tractor and buy one that runs a little smoother with the tractor running now I'm going to do a little bit of driving inspection the first thing I want to check is the clutch so I push the pedal in I'm just gonna put it right here into first gear I'm gonna let the clutch out a little bit and make sure that it takes off smoothly without jerking like this tractor does I'll run through all the gears but that's what I'm looking for is no grinding in the gears and that it takes off smoothly without any issues in the clutch I will also test the brakes a little bit of play in the brakes might mean that they just need an adjustment but if the brakes don't function at all that's a more complex repair that I'll calculate into the cost of the tractor I also like to test the hydraulics that the tractor is equipped with hydraulics this one you can see the touch control hydraulics are working as they should which is always a good sign and something that I like to see when I start the tractor up and drive it the steps that I've gone over in this video are general they're broad and apply to all sorts of use tractors however there are other things to look for that might be specific to the tractor you're evaluating for example if your tractor is equipped with power steering then of course you want to make sure that the power steering works if you're looking at an international that has a torque amplifier then of course shift the TA do those sorts of things to really thoroughly inspect the specific tractor that you're looking at now if you know that you want to buy a specific model of tractor and you're wondering is there something exactly about this model that I need to look for you could schedule a phone call with us and we can help you with a specific model question of a tractor here's an example this one 75 Massey Ferguson behind me the PTO doesn't work that's a very common problem on 175 and 185 Massey Ferguson tractors and that's something that if you called and said I'm looking at buying a 175 then I would warn you that that's a pitfall of those models that you just want to be sure that you really check out on that tractor and it might save you some grief when you're looking at a used tractor in addition to helping you with a question like that if you know that you have a certain amount of acres and a certain budget and you want to do these three chores with your tractor and you don't know what model to purchase I can make a suggestion for you so that you can shop for a specific model tractor in your local market and buy a tractor with confidence so click the I in the corner it will take you to a link and then you can schedule a call I'm ready to seal the deal I like to ask two questions in closing one is is there anything that I've overlooked about the tractor that might need attention in the future sometimes the seller will say oh yeah there's this one thing I forgot to tell you and they might tell you at that time the second thing I like to ask for is if there's anything else included with the tractor like equipment when I purchased this farm all KUB I asked that question and the seller said oh there's a blade and some cultivators out in the fence row if you can get them out you can have them you bet I went and got them and took them with me and I've put them on this tractor and use them even in my own yard I also like to ask for wheel weights or suitcase weights or a manual those are always nice bonuses to the tractor now when you're looking at a tractor and you're evaluating it keep the price in mind when you are looking at a $500 tractor there's a big difference between that one and a $5,000 tractor or a $50,000 tractor when you're looking at a low place tractor you're gonna have to accept some imperfections and not be nitpicky about all those little things that might be wrong or incorrect about that tractor I hope that these steps are helpful to you and that you now have the confidence to buy a used tractor for yourself [Music]

Channel: Dan Gingell and Rachel Gingell

Views: 115,233

Keywords: how to, buy, purchase, buyer's guide, rachel gingell, tractor, farm, farm equipment, john deere, international harvester, ih, case, caseih, minneapolis moline, massey ferguson, ford, dan gingell, rachel, gingell

Id: dY_oWM5bqBg

Length: 12min 19sec (739 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 03 2019