Massey Ferguson 2600 Series? Any Good?

Hello all...

Looking to buy a ~40-50 HP medium sized utility tractor largely for loader work and material handling for my business... my ole' International just isnt
cutting it anymore, its not very reliable, can only lift ~1000lbs, and needs a lot of work (hydraulic leaks fixed, etc) that I for the life of me can't find anyone
nearby to do and just dont have the time to do myself.

At this point, the time I invest in that thing comes with a higher monetary cost than new equipment.

I've got my eye on the 2600 series of tractor from Massey Ferguson, they're supposedly heavily built, old-school, high value utility tractors but the older
ones (~2011ish) had a TON of quality control issues, just the little bit of research I've done has shown everything from powertrane failures to electronic
issues and machine-wide oil leaks.

That being said, I've heard that the newer models (~2014+) have had all the bugs worked out and are good to go.

Is this true? Have you guys heard anything about these issues and the possibility of them being fixed?

Either way, what would you say are the highest-value midsize utility tractors on the market today?

Thanks in advance.

I dunno. Local dealer had an open house a couple years ago and on display was a new 2605 sitting there leaking something.

You need a forklift, man, not a tractor.

I'm a JD guy. Try a 4000 series compact. 4x4. We have one. Absolutely no problems. Will move hay with it this week.

I bought a 2635 FWA in 2012.

As you have heard, it's heavy and somewhat old school, e.g., long stroke, lower RPM, etc. Yes, they were plagued with QC issues. I do not know if these have been worked out.

Neither MF nor my dealer has treated me well and it is being replaced with a Kubota.

Dean

Ive put navy hours on 180 masseys and 1100 series tractors from the 70s. That said, neighbor has a 2670, a 2010 model that he bought new and it is not half the tractor my old 180s are. The water pump on his 2670 recently went out at 900 hours.

EVEN IF SOMEONE OFFERS ONE FOR FREE, STAY AWAY FROM THEM!!!!!

The 2635 and smaller were made by TAFE in India. Tons of problems and high costs for parts. The engines are NOT Perkins. They are a Simpson, and the is no other source of parts except through TAFE! An MF service rep. told me of a 2615 in NC that was just out of warranty when the injection pump went bad. There are no parts available in America, Massey would not cover it, and no repair shop would touch it. A new injection pump is OVER $7500.00!

The HD series (2650 & up) were made in an MF plant in Brazil. MF no longer sources tractors for North America from this plant because the quality is so poor! At one time, the castings were taken from the molds, machined, and assembled without washing them out to "save time".
You can probably figure out the results!

Oh, and the 3625, 3635, & 3645's built in Italy are even worse!

Look for a Coventry built Massey, or one of the new Iseki built units. Top notch quality on either of those. Even the Turkish built Uzel units were good!

Yes a forklift or bobcat may be the solution. ON the Masseys I kind of like that series. From what I see the Case and new holland series along with some Deere's are made in India. There no Cadillac but about what a Long used to be: basic simple tractor. THAT IS WHAT I LIKE. I guess what you herd is correct on quality. But are you going to abuse it use it for a log skidder bulldozer etc? They have no computer and if taken care of should last.

Just going to add what some have already mentioned...

Might be time to think outside the box you are in. Forklift or skid steer might be more practical/better pieces of equipment depending on what you need to do with it. Tractor with a loader is still basically a tractor and subject to the limits that that brings. Small skid steer can drag/lift/move/etc. as well as the tractor and be much more maneuverable. Forklift would probably be limited to paved areas. Just giving other thoughts, I know I get stuck in my own thought processes sometimes and when I talk about it with somebody else they often times have an alternate approach to an issue that is much simpler/economical/performs better.

Don't know anything about the MF tractors,

Kirk

I looked hard at a MF2615 when I bought a tractor last year. It came-in second on my list. Ultimately I bought a Deere 5055d two wheel drive tractor - no loader. For what I needed, the Deere was a better match. Having said that, I would not - not recommend the MF. In fact, it is possible there are some 2600 series tractors still out there at EPA Tier 2 levels which would spare you some kind of after treatment. Aside from the Simpson engine and hood (and side mounted shifters on later models), they look like a tried and true old MF design.

One concern I had with the MF was the Simpson engine. While I believe it's a Perkins clone, when I googled for parts, I really didn't see any much, if at all available. OTOH - there are lots of parts for the 2.9L Deere 3 cylinder engine.

FWIW - my brother is looking at buying a new 2015 Deere 5045e two wheel drive tractor. He tells me they have a $4,000 rebate until the end of October.

Not sure the dry clutches are great (based on my readings) when using a loader. There have been other problems with some of the 5 series JD's which you can google.

I use my 5055d for making hay, hauling wood, fertilizing and spraying my fields. Knock on wood, it has been a very good tractor to date.

Good luck,
Bill