looking at a M5140 4wd & need input

[Ez.]

Howdy, i,m new to this site....
i,m gettin ready to move back to the farm I grew up on and need some advice on a tractor.
i,m looking at a M5140 or a M5640SU or a M5640SUD all have a loader and I will use a loader alot keeping the roads up ditching cutting a road in to where I want to build a house, will even try to dig the basement out with it.
and will use it alot to brush hog.
seems like some of the dealers I have tryed to talk with dont care to take the time to tell me just what all the difference,s are between the 3.... i,m looking into or they just dont know what all the differences are?
I have noticed the M5140 has a plastic fuel tank under the tractor, cant say that is such a good idea for me? it also cost a lil bit more.
and I think they all have a synchronized shuttle clutch? if so? how dependable is such critter? I grew up with a front end loader and will use it alot and that puts a bunch of wear and tear on a tractor.
Is this what I should be looking at in the 50 hp range?
if there is any body that knows a good bit about these tractors please talk to me, I have been away from the farm life for a long time and am way out side the ball park of todays equipment.
I will have a john deer dealer and a Kubota dealer in the area that I will be moving to and from some of what I have read I,m not so sure I want a john deer? from what I can tell seems like Kubota has few electrical parts and is more mechanical which should mean less $$$$ in the future or so I would think?

 

[Bulldog]

I don't know what all is different but after a few minutes of reading I find that the 5140 is a deluxe utility model and the 5640SU / SUD are special utility models. To me that means the 5140 has a few more features and just a bit nicer tractor. Looks like the 5640SU is 2wd and the 5640 SUD is 4wd. I guess I would go to the dealer and see which model fits you better. Best advise I can give is don't just settle for one. Get the model you want now.

If it was me when it comes time to dig out for the basement either rent a trackhoe or hire a contractor to dig it for you. Point being use a machine designed for digging instead of tearing your new tractor all to pieces. Just my $.02

 

[gpreuss]

I tried using my old L185DT to dig out a daylight basement and barn. Ground was rotten granite and then granite. After a month of fun I gave up, and hired a guy with a 27,000 lb Case bulldozer with a 4-way blade to come in. I don't think my month made an hour's difference in his time on the job - about 5 hours and he was done! Bulldog's advice stands..
My L3200 does stuff the L185 never dreamed of, and I'm sure the 5140 exceeds that again by as much. But if you find it isn't going to do the job, don't waste a whole lot of time on it. You will still have plenty of work/fun to do back filling and landscaping.

 

[TripleR]

Pretty much what Bulldog said, the M5140 has a fully synchronized transmission whie the others are only partially synchronized. The M5140 also has a hydraulic shuttle shift option whereas the others are only synchronized shuttle shift. I have owned both synchr shuttle and hydro shuttle and the hydro is much easier to use as you don't have to use the foot clutch to change directions.

The M5140 comes with one rear remote standard, not so on the others. A draft control is not mentioned on the SU and SUD.

Tilt steering on M5140, not sure on others.

Of the models mentioned my choice would be the M5140, but personally would go for the M6040. Well actually I got an M8540, but your situation may well be much different than mine.

Oh and no way would I dig a basement with a tractor, yes it can be done, but I sure won't be doing it and I like digging.

Good luck.

 

[Bluegill]

I'm starting to look at tractors in the 50+ hp range. M5140 looks nice, as does the M5160SUD. But I'm looking hard at the MX5100.

Syncro gear and hydraulic shuttle shift are both good. The shuttle will be better if a lot of loader work is needed. I like gear and full syncro would be my choice.

The only Deere I'm interested in is the 5055E. That is a nice simple basic tractor. With some heavy duty specs. But I'll likely go orange.

Hire out the basement digging, tractors are not designed for that type of work!

 

[Ez.]

well I have now been out and sat on and drove the SUD and the HD could not find the DT at the time. but i,m told the DT is the same as the HD but you must push the clutch down on the DT (no wet clutch pack) and I can see where the HD shuttle would be much quicker it also cost a bit more as well, in the end for me the DT and HD are a lot more user friendly and do have good comfort as well.
Dis likes......
The DT and HD both have the fuel tank under the tractor and not much holding it on either, it does appear to be a decent thick plastic but man o man I can see a bush hog throwing a stick right through it or into it, or just high centering it and tearing off i,m the kinda person that if I can run over it a hog will end up eating it, well there wont be no running over (nuffings) with the tank where it is and no shields as of yet for it to buy.

That to me was just plain stupid, kinda like they designed the whole tractor and forgot about the fuel tank untill they found it would not start up?

The AG tires appear to be 9.5 inches wide and to me a bit slightly to low of a pro file for the loader that comes with that tractor. I think they need to be 2 more inches wider and a couple more inches between the ground and the rim. I can see rolling a tire off the rim with a good load in the bucket and making a sharp turn.
However other than that they set that tractor up (so I think) very nicley.

The SUD has the muffler down along the engine frame (which has its good points) but I found I was breathing way to much exhaust, the loader controls and just about everything around the seat kinda remined me of the late 70s early 80s tractors and the loader frame was not near as heavy built as the loader on the DT& HD but still a nice tractor and the fuel tank was under the hood. That was a better idea
so in the end I really like the HD but due to that weeeee little thing called money I am goin with the M5140DT and yuppers, I will have to press the clutch down.
after the warr. is up, I am goin to see if I can take a fuel tank From SUD and see if ther could be any chance it would fit under the hood of the DT?
if so I would have to cut a round hole in the hood for the fuel cap? I dont know if it can be done or not, the tractor has a 18 gal tank on it now and the SUD is like a 11 gal tank, holds a lot less. also I would think there may be a fuel pump in the DT fuel tank? and the other one may could be a gravity feed? for now I am goin to make up something to cover that fuel tank on the back side of the tractor, but I have not yet figured out just how I will do it.
For my basement
I have a 3 point hitch back hoe that I intend to loosen the dirt up with when I attemp to dig my basement and that can work so I think untill I hit rock if I hit rock? cant hurt to try, never know till ya try.

Bluegill I also checked into the 5055 it really looks like a well built tractor but after hrs of trying to find out why so many of them are ever so slightly used and being sold with hrs on them like 50 to 300 hrs I discovered that they may just be a very nice looking tractor and thats all I got to say about that. I think orange in that size tractor may could be a okdoky idea there.

 

[TripleR]

Our M8540 has the tank under the tractor as did our previous Case and we run over just about anything that will bend and have never torn anything up. A friend made a guard for our hydraulic filters as they are pretty exposed. We never bent anything, but he did.

My L5740 has the tank under the hood, but the new L60 Series has the tank under the tractor.

Agreed, money often stands in the way of buying some things but I have found with the passage of time, I can no longer do a LOT of the things I could only a few years ago one of which is repeated use of a foot clutch.

As to tires, we have larger than standard tires on our M8540; dealer orders the M9540 tires on all M8540's thankfully so the added cost was minimal. It is not uncommon to request different tires than those that come with a particular model.

 

[Ez.]

TripleR wrote...
Agreed, money often stands in the way of buying some things but I have found with the passage of time, I can no longer do a LOT of the things I could only a few years ago one of which is repeated use of a foot clutch.


I can very well agree and under stand that, I also am wearing out.

Glad to hear you have never had a problem with a tank under a tractor.
makes me feel a lil bit better about it.
but I still feel its a bad idea. from a filling the tank stand point, I like where the fuel cap is to fill it tho.

as to tires....... I wanted the tires that came on the 90hp but the rim size was different and the only other tire that I could get was a flat bar tread which was a good looking front tire (great looking actually) but not much tread on the rears and after looking into how they performed, I found they are not good on wet ground, the property I want to build on is in W.va. and there is a few hills there per say, so I felt I was better to stay with the stock AG tires for now, I can say the price of the stock front tires is not to bad as well, when replacement time comes.

 

[Ez.]

well I got the M5140 shuttle shift with the LA1153 loader I have little over 100 hrs on it now, I also got a land pride 6 foot brush hog.

to go by the book and or dealer advice to change all filters and oil from the dealer cost over 450 dollers for this tractor.

for the most part I do like this tractor it will run the 6 ft hog quite well.

I do like the build of the LA1153 loader but when trying to push you self back (cleaning out a creek) and and can not back up with out some help from the loader.........it just dont have much push, my old 674 international had way more power (this could be due to the way the loader can come off the tractor? and they dont want to put much stress on the pins in that direction? I dont know?) but other than that it is a sweet loader.

so far no problems with any holes in the fuel tank from sticks from the brush hog, but I did get chains on the front of the hog to help prevent that.

BUT I did pick up a stick after I ate up some 2 to 2 1/2 brush (small trees) and crossing back over a small creek I ran a stick through one of the filters.
it was very, very small stick, to small to go through the shell of the filter but some how it did it.

The bad part about a hole in a filter on the bottom of a tractor is I was loosing all the oil, in my case about 7 galons even if you shut the engine down. so by the time you buy one 40 doller kobota filter and oil that there is a 100 doller stick.

I would advise any body with filters down on the bottom of a tractor to keep a old filter around so if it ever happened to ya, you could stick the old filter on to stop the leak. oh and when it happens you really are not goin anywhere no power steering, loader will barley move up, you kinda are where ever you are setting at.

as far as fuel consumption? I kinda think its not bad. it does not really drink much until you go over 1900 rpm which wil give you around 480 on the pto.

at 65 hrs I noticed both front tires are showing very small cracks all the way across the tires inbetween the treads I think they are firestone? kobota will not warr a tire so I was told, and I think they are 6 ply, so It would appear per say that I may have to get some different tires for it.

The rear tires are a different brand and look great.

i,m thinking a 8 or 10 ply tire? can anybody recomand a tire that has a good track record?

overall I like the tractor so far, will see what the next 100hrs brings.....

 

[TripleR]

Congratulations on your tractor. The filter vulnerability is unfortunately not unique to your tractor. We have not had an issue with ours yet, but a member on TBN did and he fabricated a guard for his M8540. He custom made his and for a fee, he made one for me and another TBN member, here is the thread if you know somene with fabrication skills: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/266010-m9540-belly-skid-plate-brush.html

As to the FEL, it may be that you have the SSQA on your new one and your old one was a pinned on bucket, we ran into the same thing going from a pinned on bucket on a Massey Ferguson to the SSAQ type on a Case then Kubota, just not the same roll back/dump strength.

We have had good success with Michelin, Firestone and Titan tires and go with an 8 or 10 ply.

I also have a Land Pride rotary cutter with chain guards front and rear, use it on the 5740 and it is a great cutter with nothing getting past the chains, it is a 2672. We use a Woods DS1260 on our M8540 and have torn the rubber protector off and need to put some chains on it as well.

Good luck with your tractor, we would love to see some pictures if you have any.

 

[Bulldog]

can anybody recomand a tire that has a good track record?

Right now I have Firestone, Bridgestone and Titan.

The Bridgestone tires ride great but the wear sux

Firestones ride good, wear good and overall seem to do very well

Titan's, the wear by far is the best out of all the others. Mine are long bar short bar tread and the off road performance is amazing. On hard pack they ride like a log wagon so it's give and take. The right speed can be found so they ride okay but that may not always be the speed you need to run in if you know what I mean.

If traction was not a huge concern I would say Firestone. But in my case (at times) traction is very important so personally I will vote for the Titan tires. Another plus is the Titans are American made and even have a cool little American flag logo on the sidewall.

 

[skeets]

Ez, allow me if you will, you say money is tight we all can agree on that,, BUT,,, get the tractor you want/need or have use for. You will find that getting something less than what your want/need will cause you no end of grief, and when you figure it out over the term of the payments is just s few bucks more or less depending which way you go,, Get what you want don't worry about saving a buck, cause it will come back to bite you in the end

 

[Ez.]

Thanks for the replies TrippleR / Bulldog

I dont know if I could try another frirestone But I will sure take a look at the others, i,m goin to try and see if I can get a firestone rep to look at the ones I have now, I dought they will but i,ll give it a shot I had had this thing on hills where I was not able to go forward no more and then hit it back wards till it would not go no more and then noticed the cracks and kinda thought its a wonder i,m still here but they are not busted yet and i,m still here.

bulldog I will take the bridgestone off the list, thanks for the info

I,d had not menchioned this but I was backing up a very steep area trying to reach a road bank, slip sliding around just a tad but making head way and wound up between some trees and hurd speeeep and thought I musta touched that front tire on that tree and barly pushed against the beed I made a slight move and pooff went the rest of the air, got to better ground and found a darn knott sticking out 6 inches off the base of the tree, it bent the rim up 3 good inches (1st rim I have ever bent) i,m a lil feller olny took me 15min to pound it (with correct tools) right back to perfect got some air up there 150 feet of air hose and was good to go again (I had 30psi in it)

with that being said I feel the rims are no so tuff so i,m thinking of looking for a 10 inch or 10 and a 1/2 wide tire instead of the 9.5 wide that is on it.
I will have to check with the dealer and see what they would say about warr if I did so? but I kinda think it could protect the rim just a lil bit better yall have any thoughts on that?




TripleR, that there feller built a purdy dang nice skid plate I was impressed with the pics. I can and do make things all the time, I can weld, cut , bend, chop with no worries but I layed under mine and never saw what he came up with? I looked at it and scratched my head then bumped my head on the way out and settled for a beer with my headach....... ha ha.

and yes sir boy that land pride is one bad hog I was and still am amazed at how well it cut and no matter what I cut there was nothing and I mean nothing left behind and the blades are purdy dang tuff as well.... imo

I bought a land pride 6 foot tiller as well I have not used it yet but I hope it works as well as the hog?

I will try and get some pics up in the future, my hard drive went down over a month ago and they replaced the dang thing and I now have nothing loaded back into the new drive but i,ll get there.........

 

[Ez.]

Ez, allow me if you will, you say money is tight we all can agree on that,, BUT,,, get the tractor you want/need or have use for. You will find that getting something less than what your want/need will cause you no end of grief, and when you figure it out over the term of the payments is just s few bucks more or less depending which way you go,, Get what you want don't worry about saving a buck, cause it will come back to bite you in the end

Skeets some how I just now saw your post?
I can very much agree with your outlook, however i,m a lil different than the general public I have only borrowed on 2 things in my life one was a vehicle to get to work in and the other was a house with a roof on it and 4 walls I call it my box, never went any where but to work and to work and to work for 8 solid years so needless to say I had so much I could spend and that was it, and nope I really wanted to modle above what I got, but what I got is payed for and that their kinda makes it a wee bit more comfeee or at least I tell my self it does

 

[BAP]

Sounds like maybe you need a heavier ply tire. I would however get in touch with firestone, they may stand behind them. When I farmed before getting hurt and disabled, we used tractors that came with many brands of tires, Firestone, Goodyear, Titan, Michelin and others. They all made good tires as long as you used the right sized tire and ply for the job. Michelin is a premium tire with good ride and excellent pulling. The others all do well too.

 

[Ez.]

Bap I was kinda thinking the same thing, the loader is a fair size bucket, i,m not sure just how much weight would be in it with a load of wet creek gravel, I would say I have moved some where around 70 full bucket loads so far with it, but I have never seen or ever heard of a tire do what both tires are doing. I hope to get back up there next month and will take some pictures and try to get some up if i,m able to?

 

[olthumpa]

"at 65 hrs I noticed both front tires are showing very small cracks all the way across the tires inbetween the treads I think they are firestone? kobota will not warr a tire so I was told, and I think they are 6 ply, so It would appear per say that I may have to get some different tires for it."

About 6 years ago I got 4 new tires for my L275. after about 6 mths these same cracks started to appear between the treads and the sidewalls. Ended up having to deal with the manufacturer to get them replaced.

Long story short: The tire dealer had sold me tires that had been sitting around for more that ten years, they have changer the formula of the rubber compound in modern tires and they do not last as long as older tires did. They will deteriorate just sitting around. Check the manufacture date on the side of the tire. The date should be near the rim and be in the form of CF1234, 1 and 2 will be the week of the year they were made and 3 and 4 will be the year. I have Bridgestone, Firestone and Titan and it holds true at least for the tires that I have.

 

[Ez.]

I did not think of that olthumpa? my mind was back in the day where tractor tires lasted 12 or more years, that could be a part of the problem as well? my old allis charmers has had the tires on it for what seems like forever and the tires appear just fine. I will find that date and see just what I have there? Thanks for the post.........Ez

 

[Ez.]

Does anybody here know anything about BKT Tire?

A nabor up the road from my property had one 9.5 by 24(or what ever the rim size is) for 4 years on he front of his 4wheel drive tractor. and this year replaced the other one. I looked at them.........I noticed that they appeared to have a 4th lug for about every three lugs on my friestone.
he has a loader on it but does not use it very much.
so far, the 4 year old tire looks like it holding up ok from what I could see.

he paid 199 dollers 4 years ago for the first one (8ply)
and 220 dollers this year for the other one (8 ply)

that price did not include mounting he did that.

seems like a very low price and that makes me wonder about them a lil bit?