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I don't like my tractor :(

C

chas036

Member
All my life, I have only used and owned only JD two cylinder tractors ( I am 67). In the early 60's, I learned to drive a tractor on a JD model B where I would pull around an old ground driven manure spreader to help my grandfather on his diary farm. He had only John Deere tractors on the farm, 1949 Model B, 1951 A, 620, and 730 gas, and all were bought new. These were the only tractors he ever used on the farm till he retired in the early 1970s. Today, I run the farm as a part time business growing organic beef , and I still use those same tractors to hay and spread manure an plow. Over the years , I have added a 60 and 720 Diesel.

Last week I bought a Massey 85 at an auction for $1200 which I had hopes would be a good tractor to run a 3 point snow blower because it has a really slow reverse speed. My problem is, after 55 years of only using a hand clutch, I just don't feel comfortable driving this foot clutch tractor. Really, I have never driven a foot clutch tractor before in my life until I bought this Massey.

Also, when I am in this tractor, I feel so low to the ground and I feel restricted in the seat as compared to my JDs where I am above everything and I have a lot of freedom of movement.

I spent all week driving around and trying to get use this tractor, and I just can't seem to get use to using the foot clutch.

Are all foot clutch tractors the same, or is the Massey just an uncomfortable tractor to use?

I was considering a JD new generation tractor like a 3020 or 2020, but now I don't know if I want a another foot clutch tractor after this experience with this Massey 85.
 
give it time. you will eventually get use to it unless you don't want to. remember going from stick shift to auto trans in your vehicles ???
 
Hi, I have never driven a hand clutch tractor except a David Brown that had a hand clutch you use when hooking onto an implement when you are dismounted.
Spend some more time on it and Im sure you will get used to it like old hat. Ed Will Oliver bc
 
I have never felt comfortable on many of the 'smaller' tractors- including the small JD's. Ialso grew up on a B, 50, and later a 2520 and now a 6400 and 4240, with a host of others in between. The newer JD's are pretty comfortable until you get down to the nippers and small ones. I find the 2240 and 2030 models awkward to operate because of the clutch and brake arrangements, yet the 220 and on up are very easy to use. As are many larger IH's. Just guess that's one of the many nice things about a Deere that has made them so well liked.....
 
Almost every time I go to start, I seem to reach for the hand clutch, and have to remember it is a foot. I think more than the clutch problem, is I just don't like how I feel in the seat being so low to the ground and being squeezed in between the fenders. I just don't fee comfortable. Maybe it is just this tractor design.
 
I ran a MF 65 a few years ago baling hay. I never got use to the clutch or sitting low. I hate straddling a trans. I'm much happier on my 3010 JD. I have several Oliver's that I like to play with but when it comes to work I like my John Deere. I spent many summers on a 4020 so maybe that's what I'm use to.
 
Give yourself some time to get to get used to it. I normally either run a MF 135, or a New Holland 6640. I'm used to both of them, but when I use my brothers 7710 Ford on rare occasions it takes me the whole day running it to get used to it.
 
BTW, I put one of those aftermarket suspension seats on my 135 because it raises the seat up 4" over the original seat. Plus my legs are long so the extra 4" make it so much more comfortable, it gives you a better view, and takes away the sitting too low feeling.
 
For turning around looking back while using a foot clutch a tractor with a clear platform on top of the transmission will be much better for usability. When you are straddling the transmission your knee hits the transmisssion, gear shift levers etc when you try to turn around. The way the clutch actually feels and operates depends on the tractor. I’m not much of an expert on small tractor foot clutches because I grew up on the two bangers also. I didn’t operate foot clutches until the tractors were much bigger and the operator platform was completely above the transmission.
 
Just give it a little more time, I bet you also grab for the throttle on the wrong side of the steering wheel when you switch between your A and B then to your 60 620 720. They all have the good and bad, it just comes with having different tractors to use.
 
My uncle said that he had to be on his toes all the time. He had 3 tractors; MM 5 Star with a foot clutch, JD A with a right handed hand clutch, and a Case DC with a left handed hand clutch.
 
If the clutch is like on a Massey 135, you are mostly pushing down. On a new gen. Deere, the clutch pushes more forward, and you can steady your heel on the floorboard while you work it. It would be easier for a beginner that the massey. Some old fords have clutch pedals that are just plain awkward to use cause they stand up so high.
 
PS--I do not remember anyone advising you to look at a Massey 85 lol! But hey, for that price it would be worth a shot for sure.
 
It ran so good and tires had 70% tread and everything works good, I couldn't resist bidding on it. I thought for sure it would go for close to 2000, and 1200 was my last bid , but no one bid again after that. If someone had bid higher , I would have dropped out. I guess I was lucky.
 
I have even heard that WD's and WD 45's are a hard tractor to get on and off of. Been doing it all my life and no problem, but again I am a little guy 5 ft. 6 and 150 lbs.
 
I won't bore you by repeating what others have said. ....Ok, so I lied -- give it time. *lol*

I had only used three different skid loaders in my life (rentals), and that was many years ago. On all of them, if I remember correctly, the hand controls operated the lift arms and bucket while the foot controls worked the wheels. On this little Gehl I got recently, EVERYTHING is operated by the joysticks. I thought I never would get used to it, but my pea-brain is slowly learning how to work with the controls, and I'm finding that I agree with what others have said -- I'm liking these controls better than what I used to use.
 
More evidence that John Deere two cylinder tractors were the best tractors ever built and if you ask most who bleed green, the only tractor ever built. I personally think a person would need to be a three armed freak the drive a hand clutch tractor.
Oh, and by the way, get rid of the massey as you will never be happy with it. Find yourself a 77 Oliver and heaven forbid, an International H or M.
 
Platform on the 2510 thru the 4520 are very similiar, comfortable and easy to operate....
 
I drive all kinds of different thinks , from new tractors with power shift , and shuttle shift, to old tractors with out snincro. Auto cars, to trucks with two speed rear ends,Hydro drive swathers, and on to skid steers. And it is no big deal to adjust. If you can't , put a hand lever on your 85 MF if you must.
 
Of the many tractors I have run, and have had, I still like my 2520 about the best. I have over 6000 hours on it and have owned it since it was new in 1970. I have also owned a B, an MT, a 4430, a 3020, an 806, a 65, a 574, a WC, a 2-70 and a 4240. And by far, the JD's built after 1960 are the nicest of all to run.
 
I think you would find the platform of a NG Deere much more friendly that the Massey, but still with a foot clutch. Being I've been on both since childhood, I don't think much of switching back and forth- it comes second nature.

Think of this though... do you need the snowblower?? How many years have you been without? No matter what tractor, you'll find yourself running in reverse, with a cold wind blowing and the snow constantly trying to blow on top of you. I find a loader tractor much more pleasant to operate.
 
I grew up on a JD620 and later a 720. Also had Massey Harris 44. Uncle had a Massey85. I remember as a kid the 85 was something you sat down in and seemed to wear. It was hard to see over the hood and the whole tractor seemed heavy. Now 40-50 years later still have the 85 and 620. I didn't drive the 620 for like 30 years until my dad died and I took it over. Funny how my butt and hand on the steering wheel told me drive it "this" way. My hand went right to the clutch and knew how to shift. I think I have a memory on how to run each if my tractors just by how it sits and feels.

You don't have a stick shift truck? It's not that different. A year of practice and you'll get the hang of it.
 
My son has a 65 MF also. I hate to drive it. Hard to back things. Because you set so low. Clutch comes up to high. If was mine I would raise the
seat and lower the clutch petal. We have two left hand brake tractors. One is a backhoe. The other is a hydrostatic John Deere. Push inside
petal on the right to go forward and outside petal to go back. Set your speed just like cruise control on your pickup. Best loader tractor I have
ever drove. The last 2 cylinder JDs made in Brazil had a left hand foot clutch and both brakes on the right. Try a newer JD with cab, you won?t
go back.
 
Ummm- isn"t it fun to get cornfused with age? Foot controls worked the bucket, not the wheels. But yes, it"s all in what you get used to. Had a 1530 Case with hand control for the wheels and bucket...foot did the remote, but I had no remote attachment! Then two Gehls, with hand controls, and a foot control for the remote for grapple, brush shredder, etc. I"m a former paratrooper, Green Beret, but I like my feet on terra firma unless I need to run something extra. Before I could afford a real skidloader, I rented others, like John Deere 55xx, but did not like the hand and foot controls. Crunched a few gates with that one!
 
Can"t tell you how many times I stomped on the brake on a 2470 4WD the first year, when turning with the field cultivator, after being used to the 2WD JD 4430. 4WD does not have individual turning brakes....don"t need them when turning a 180!
 
Ya, I?ll admit those style Masseys are not the most ergonomic tractors ever and you do sit low. However please take this with a grain of salt, that hand clutch thing is plain and simple John Deere brain washing. Now I realize it is all in what you are used to. I?m from the Farmall camp. Just think about what is needed to operate a tractor. On a two lung JD your feet only do one thing operate the brakes. How many things do your hands have to do? Steer, throttle, shift, hydraulic control, PTO, and other things depending on mode of operations. Why not give the clutch control task to a less busy appendage like a foot?? My 2 cents.
 
I can't recommend a tractor but I know what you mean by sitting low. My M sits up like your JD's but I cut hay with my 300U and it sits low enough its hard to see the far end of the haybine. For me it depends on the job as to how I feel about sitting higher or lower.
 
(quoted from post at 04:17:47 12/20/17) Try raising the seat, I'll bet you are a tall guy and the clutch is uncomfortable.
Click to expand...

I second this. I'm a tall guy myself and find most utility tractors too cramped to operate comfortably.

Raising the seat and moving it back a couple of inches would help, since you already have the tractor.
 
I went from using 2 cyl. with loader then up to a 4020 with a loader ! Much larger tractor but much more maneuverable. Once you move up to something newer it is darn hard to go back !
You may as well just keep the massey at least for this winter. Sounds like it has plenty of correct gearing ? Maybe a different seat or a rebuild of the one on it ? to get it up higher ? May even want to make a seat mount that lets it sit at an angle ? Some of the newer New Hollands seats pivot sort of sideways. Really helps for looking backwards.
 
I put a 3 inch square tube spacer on my 85 to both raise the seat and move it back a bit, that really helped. I'm not tall but my right leg does not bend at the knee very far due to a motorcycle accident years ago. Even my pickup seat is all the way back because of the bum leg.
 
I have always had the utility tractors that set low. But,I do a lot around trees and the lower, the better. Those flat decks are nicer for field work where you are out in the open.
 
I sometimes find it real funny one what is posted on this site. In reality this form is a face book, or twitter account for tractors
 
Just my opinion, but, the Massey tractors I have been on all seem a bit uncomfortable. The pedal placement and leg angle to operate them seems awkward
 
I don't know that you really started at the top of the heap by going with a Massey 85. The 2020 would sit even lower if that's your concern.
 
You might like a Deere 3020 or 4020 with the optional Power-Shift transmission or a rowcrow IH with a Hydrostatic transmission because they don't require as much clutching and the operators station is more comfortable. You won't find one for $1200 though. Try what you have for a season. It will still be a whole lot better than a walk behind snowblower or a scoop shovel. Try to find a Heat Houser or a good snowmobile suit to keep you warm and dry.
 
I'll bet there are already claw marks in the paint on the right hand side of the dash.

Been there - done that.
 
Get a 2520, 3020, or 4020, and put a step kit on it. Once you learn the Synchro shift transmission you will love it.
Paul
 
........I was considering a JD new generation tractor like a 3020 or 2020, but now I don't know if I want a another foot clutch tractor after this experience with this Massey 85.[/quote]
===================================

Does your truck or car work ok with the foot clutch? Or would a hand clutch be better?
Or do you like the auto trannies?

I remember old trucks/cars with hand throttle and hand choke rods sticking out of the dash.
It is going to be interesting when the new cars arrive with no steering wheel, no brake pedal, no gear selector!

LA in WI
 
A neighbor kid did that when we were young. He'd been driving is dad's Ferguson all along then got on the DC Case. He hit the brake and spun it right around through the side of a mobile home.
 
Years back dad and I got different cars on the same day. He got a 62 Fairlane, I got a 70 LTD. mom hate the Fairlane and asked if I would swap vehicles. Dad got mad, couldn't remember how to drive an automatic.
 
How does one ever get used to pushing a hand clutch forward, while trying to look back to hitch something up. Like trying to pull yourself apart to do it. The old cats the hand clutch pulled back to engage, so was working with you. I think the massey clutches are some of the worst to get used to since they tend to work more up and down. I have driven just about anything out there running I think. From trucks to farm equipment to construction equipment. No aircraft though.
 
My uncle said that he had to be on his toes all the time. He had 3 tractors; MM 5 Star with a foot clutch, JD A with a right handed hand clutch, and a Case DC with a left handed hand clutch.
 
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