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Manitoba, Canada | Are these good reliable workhorses? They appear to be a simpler tractor with less electronics to go wrong. How durable are the transmissions and other driveline components? TIA |
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| Those tractors are a nobrainer if you dont need the latest gadgets,most of them dont have a powershift,which is fine if you dont have hills or changing soil conditions in your fields or need the tractor for the grain cart. |
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Leeds, North Dakota | Darn bulletion proof, good tractor, Scott. |
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| If you want bells & whistles they're not the tractor for you but if you want a tractor that will do the job & not cost a lot to buy or maintain then they're definetley a good option. We run it's little brother, 2360, which also has the N-14 engine, and we have had Cummins put the codes for the 2425 in it. When we bought our 2360 new, we gave $30,000 less for it than what it would have cost us to buy a STX 375 w/ 600 hrs or a JD 9300 w/ 1000 hrs. That was in 2005 and we have probably spent less than $500 on it in repairs since then, not counting regular maintenience . People will argue that the BVs have less tade-in value but with what we saved upfront & with us planning on keeping it 10 years that isn't a big deal IMO. As far as cabs, the BV is very quiet, roomy & comfortable. Only dislike I have is that the hood is very large compared to the others.
Good friends have a BV 2425 that they purchased at about the same time we bought our 2360 along with a 9330 & a 9200. They still use the 2425 as their main tillage tractor. They did have some engine issues a couple years ago but they do have a lot more hours on it than ours does.
I wouldn't be afraid to buy another one. JM2ยข
Edited by boog 1/1/2011 12:17
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| Now I understand alittle better why the 15' Dominator put your "425" horse tractor on its knees at times. |
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Manitoba, Canada | Are there any drivetrain differences between 2360 and 2425 or just a HP upgrade? |
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| I believe the 2360 has a slightly smaller frame and axles but other components are the same. We've been running our 2360 at 425 hp since 2006 with no problems so far. The Cummins tech that put the 2425 codes in our tractor said that the majority of 2360s that he worked on had been set up to 425 hp and he didn't have any worries doing it. Originally we only wanted it set to 400 hp but he recomended using the 2425 codes rahter than just "flashing" it to 400 hp. Acccording to him, with the 2425 codes all functions of the engine are the same as in a 2425 engine and not just a hp increase. He also said he had set some up to 450 hp and above but didn't recomend it. The tech was the brother of my son's college roommate so I don't think he was "yanking our chain" |
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Manitoba, Canada | Do you know if he would have the same reservations increasing a 2425 to 450 HP and above? |
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| IIRC one of his concerns was the smaller rear axles in the 2360s. I know the lead mechanic at the dealership we bought the tractor said they had had some problems with leaky axle seals when the hp was set too high. Dealer's mechanic had recomended the 400 hp which would have been about a 10% increase. Setting a 2425 up to 450hp would be about a 5% increase. With the heavier axles & frame, (5/8" vs 1/2" steel) I wouldn't think ot would be a problem as those driveline components are used in higher hp settings. I believe my friends had their 2425 turned up after they had it worked on a couple years ago but I don't know how much.
One thing, we never increased equipment size after we had our 2360 recoded. At the time we were pulling a 42 1/2' DMI field cultivator & crumbler in the spring & a DMI 730B disc ripper in the fall until we traded the 730B for the 15' Dominator which pulls much harder than the 730B even though 2 1/2' narrower. One other thing, we always run the 2360 on "Cruise" with the engine rpms set at 1850 - 1900 rpms. The Versatile's "Cruise" is a little different than some of the other tractors that we have owned in that as load is increased on the engine the computer will give the engine more fuel to maintain those rpms instead of just setting a upper rpm limit as some do. That is one reason the Cummins tech recomended completly coding the computer instead of just flashing the hp. |
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Manitoba, Canada | Thank you. I'm looking to upgrade (currently 875 versatile) and am looking at different options. I have a 47 foot case ih deeptiller that I took the outer wings off to make it a 37 foot machine so the 875 could handle it and am also looking to upgrade the airseeder. I was interested in tracked tractors but after hearing peoples opinions I think I will probably stay with wheels. I always liked the STX models as well as the newer JD's but the Buhler Versatiles are simple tractors which I kind of like for maintenance and downtime issues as I tend to keep equipment until it is worn out or outdated. Electronics can be expensive and hard to find problems that I may not be able to fix myself. May be a dumb question but what does 'IIRC' mean? I've seen it lots in posts but have never been able to figure it out. Thanks again. edit. Never mind, a post just answered it "If I Remember Correctly"
P.S. you must have a more exciting life than me to still be up after 3 in the morning! LOL
Edited by havin'funfarming 1/2/2011 11:23
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Southeast North Dakota | They are excellent top-to-bottom and front-to-back. |
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Manitoba, Canada | . |
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North Dakota | I'm currently tractor shopping, and am interested in the 2425 Buhlers.......................two that I have called on had new transmissions put in last year. Both are 2003 models. Was this a weak spot? |
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Buhler Versatile 2425
