Jeffersonville, OH | olg1355 - 2/3/2025 16:59
What are the major differences between the letter models besides year of manufacture? Are any to be avoided? Mainly pulling 12/13 row planter and bigger manure spreader at this time.
Thanks
MT600C Series 2009-2011. Was available as an iEGR engine, EGR without a cooler, all done internally with the camshaft, or as the E3 DEF system. Basic 1st gen DEF, used a quality sensor and calculation to dose the recommended amount of DEF at certain loads. Worked fine, Quality sensor can fail randomly, $1300 and takes a bad tech 3 hours to change...I've done it in 25 minutes but I'm lazy and refuse to pull the tank. Auto Steer ready was an option, probably 50% or so got it, but "most" had the SpeedSteer option, which has all the guidance parts EXCEPT the roof mount, so you can make them steer if you know how. 4 remotes standard, 6 optional. Early ones had a "lighter" rear end until late 2010-2011...look for about 20 bolts at the bottom of the rear final drives if you want the heavier option, they released that rear end with the 8690/MT685 sized tractors. I don't know of any problems with the older one, just they wanted more strength to go to the bigger power range. MOST were 540/1000PTO
MT600D...late 2011-2014. Biggest change was the engine, iEGR went away, and DEF became standard. Tier 4i engines replaced the Tier3, and the DEF system went from a dumb system to a smart, closed loop system. More sensors because it's actively measuring the exhaust output, but I'll argue it has given us less trouble over the years because we don't get as many complaints. Customers complain less about a $400 sensor every few years than they do a $1300 one. I don't want to say we have zero issues, but from what I hear of the other colors from the same time period, I'll take out issues over theirs. DEF usage about 7% of fuel usage at worst...can be better than that on lighter loads. Other changes, blister pad in the cab instead of toggle switches, minor change but much nicer, and some upgrades to some other things. Nothing drastically different inside the cab. Outside you got the option of a heavier front axle that FINALLY will turn anytime you want with front duals...older axles would steer hard with front duals on concrete/hard packed ground sitting still or moving slow. PTO was USUALLY 1000E/1000 but 540 was still an option, just not the standard option like the C series.
MT600E...late 2014-2019...Again, biggest change is engine, Tier 4F and twin turbo, plus an EGR cooler. Other than packing stuff onto the top of the engine, it's been very reliable. Another major change is the switch to a 54GPM hydraulic pump for the auxiliary hydraulics. Some more minor changes in the cab, but again, nothing drastic outside of the newer engine and cooling package also changed some of the A/C parts, and they have had better performance in hotter areas of the country. Also available was the deluxe joystick for the armrest which gave you a lot more features available at your fingertips and guys REALLY like.
MT600E TMC...2019-2025 Major change was to the TMC touchscreen, which we call the Data 5 on the MF side. The whole of the electrical wiring architecture changed to what AGCO calls CEA, common electrical architecture, to more closely match the rest of the product line. Same hydraulic capacity, but a newer interface for all the controls, and some better guidance options from factory with either a Novatel or Trimble receiver. A few other minor changes to the cab, but most of the other changes were more styling or cosmetic to match the rest of the line. I've seen VERY few of these tractors as the Challenger brand was dwindling at that time on the wheeled side. 2021 or so made some more styling changes and got a different fuel tank design that made a HUGE difference in turning radius with front duals.
All of the 600C and D series could have hydraulic coupler issues, typically resolved by replacing the sealing rings with the newer blue replacements from AGCO Parts...maybe the first year of 600E's would have been affected by this. I still see original o-rings in some tractors, but if it was pulling a planter or something else using a lot of hydraulic flow, they ate the earlier rings pretty quickly. Blue ones have been doing great for us, I'm not sure I've replaced a blue one that I can remember, and we've had them for 8-10 years. The C and D were also 46gpm hydraulic pumps.
Something for you, that tractor on 30" rows may not turn on 60' headlands with your 30' planter the way you want it to. All depends on what you're familiar with now, but some of my customers think they turn great, others do not. Front duals will limit turning radius on anything prior to 2021, but maybe not hateful, again, depending on what you're used to.
I wouldn't avoid any of them, I have some approaching 20K hours on dairies, and quite a few at 8-10K....if they've ran a planter a LOT, they may need a hydraulic pump, roughly a $6000 repair that can be done through the side of the tractor with some tricks. The newer pumps have a different design to help eliminate the normal failure from occurring again. The control spool that moves the pumping elements will get a groove worn in the housing if the tractor does the same tasks all the time, and the newer pumps have a bigger bore. I've replaced pumps at 2000 hours, and I have tractors with 15K that have never had them replaced. I also have tractors that pull planters a LOT that have never had a pump, so it's not just the planter, it's the fact of doing ONLY the planter I think. Pure conjecture or educated guess on my part.
Any other questions?
Chris |
Challenger 6xx letter difference
