Farmall 706 - Good Price? What should I worry about?

I"ve been looking for an older tractor in the 60 - 80hp range to pull a disc and do some work on a property I own that is 100 miles from my house. I owned a Farmall M for a while and thought it was a great tractor but sold it when I bought my current 1996 Kubota L4200 (45hp).

I'm tired of loading and hauling the Kubota everytime I want to do something down on my other property and it is a little underpowered to be pulling a 10 or 12 foot disc which is what I think I need since one of my fields is 33 acres and the other is 16 acres. That got also got really old on the Kubota pulling a 7.5 foot disc.

I'm planning on just leaving the older tractor down on the property and hoping no one messes with it. It is quite a ways off the beaten path and so far no one has messed with my spare implements that I have parked down there.

I will still keep my Kubota around the house, I have 42 acres around the house that I use it on.
Here's the ad on craigslist for the tractor I"m thinking about.

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FARMALL 706 - $3000 (Littlefield) (about 30 miles away from me)

Date: 2009-03-06, 6:48PM CST

diesel Motor runs good, needs several things looked at. The brakes, steering and lift are intermittent, pto works, I talked to a mechanic who said all the items was related to the hydraukic pump, which I"ve found on ebay for 85.00. He tried to explain how to replace it, but I"ve decided to sell it and buy a bigger tractor with a cab. I bought a 20 ft wheat drill and brought it home with the tractor, it was light on the front end with the weight, but lifted it with ease. Sheetmetal is all in pretty good shape. If Somebody spent some time on it and fixed all the issues it would be a nice tractor.
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So what do you guys think? I don"t think they hydraulic issues could have anything to do with the brakes but I haven"t looked into it. How big of a project is it to swap out a Hydraulic pump on a 706? Anything else I would really need to check on? The M was pretty simple compared to the 706.

Thanks, Nathan

A 706 uses two separate hydraulic pumps. The front pump supplies oil for the steering, brakes, Ta (if equipped), Oil cooler and transmission and differential lube. The rear pump provides oil for the hitch and auxiliary valves. They share a common filter.

The 06, 26, 56, 66, 86, and 88 series tractors all share much of the hydraulic systems. If you search back through the archives you will find a lot of discussions about the hydraulics on these tractors.

Nathan, the brakes are hydraulic on a 706. They run off the same pump as the steering and I think the 3pt hitch too. (I often get those confused)

So, the hydraulic pump would have everything to do with the brakes not working.

Do you plan on using this tractor in winter? Better question, do you have winter where you are (didn't pay attention if you have a location in your profile)? Those old diesels start so much better if you plug them and let them warm up for a few hours when its cold.

Frankly, I would not want an older diesel unless there's a source of power to run a block heater and a battery charger. Yes, they should start if everything is in good shape, but it's rare to have everything in good shape and it costs lots of $$$ to get everything in good shape. The tractors generally work fine once running and can be operated with no ill effects, but they can be tough to start at times without putting a lot of money into the engine.

You can probably find a good 966 for about 6k that will do the job for you with just about the same fuel consumption. I use one to work about 35 acres every spring, summer,and fall, and it's great to have the weight and power even though I use a small baler, 4r planter, and 16 foot disc. But nice to move big rounds, one front one rear.
I've never tried to start it below 32 degrees though but it sure fires up quickly at 32.

Gordo

If you already have a 12' disc, you should be able to pull it easily with a 50 hp tractor, so that might expand your search.

He says Texas, so it should start OK for him. Could be OK if its in nice shape. I'd grind him on the price. It's diesel, right?