ford 5610 vs. Zetor 5245

New member here. Hello. I am contemplating the purchase of one of the 2 following tractors. First is a Ford 5610, the other is a Zetor 5245. I see pros, and cons to both, but am interested to hear opinions.

The 5610 has more HP, and has a side mounted hydraulic motor driven flail mower. I like it because it is a Ford, and I like the mower because I wanted a brush hog, and this mower looks like just the ticket. It has it's own large hydraulic resovoir, and a large hydraulic pump driven off the front of the tractor.

I wish it had a loader, and the hour meter reads about 3000 hours, but it is inop, so who knows. 2WD, Rear PTO engages, unable to load test. Brakes work, all gears work, it is a 4 speed with hi lo range for 8 speeds total. Can't see the serial numbers because of the flail mower mounts, but it must be an 82 to 85 model, because my understanding is the series II 5610 came out in '86. It was used for roadside mowing for a municipality, so it may have lots of hours. The flail runs well, but some knives are broken, and many are worn. One hydraulic lift cylinder is leaking, but the rod is not pitted, so it might just need repacking/seals. The large front mounted pump for the mower is leaking, and will need service. The tractor itself starts right up, stops smoking after a short warmup, and has no knocks or other bad noises. One leak was noted in the area of the injetor pump, looks like oil, or maybe diesel coming from an area behind the injector pump, not the valve cover. crankcase oil level was low during initial inspection. No blowby noted from dipstick tube while running engine. Coolant looked clean, and green, and no bubbles venting out the top to indicate head gasket issues.

Was ready to pull the trigger on this one, when driving down the road today, I saw this Zetor 5245. It caught my eye because it has a loader, and is a 4WD. Less HP than the Ford, but a little newer, 1985. Loader works well, no leaks. Starts right up, but I did not drive this one. Owner says its a 5 speed with hi/lo for 10 speeds total. Comes with a three point mounted log skidder type of winch, I forgot what he called it, looked like a small backwards facing dozer blade, and had a cable winch driven by the rear PTO. He also made a homemade frame to protect the hood front end, and canopy from falling branches, making it look like a small log skidder. Did not make as thorough an inspection, and did not drive it, but I can go back if I decide to go for it. Wanted to do more research on the brand first. I woory about parts cost/availibility on this one.

Both tractors have ROPS, and a simple overhead canopy, no cabs. Both machines have a $6k price, but the Ford is firm, and the Zetor is an asking price.

I look forward to hearing your comments.

Thanks,
Steve W.

I work on tractors for a living and I wouldn't give one worn out Ford for 3 Zetors, but that's just my opinion.It all depends on how you are going to use the tractor and how many hours you are going to put on it a year.Parts are readily available for the Ford from lots of sources, although some are expensive. The Zetor parts are about all going to have to be ordered.Depends on how long you are are willing to wait for parts.If you put 6000.00 in the Ford and need a loader cough up another 3000.00 to 5000.00 for a loader. Tough decision.

i would definatly take the ford over an off brand but probably not for 6000 especially for who knows any hrs.. tell him 5800 or walk away.

Buy the Ford!!!

Go buy the 10 before somebody else grabs it on ya. Leave the Zetor right well where it's too....

At the price of the Ford I suspect the seller knows there's more wrong with it than you're being told... unless they're discounting it to get rid of the mower. There's also the possibility that the proof meter does work and it's got 13,000 hours and not the 3000 you think it has. Given it's age that would not surprise me one bit.
Check that the clutch is good and doesn't slip. If you can, pull the hydraulic drain plug and check for crap on the magnet. If not... at least drive it and make sure the brakes stop it firmly without any grinding or growling. Make sure the PTO doesn't turn when it's supposed to be shut off... Other than that... if it starts well cold and doesn't knock... go for it.

Zetor's... at least in this area were trouble for the most part. Parts were expensive and often slow/difficult to obtain. I don't believe I've ever heard of one that clocked more than 5000 hours on an engine before they needed a major overhaul. That's before you consider that a 5245 is more like a 45 PTO hp tractor as Zetor nomenclature indicates ISO flywheel power. This one being 52 at the flywheel. That generally would put it around low/mid 40's at the PTO or roughly comparable to a Ford 3910; two sizes down from the 5610.

Rod

What exactly ro YOU need a tractor for. These tractors do totally different jobs and are hard to change over.

I have a few acres of overgrown (formerly hayfield), and want to do brush hog work, later I might want to pull a 2 bottom plow. I like the loader for moving stuff like rocks, or firewood, spreading loam, pulling small trees, and shrubs. I have a backhoe now, but it is way big, and want to retire it soon.

The sellers bought it at an auction, in hopes of turning it quickly for profit. They have been doing this with trucks with some success, but this was there first venture with a tractor (thats what they told me) I know the hours are high, but do not know how high. The rear PTO splines look like new, so I think this was bought just to run the big flail, and did not see any rear PTO or 3 point work. The injector pump is not painted like the rest of the tractor, so it may have been replaced. The hour meter on the tach does not work, I drove it for about 10 minutes, and the last digit, witch appears to be tenths did not move, and I think it should count off at 6 minute intervals?? Several quick replies and not one in favor of the Zetor, guess I have a consensus! Thanks for the input.

OKAY! lol

Thanks for the advice on price, but I do value the
flail mower, so to me the $6k is a good deal unless
there is a hidden major issue. I forgot to mention
they are including a new battery, and my local NAPA
shows that to be a $190 battery.

Your reply, and the several others on here are helping to make an EASY decision. I'm going for the Ford, and taking my chances on the hours. Clutch seemed not to slip, shifted pretty smooth for an older machine, all gears worked, hi lo worked, rear PTO worked, power steering worked, and cylinder was not leaking, motor did not knock, although it did surge a little at idle, but it seemed to be idling too low. A slight adjustment of the hand throttle seemed to remedy that. I noticed an adjustment on the injection pump body near the throttle linkage that looked like it would raise the idle. As for the loader, I can hold off on the loader purchase, so maybe I'll get lucky down the road on a deal there too.

Ford for sure. Better parts availability, easier to work on (IMO) and pretty much bulletproof. I run a 5610 at work all the time with an underslung mower and would take it over any of the new tractors. This particular machine has about 10500 hours IIRC and has never had any major work done.

What kind of flail mower? If it's a Mott/Alamo Interstator, knives and other parts are readily available and it's a top of the line HD unit. They were pricey when new but built to last!

Thanks for the reply. Can you tell me what IIRC
stands for? Just curious.

IIRC = if I recall correctly

is there 3 pt arms on the ford. we had those mowers and would take off the 3 pt arms because they were in the way

I have a 6610, it is bulletproof.

I'm not sure on the manufacturer of the mower, I'll try to find out.

Thanks, that makes sense. Hope to go back to look at
it again today.

No, this is side mounted, it has its own mid mounted frame that supports the hydraulic reservoir to the left, and the mower with two lift cylinders on the right.

Thank you.