Belarus ?

Planning to go look at a Belarus, mid 1990's, 250 hrs on clock, was used to cut grass. I think it is in the 40 HP range. Owner said clutch is bad, worked fine, they parked it, a few weeks later clutch is bad... must be something real simple. Is there any decent market for Belarus tractors?

Probably a stuck clutch... What do you want with someone else's albatros?

Those tractors are fine for certain people if bought at a certain price. Whatever they are, they're not an investment...

Rod

junk!!!!!!!!!!!!

Resale value is very low .

I own 2 Belarus tractors, model 570 and 805, both cab tractors. While some think that the Belarus tractor is "junk", I disagree. They are a weird designed tractor, but designed to work not sit and be looked at. They are weird to drive and a weird transmission shift pattern, but as a whole, they are a good pulling, work all day, type of tractor. They are less expensive that the other colors, but the down fall of them is that "you are married to them". I have found them to be a very durable tractor. I don"t like the air cooled diesel in baling hay. Have to clean the dust out of them too often.
IMHO, they are good running, pulling, working tractor that is just designed weird. But one has to remember where and the demands of the country that they are designed in. HTH
mb

I saw a 50 hp one sell about three weeks ago on a farm auction.It only had 600 hours,4x4 with a loader and rops cab. It only brought 3800.

buy it only if it is dirt cheap,personally I wouldn't even look at one, some livestock guys were buying them instead of 2950 deeres or Case Maxxums because of price, they got over that idea. The fwa axle is a poor design and not very durable

I've had a 530 for about 12-13 yrs., about 55hp.
Ugliest tractor I've ever owned, but has been as dependable as any I've had. Use it for haying, will plow/disk smaller fields and has an oversized loader. Bought new for less than a 'ragged out' loader tractor (comparable hp).
60's technology throughout- I see that as a plus (no computers or electronics) as repairs are usually simple...parts CAN be a problem.
I expect many to put the mouth on it, but it's been good to me and has only seen the dealer for the 1st warranty service...not once since. 4000+ hrs.

So the guys that have them speak well of them.

And the guys who never owned one say they're junk.

Go for it if you can buy it right, just plan on keeping it. Probably hard to resell, but they will do a lot of work for you if taken care of.
Easy on fuel and built like tractors were in the 60's.

Your question:"Is there any decent market for Belarus tractors?" Are you buying this tractor because you think you can get it cheap and sell it for a steep markup? Or any markup at all? Or are you going to keep it? If you can put up with the shifting, possibly having to wait a long time for parts, practically no dealer network, etc. then it would be OK. No one said they weren't built to last a long time but they are crude by any standard which has been quickly and widely regognized by US farmers. My neighbor bought a new 825 w/cab and loader about 15 years ago and still uses it a lot. He "lives with it" because of the price he paid ($19000) but it was worth only about $5-6000 a year after he bought it. Better to buy them slightly used.

I was never impressed by these tractors, but at the price they asked, I hated not to look, asking price is about what the attached mower cost. From the way they described the problem, it sounds more like it is not going ito gear, rather than the clutch. I was wondering if it might be a shift rail or fork.

I have heard they take unusual sized tires. You might check that out.

I've got an 825 that I've had for 7 years. Like others have said, you are married to one once you get it because of resale. If the price is no more than what the mower is worth then you'll be OK. I consider mine junk and only use it for light duty work.If it has been sitting for a while the clutch may be stuck to the flywheel.

I always look to see where parts are available, that's always a downfall when it comes to different tractors,

There are some good points and bad points to those tractors.Lets start with the good,the engines are tough as nails,transmissions and rear ends are pretty decent reliability wise too.They are decent cold starters and very easy on fuel and most people's first like is they are very cheap.On the more negative side,they are very rough and crude operator wise.We had an open station 825 bought new once,came with a cloth seat,that's how much inovation was included in creature comforts.Cleaned your a$$ every time you sat on it after a rain lol.We used to keep feed bags stuffed beside the seat to sit on in wet weather lol.Most of the dash shorted out after the first year too.However cheap you buy it,you will have trouble re-selling it for more.Point's to ponder,if you get it cheap,are only going to use it for short periods of time ocasionally,than you will be money ahead.If you are planning to run it several hours a day most days,than you are worth more than the money you will save compared to somthing nicer to use.They will shake the dickens out of you and play you out after a long day on them.As with anything else,you get what you pay for,good runner,hard on the operator.pd.

There's a good number of us that have had them and still say they're junk.
We had a 520A for a lot of years. It never gave us much in the way of mechanical trouble but it had a non-existant electrical system. BUt leak... I don't think there was a seal on the whole damn tractor that didn't leak or ooze something. It marked it's territory more than an old Detroit.

I wouldn't say it was a great engine either. It didn't burn much fuel and it had good torque... but it never seemed very steady or reliable. Kinda like you didn't know if it was going to bite hard and stall or keep lugging. A Ford... you knew it would keep pulling by the sound of it.

All we ever used it for was brute pulling on a woods tralier or sometimes on a disc. Had a set of duals on it so it would go over nearly anything. It's basic feature was that it was a Belarus. Entirely expendable. Didn't matter if you bogged it, hung it up on a stump or anything else. Just hook a chain on and jerk it out.

Of the guys around here that did use them extensively, those that lived in the woods basically ALL broke in half at the clutch housing... probably owing to the fact that they didn't have a proper bellhousing...
Most had hydraulic problems. Most had engine overhauls or were junked by 4000 hours.
Beyond that, most people I know around here that have them think tehy'r great tractors in spite of hte fact that they've had broken cranks and sundry and various other major problems with them. They think they're great because they're cheap.

I found it a clunky, poor manuvering tractor. Hard on the operator to do much with it. Poor controls that were hard to use and not overly crisp... it was just plain weird to work with.
Again, a tractor for a purpose. If yo buy it cheap enough in good shape and don't plan on doing much with it... and you've got some mechanical appitude to keep it going, then it might work out. Beyond that it will be a yolk around your neck that most just don't need.


Rod

I got a 78 belarus 800 with fr end ldr,bought it in 86.
its got by now over 15000 hrs on it.I use it daily as my feed tractor,and use it hard.
I've changed the rings and brgs once,+ 1 waterpump,I changed the brgs in the injection pump once,and i swapped the front axle with a cockshut wheat land axle,cause the spindels where to weak and kept breaking
Starts in any weather and is cheap on fuel.
IMO,it's got a bad rap cause nobody seems to know how to fix them.
I think them are good tractors,i buy an other in a heart beat

I went to a Belarus dealership 30 miles from where I live about 18 years ago and was planning on buying a new one in a package deal where they were selling tractor, a trailer, disc, bushog,boom pole, and scraper blade for $6995.00, well would you believe the salesmen couldn't get any of them to crank, made 3 trips over there and never did hear one of them run. Actually this was a car dealership that was selling them at the time but they don't fool with them now. Most Belarus tractors that I see in my area (south Alabama) are all sitting in the weeds, see some for sale from time to time but never have seen or heard one running. Don't spend much for it!!!!

Maybe the clutch is bottommed out on the 3 bolts used to take the pressure of the clutch plate before installation in the factory,had the same happen to my 800.They can be backed out further trough the inspection cover.
dont know if your clutch is the same though.

Looked at it today, fired right up on first revolution, PTO runs, I think the problem is something with the shift gate, that is an odd-shifting tranny. Tractor is smaller than I was told, about 25 HP I assume, It is a model 250.