PROFI TEST

Four-pot with plenty of poke

Long-term test: Massey Ferguson 6470

Massey Ferguson’s Stage 3a-compliant 6400-series tractors have gained themselves a firm toehold in the UK market since going on sale a couple of years ago. Simple to use

yet still sophisticated electronic driver aids, plus a fully clutchless semi-powershift gearbox, give MF plenty to crow

about. Nick Fone catches up with a 125hp 6470, to see how it has performed over its first 18 months on farm

Our long-term tractor this time round is an 18-month-old MF 6470. Rated at 92kW/125hp (ISO TR14396 or EG 97/68), it sits squarely in the middle of MF’s 6400-series range and is the biggest four-pot on offer from AGCO’s red brand. As such it is one of only two tractors in the line-up powered by a four-cyl Sisu engine; all others, excluding the 84kW/115hp 6460, rely on Perkins power plants.With mixed duties on a mixed farm, our test candidate has clocked over 900 hours. So how has it performed, and what were the main reasons for deciding to go for a 6470 in the first place?Our host farm switched from dairying to beef and arable production 18 months ago. At that time its area expanded from 73ha with 150 Holstein milkers to 144ha,

split between some 89ha of cropped land and the remainder of the area down to grass for 150-head of finishing cattle.

All of which meant a bigger tractor than the business’s existing MF 4355 would be required to handle the heavier work. A 3m Amazone KE301/AD301 drill combi was chosen as the preferred weapon of choice to establish the arable unit’s mix of wheat, barley and oilseed rape, so the new tractor needed to be capable of han-

dling – and lifting – such a combi-nation with ease in its primary role. A strong relationship with the local MF dealer put a red tractor in pole position, but that’s not to say it was a ‘shoe-in’.

nation with ease in its primary role. A strong relationship

With 540mm wide rubber on the rear and 440s up front, the test 6470 is responsible for the host farm’s spraying and spreading workload until crops reach stem extension.

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Our long-term Massey Ferguson 6470 is reckoned to pack all the capabilities of a

six-cylinder tractor into a four-pot’s frame.

PROFI TEST

Previous tester experience had provided plenty of hours in the seat of various John Deeres. But when it came to a price, the green marque’s figures – pound-for-pound – were some way out. A base-spec JD 6430, with front axle suspension as the only extra, came out at the same price as a similarly powered, top-spec Massey. A New Holland T6000 was also considered, but the Basildon-built product was felt to be too bulky for the farm’s lighter work.It happened that the local Massey man had a tractor in stock that almost perfect-ly matched the farm’s requirements. With

125hp under the hood, the four-cyl 6470 was reckoned to be the ideal compromise between nimbleness and power. Listed at some £57,000, a deal was done that saw our tester paying a final net price of £36,000 with an attractive three years on 0% finance.

With no supply lag to take into account, the tractor arrived on farm in October 2007, complete with closed-centre 110-litre/min load-sensing hydraulics, Auto-Drive transmission controller and a basic dash-based computer. In addition, the

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stock tractor had welded wheel rims and dual-stage cab suspension but was lack-ing front axle cushioning.Weight and footprint are big issues on the host farm’s clay (and occasionally peaty) loams, so a front linkage has since been added to ensure that there’s no excuse for lugging around more gross weight than is necessary for individual tasks. When drilling, the front hitch also allows a front press to be fitted, with the result that the total weight over the front axle is spread across the full width.540/65R38 Goodyear Opitrac DT818s are the footwear of choice on the rear, while 440/65R28s adorn the unsprung front axle. So, with the spec laid out, how have the constituent parts performed?

The engine - Scandinavian solidity

The 6470 is one of only two tractors in the 6400 series powered by a four-pot Sisu engine. Massey’s AGCO sister company opts for four valves per cylinder and common-rail fuel injection. Doing so has stretched the engine’s constant power band to 500rpm, with the effect that optimum fuel econo-my now runs right through from 1,200rpm to 1,900rpm. The 6470’s thriftiness scores highly with our testers who reckon to be consuming almost a third less diesel with the newer tractor than with its old 4355. In the main, that’s thought to be because the bigger tractor is boss of all its jobs, whereas the less powerful machine can struggle.The 6470’s on-board performance moni-tor has recorded a total fuel use of 9,868 litres over the 909 hours that the engine

The well laid-out MF cab scores highly with our tester. Handy armrest cup-holder usually hosts a mobile phone. Additional electronic clutter includes colour screen for rear-view camera system, baler-wrapper and additive applicator control boxes, MP3 player and Bluetooth hands-free kit.

RePaIR LOG

Roof panel replaced and resealed (W)

Three forward speed sensors replaced (W)

Engine management chip replaced (W)

New top-link as threads on original stripped (W)

Spool block return pipe replaced (W)

Replacement cab fan resistor – cost £12

Massey Ferguson 6470

The optional Autodrive transmission controller: Top dead-centre selects manual mode; rotating to the left moves the Dyna-6 gearbox into the transport zone; and a twist to the right takes it onto ‘Field’ mode.

Stowage for the drawbar clevis is not particularly well thought-out. Inconveniently positioned right under the fuel tank, it clogs with mud and muck and necessitatesthe driver getting down and dirty to retrieve it.

has been running, which equates to an average consumption of 10.8 litres/hour. One 145-litre tank-load of fuel typically lasts a day and a half when the tractor is hitched up to the drill combination. In contrast, when working with the baler/wrapper, the tractor’s tank doesn’t quite stretch to a full day’s operation. The farm says that this is because the wrapper re-quires a constant supply of oil, so the tractor’s variable displacement pump has to run flat out all day long. It’s hoped that fitting a simple valve in the wrapper’s hydraulic circuit will make it compatible with the 6470’s load-sensing system, with the result that fuel consumption should tumble. With such a diverse range of work and implements to power, it’s pretty rare for the 6470’s motor to struggle. A 12t grain trailer and 14t muck trailer do little to challenge it and revs only get dragged

down from where they have been set in the heaviest of grass crops with the Vicon baler/wrapper.

Even the claggiest of banked ground has yet to bring the 6470 to its knees when working with the business’s Amazone power-harrow/drill combi. So much so, in fact, that after a season’s work the farm had the confidence to invest in the previ-ously mentioned front hitch and 3m Farm Force press – to provide an extra levelling effect ahead of the drill.Much of the tractor’s strength is down to the engine’s electronic power manage-ment system. While maximum ISO power at 2,000rpm stands at 135hp, a boost of an extra 10hp is made available when the pto is engaged or the transmission is in 3rd and 4th ranges. As the load causes the revs to droop, the ECU ups fuelling to compensate. As much of our 6470’s heavy work is pto-related, the boost function is made the most of and helps the tractor to feel like it’s punching above its weight.Electronic engine management brings another big benefit: it allows purchasers

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the useful option of a preset engine speed control. A rocker switch on the right-hand console is used to flick between presets ‘A’ and ‘B’, which are altered by entering a menu screen in the dash computer. One is typically set for 540rpm pto work and the other for 540 ‘Eco’. As it can be set to activate each time the linkage is raised and lowered, it provides a gentler pace for swinging round at the end of each bout. Given that up to a third of time in the field is typically spent in headland turns, it is thought that this is a significant factor in our test tractor’s thriftiness with fuel. All of this is excellent stuff but, of course, electronics do have their downsides. Mounted on the side of the engine block, the ‘chip’ that looks after the power plant started to warp at 200 hours as a result of heat from the motor. Admittedly this didn’t cause a complete shut-down, but the dash began to malfunction so a repl-acement made from apparently sturdier stuff was required.Which prompts a question for the men at Massey: why position the chip so close to the motor? Surely its reliability would be improved if it could be kept cooler?

Transmission - GIMA Genius?

Developed by the AGCO/Claas transmis-sion joint venture, GIMA, the MF Dyna-6 box has proved itself a worthy successor to the brand’s Dynashift. It’s a four-range unit with six-step powershift, making for

Tucked right in behind the spool valves, the back-end oil dipstick is tricky to get to and vulnerable to accumulated debris falling in.

Leaky lid results in a damp seat. After 50 hours’ service the cab roof panel had to be resealed.

After 600 hours’ work the spool block oil return line developed a hairline split and was swiftly replaced under warranty by the dealer.

Just as the MF warranty lapsed, the cab fan switch failed. A replacement resistor cost £12.

n Combination drilling – Amazone KE301 power-harrow/AD301 drill with 3m Farm Force front press n Ploughing – Dowdeswell DP8B four-furrow reversible n Muckspreading – Samson 908 rear-discharge spreader and West 1300 dual spreader n Fertiliser spreading – Kuhn Axis 30.1 QE spreader n Spraying – 1,000-litre Knight 12m mounted sprayer n Baling/wrapping – Vicon RV 1601 combination baler/wrapper n Mowing – John Deere 1365 and Kuhn FC243 mower conditionersn Grain carting – 12t West root crop trailer n Muck carting – 14t dump trailer

MF 6470 workload

PROFI TEST

24 forward and reverse speeds. All 24 can be changed clutchlessly via a stubby T-shaped lever located on the right armrest. This T-lever’s functions are, in the main, replicated on the column-mounted shut-tle lever, allowing left- or right-handed control of the gearbox. In ‘Field’ mode, notching either lever for-wards or backwards trips the tractor up and down through the powershift steps, while squeezing the armrest-mounted lever’s orange thumb button prompts a change between main ranges. Switch to ‘Transport’, and all shifts – both the powershift and range changes – are handled by either of the levers.Nothing startling about Dyna-6 operation so far, reckon our testers. It’s incredibly simple to operate, but it can be manipu-lated further, if necessary, thanks to the

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optional AutoDrive facility. Based around a big silver-coloured dial (not entirely dissimilar to BMW’s iDrive), it allows the operator to set the transmission up for automated gearshifts.Top-dead-centre provides full manual control, while a detent to either side sets the system to ‘Speed-matching’ mode so that the transmission automatically selects the appropriate powershift step according to travel speed when range changes are made.

Moving out of the speed-matching detent to the left slips AutoDrive into the ‘Trans-port’ zone where it will run right through gears 1-24 automatically. Adjusting the dial alters the point at which upshifts take place – from 1,600-2,200rpm.Turning the dial to the right takes Dyna-6 into the ‘Field’ sector, where automatic changes are limited solely to the six-step powershift. Again twiddling it adjusts the rev point at which upshifts kick in.All good so far, but our testers report a niggle when it comes to downshifts. These are preset to happen when engine speed falls under load by around 20%, and they cannot be altered – a feature that means the gearbox can skip between ratios at an alarmingly frequent rate if the speed sits between up- and downshift points. This is particularly an issue when working on banked ground or across varying soil types where the engine loading changes regularly. The quick solution is to tweak the upshift point, but that won’t always provide the ideal compromise.

The left-hand cab door has never really hung correctly. After removal it was found to be missing hinge spacers. It has now been rectified on farm, but as a result the door catch is still sticky.

The bonnet lifts as one, making engine service access easy. Testers had no major complaints in this area.

Mounted on the side of the engine block just above the fuel filter bowl, the engine management chip warped and malfunctioned after 200 hours’ work. Its replacement is apparently made of sturdier stuff.

Massey Ferguson 6470

Engine: 92kW/125hp rated output at 2,200rpm (99kW/135hp max output at 2,000rpm and 107kW/145hp in pto/transport boost), 4.4-litre Sisu 44CTA four-cyl with turbocharger, waste-gate and intercooler. Four valves per cylinder and common-rail fuel injection. 145-litre fuel tank (190- litre option)Transmission: 24F x 24R Dyna-6. Four electrohydraulically engaged ranges with six-step powershift. Clutchless power-shuttle. 40km/hr (50km/hr option). Multi-plate wet clutch with 6 x 180mm plates forward and 6 x 180mm plates reverseBrakes: Wet disc brakes on rear axle. Front axle braking via 4WD engage-ment. Triple-disc handbrake operates on drive gear shaftElectrics: 12V, two batteries of 72Ah CCA 680 each; 80amp alternator (120amp option); 3kW/4hp starter powerLinkage: Category III, MF Autotronic IV electronic linkage control with lower link sensing; shock absorption system can be disengagedHydraulics: 110-litre/min closed centre load-sensing system with variable displacement swash-plate pump. Operating pressure 200 bar; three double-acting spools, 25/35- litre oil reservePto: 540/1,000 shiftable in cab with six-spline and 21-spline shafts; pto lock-out start/stop on rear fenderAxles and running gear: Planetary axles with electrohydraulic diff lock and front-wheel-drive engagement. Goodyear Optitrac DT818 tyres: 440/ 65R28 fronts, 540/65R38 rears Service and maintenance: Engine oil 10 litres (400-hour intervals); transmission and hydraulic oil 70 litres (1,200-hour intervals); cooling system capacity 16.6 litresCurrent list price: £71,570 excl. VAT*

*Includes: Autodrive, electronic engine speed control, ITCS left-hand instrument panel display with slip control and radar, welded wheels, two-stage pneumatic cab suspension, 110-litre/min swash plate pump with load-sensing system, 120amp alternator, extra work lights and pivoting front fenders

Data Sheet

The simplicity of the control set-up comes in for particular praise, though. And MF’s choice of a straightforward dial rather than a computer console is well liked.

Cab and Controls

The 6470’s cab is familiar fare for Massey men, its structure and layout remaining much the same as on previous Beauvais-built machines.Broad B-pillars aren’t seen as limiting to visibility, and curved rear three-quarter screens are liked for the views of wide implements they afford. On top of that, plenty of cubby-holes, a flask rack with bungee-retaining strap and big drinks cooler box in the roof leave little excuse for cramming clutter all round the seat.White-backed analogue gauges on the dash for engine revs, temperature and fuel levels score positive marks for clarity but, infuriatingly, the tank level indicator isn’t reliable. As fuel levels drop below halfway, the needle starts to flicker from full to empty. The result is that the driver has to judge the situation with a bit of guesswork and, not surprisingly, that has already led to at least one embarrassing ‘fuel starvation’ incident for the operator on our host farm.

Down in the bottom left-hand corner of the dash is a small dot-matrix display that is central to the 6470’s Integrated Tractor Control System (ITCS). A number of differ-ent screens allow it to display fuel use, wheelslip, travel speed and pto speeds. Clearly designed to keep the Playstation generation happy, a group of six blister-pad buttons – games console style – at the base of the indicator stalk are used to navigate through the various menus and alter tractor settings.

Crucially, this includes the set-up for the preset engine speeds that are linked to linkage lift and lower. A time delay can also be introduced so that revs pick up well before the implement comes into work and kick out before it is lifted. In a similar vein, the blister-pad buttons can be used to set the upshift points for the AutoDrive gearbox functions. In addition, it also enables the operator to choose oil flow priority; the display shows the per-centage split between linkage and spool valve hydraulic services. Although cab suspension is not necessar-ily an option our test farm might usually have plumped for, it was already specced on the dealer’s stock 6470 and has proved a revelation for certain jobs. Twin air bags

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and dampers over the transaxle, along with rubber bushes at the front of the cab, cushion shock loads well enough so that spraying and spreading jobs are said to be markedly speedier.No big complaints in the comfort depart-ment then, although it’s felt that with hindsight front axle springing would have improved things even more and would certainly have a future positive impact on second-hand values – a lesson for next time. Sticking with comfort/handling, the 6470 has a slightly bigger frame and long-er chassis than perhaps the average four-cylinder tractor, and as a result rides far better on the road than its 4355 stable-

mate. Those chunkier proportions also mean it handles heavy mounted tackle better than the smaller tractor. Generally, the 6470 deals with all of the farm’s spraying and spreading workload until its wider wheels start to knock down the rapidly growing crops as they enter stem extension in the spring. At this point the 4355 takes over work with the Kuhn Axis 30.1 QE spreader and 1,000-litre Knight 12m sprayer. For these operations a pack of at least ten 40kg wafer weights are needed, whereas the bigger tractor handles both implements without any-thing extra on the nose. Bearing in mind the Axis takes three 600kg bags in the hopper, that’s impressive. It’s also seen as a factor in the 6470’s frugality.

Summary: Though yet to complete 1,000 hours, this MF 6470 has already proved itself to be a capable and versatile per-former, with only a few minor niggles such as the inability to set transmission downshift points in auto mode. Any build or mechanical faults have been rapidly rectified by the local dealer. Its four-pot Sisu power plant is felt to be something of a revelation, allowing the 6470 to regularly outperform six-cylinder models packing even more power. On top of that, it’s more economical and nimble than the farm’s smaller MF 4355.

The Vicon baler/wrapper combination is found to be the most power-hungry implement the 6470 is required to run.

On our host farm the 125hp MF 6470 model works alongside a smaller 95hp MF 4355 (background).

Even the claggiest of the host farm’s soils have failed to bring the 6470’s motor to its knees.