Massey 690 Feedback and Reviews

Dfox

New Member
I have recently purchased a Massey 690 4X4, for a small farm operation. I am trying to get some feedback and reviews on how people have liked this tractor, and any issues others have had. Perhaps warning signs I should be looking for. The unit had really low hours (1750) and only 1 previous owner. Appreciate any feedback I can get from anyone.
 
had a 2 wd one from 18 months old,sold it at 8000 hours,apart from tyres 2 batteries a cab blower it was ace,pulled like a train,made my later purchase a mf 699 4 wd look like a lemon,great tractor would have liked to have kept it but funds were low at the time,good luck with yours,any pics??
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
690 was a good tractor in its time. Real luxury. Great synchro12 transmission in its day, although just about reaching its sell-by date as the JD PowerSyncron and Ford 16x8 gearboxes were introduced around that time.

Main drawback and showroom appeal was the Italian cab. It rusted like heck, especially the doors and the cab structure above the rear cab mounts. It was/is also a mountain to climb in and out of compared with rival 80hp tractors of the era and even today.

Great hydraulics and pickup hitch. The hitch design, probably the whole hitch, was shared with Ursus tractors which built MF under license in the 1980's. I really like the A4248 engine which I think had gained balancer shafts in the sump by that time, for smooth running at a rated speed of 2200 rpm. They might also have been built without gaskets between the main transmission castings by this time. Gaskets were getting to be a problem because they tended to deform under repeated heavy load and the major casting fasteners would tend to slacken. Pre Q cab this was not so much an issue because at least you could get at them easily to tighten, but with Q cabs and under cab fuel tanks, one could not get at them to even check for security. Unfortunately tractors of this era still had metal tanks, but at least on the 690 it is mounted fairly high up out of harms way, unlike the 590 which was low and prone to damage and, ultimately, corrosion behind the securing straps.
Does the 690 have a cable operated clutch and hydraulically activated brakes? I think maybe so. Again a major advance over the 500 series which had rods and bell-cranks and manual adjusters in the most inaccessible places.

All in all a good tractor. Just make sure that the rust bug has not compromised the cab's structural integrity.

Is the 1750 hours genuine? That's only an average of 53 hours a year. During busy periods it is very common to exceed that during a single week on many farms. It might well be genuine but it could also be on its second trip round the clock or it might have had a replacement clock a few years ago. At those hours it should be on its original tyres, which will be cracked and degraded to heck these 33 years or so after manufacture.
 
Last edited:

multi power

Member
Location
pembrokeshire
690 was a good tractor in its time. Real luxury. Great synchro12 transmission in its day, although just about reaching its sell-by date as the JD PowerSyncron and Ford 16x8 gearboxes were introduced around that time.

Main drawback and showroom appeal was the Italian cab. It rusted like heck, especially the doors and the cab structure above the rear cab mounts. It was/is also a mountain to climb in and out of compared with rival 80hp tractors of the era and even today.

Great hydraulics and pickup hitch. The hitch design, probably the whole hitch, was shared with Ursus tractors which built MF under license in the 1980's. I really like the A4248 engine which I think had gained balancer shafts in the sump by that time, for smooth running at a rated speed of 2200 rpm. They might also have been built without gaskets between the main transmission castings by this time. Gaskets were getting to be a problem because they tended to deform under repeated heavy load and the major casting fasteners would tend to slacken. Pre Q cab this was not so much an issue because at least you could get at them easily to tighten, but with Q cabs and under cab fuel tanks, one could not get at them to even check for security. Unfortunately tractors of this era still had metal tanks, but at least on the 690 it is mounted fairly high up out of harms way, unlike the 590 which was low and prone to damage and, ultimately, corrosion behind the securing straps.
Does the 690 have a cable operated clutch and hydraulically activated brakes? I think maybe so. Again a major advance over the 500 series which had rods and bell-cranks and manual adjusters in the most inaccessible places.

All in all a good tractor. Just make sure that the rust bug has not compromised the cab's structural integrity.

Is the 1750 hours genuine? That's only an average of 53 hours a year. During busy periods it is very common to exceed that during a single week on many farms. It might well be genuine but it could also be on its second trip round the clock or it might have had a replacement clock a few years ago. At those hours it should be on its original tyres, which will be cracked and degraded to heck these 33 years or so after manufacture.
Fluid operated brakes definitely, but clutch has a rod rather than cable IIRC
 

Jon 3085

Member
Location
Worcester, UK
CED4B44D-D3AA-4928-9B48-FF66AA67534B.jpeg
34 years old and can still do a days work.
 

deere66

Member
Location
York
Main drawback and showroom appeal was the Italian cab. It rusted like heck, especially the doors and the cab structure above the rear cab mounts. It was/is also a mountain to climb in and out of compared with rival 80hp tractors of the era and even today
Have to add that it was no match for the SG2 or XL of the day. Forward opening doors which twatted the mirrors, handbrake out of reach on the floor, awful bucket seat and vertical steering column. Later ones relocated handbrake, had adjustable steering and better seat
 

two-cylinder

Member
Location
Cambridge
Have to add that it was no match for the SG2 or XL of the day. Forward opening doors which twatted the mirrors, handbrake out of reach on the floor, awful bucket seat and vertical steering column. Later ones relocated handbrake, had adjustable steering and better seat

What a laugh!
The SG2 has one door -600 has two.
SG2 has the handbrake near the windscreen as far from the driver as it can be!
SG2 trim shrank and fell off in no time. 600 series had good quality carpeted roof panel.
The SG cab is mounted too near the rear of the tractor- so gets clouted with close coupled machinery. 600 cab is mounted forward out of the way.
SG cab has small sun visor, 600 has wide full width blind.
The SG has a dangerous flight of steps where it's possible to slip off into the door.
The 600 has a pair of wide opening doors with wide steps, and two grab handles.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

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