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Not much love for the Sunstar ?


Dave Silva

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In North Carolina where i live Simplictys are pretty rare.  Everyone loves the green things. 

I got a Sunstar project for $200 and i am pretty impressed with it.   Whenever i get a new toy i dive in and join all the forums and learn all i can.  

In browsing this forum and others and the facebook groups it seems the Sunstar is not a favorite.  I see them languishing on craigslist for not much money. 

Am i missing something ? Are they too new to be cool?  Too expensive to maintain? 

My other problem with these things is I am not content to have just one.   The 7119 looks pretty cool and  a 4211 might be fun for the kids.  I could get realy out of hand. 






 

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I got mine painted up like an Alis Chalmers 8000 series farm tractor. Got a custom 3 point on its own hydraulic circuit. Got a 54" grader blade and a 46" snow/dozer blade. Use it mostly for snowplowing  in the winter. Hydraulics are faster and mor eresponsive than on the Legacy tractors. However I wouldnt want to mow with one. The Legacy platform is way more comfortable, and the prices on the early ones are coming down steadily as well.

Now IS the time to collect them up it seems. They are finally  getting pretty cheap all in all.

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The Sunstars (late models) are great tractors, solid as a rock, and very capable.  They can be had pretty reasonably.  However, trying to find a rear PTO, three point, or attachments other than mower decks, is where the expenses begin.  Hard to find and not cheap when you do.  But truly a solid, solid tractor.  I restored a few, and if I had a bigger yard I would have kept them.  If you can build a stable of attachments and have a good engine, you are set.

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I'm not a huge fan of the Sunstar family of tractors...yet I currently own 4 of them, and probably 10-12 more in the recent past.  Two of my Sunstars come with command motors and one of those has a rear PTO. My other two are the Deutz green color. One has a rear PTO and tiller lift, while the other has dual hydraulics.  I also have a loader setup for a Sunstar too.  I will be selling all 4 when I find time before winter.  Next 2 months are very busy.  If I cant sell them, which seems to be the case around MN and WI, then I will part them out.  People are not big into them around here.

I have really gotten into the Legacy tractors lately.  They sit for awhile around here too.  There are 2 for sale near me for 3 monthes each. One Agco 2020LC for 1500 BO and a Simplicity 20hp for 1350 BO. Both 60" decks.  If I had space I would snag them, but I think they will continue to drop in price.  

 

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It is a matter of personal taste. If  YOU like them . who cares what others think? Some LOVE the wunderboy..others hate them. Same with the front mounted deck Simplicities Sun runner...some love them, some don't. 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Enjoy your machine .

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On 9/5/2019 at 6:06 PM, fishnwiz said:

It is a matter of personal taste. If  YOU like them . who cares what others think?

If i cared what others think i'd have a John Deere.  Where i live Simplicity/Allis are pretty un-common. 

My question was more about if there is a hidden flaw i am not aware of. 

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the biggest proablems i have seen are wore out front ends (slop in the axle pivot pins.) and the oem pto clutches are expensive but you can get a extream clutch reasonable and they are vary durable. 

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My only problem is as Stephan said the front ends, mines not worn bad but has some movement , other is I still feel their butt ugly but that's me  Just my $.02 

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There are some other things to watch out for. A lot of times the hydro cooling box plastic top that seals to the hood is missing. You really need that in there to keep grass and the like from plugging the coil. There is also a seal around the blower housing the needs to be there as well as the one that seals the driveshaft attached to the flywheel. Mice like to help you with that one!

On mine with the command there can be some issues with the head gaskets and or the oil breather but it is not too bad to fix....well you do have to pull the heads off but a do-able job

Fuel pumps are can be a pain but that can happen on anything.

I LOVE mine mostly because of the power steering and the 60 inch deck.

Harry

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Yes, the plenum on mine is missing.  I'm hoping to acquire a parts tractor soon. 

What do you mean about the fuel pump? I have a plastic one thatat's the same as on a lot of cheap mowers.  But i am pretty sure it's the correct part. 

I've already done hte head gaskets. Not too bad a job. it was worht it to get everything clean. 

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Oh..the fuel pumps are not really a problem as such. Just that I've read that some change them out to electric. Mine is a vacuum pulse style that may or not be original. I think they may have came with a mechanical one that mounted on the valve cover also. Not sure on that. You know how it goes....they die right in the middle of the mowing job at the end of your property....I like to keep a spare on hand.

Harry

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