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Hi - I bought this Belarus 1770 185hp "beast" second hand for just under .AUD$5K & have put around 600hrs+ on it in less than 12months - No breakdowns so far & only maintenance costs have been for oil & hyd filters + $485 for a compressor & regass to fix the A/C.
Pro's
- Purchased originally with the intent of a fun project for repowering with a Cat & Allison auto combo for field bin haul outs & discoveredafter purchase it ran far too well to bother, in fact runs so well it's been abused for tillage & other generally tractor duties so as not to wear out my newer gear ( JD's, CNH'S & others).
- In total its now done 7879hrs & even if was to break "terminally" tomorrow by my reckoning at $10/hr (@ my use of 500hrs/$5K purchase ) less each hr + fuel+basic maintenance it's worked out a damn cheap 185hp tractor (given I'll also get say$500+ for scrap for the China trip if/when it finally dies).
- Built like a T34 tank and all steel ( well as close to steel as eastern bloc steel is ) is double+ the normal thickness of modern tractors/ditto for castings ( which seem to be non-dressed sand castings), no plastics/polycarbonates in sight, this thing weight heaps so no need for ballast
- Easy to work on, low (make that zero) tech & very basic, no electrics (probably used an abacus at best a slide rule for design/engineering/production rather than a calculator) & the engineering tolerances are measured in inches/feet rather than thou so you don't have to very precise on finding/fitting the original part as virtually anything can be made to fit.
- Economical to run sipping fuel & environmentally friendly as it runs on anything (probably because of the tolerances or maybe designed original to run on home made vodka), whilst I wouldn't recommend it we run this on a mix of our "cocktail" of all (screened) waste oil 30/70 diesel (saves money & all the hassle of waste oil disposal)
- Has a unique onboard controlled lubrication system which works on the basis of weeping oil from everything & over everything to prevent wear & rust
- 4WD strength & capability, the axle are strong enough to tilt the globe on its axis, virtually impossible to bog & easily recovers much larger equipment – for its size the capability of mountain goat with the heart of a bear!!
- Starts every time; the starter winds very slowly & long (again complimenting a unique engine design working on the principle of filling the cylinders with diesel to the point of "hydraulic’g", displacing the more common diesel ignition scenario of glow plugs/misting/compression ) with the tractor always firing up after the ritual chant of verbal abuse & one puff of black smoke in salutation to Gorby & maybe other gods of the USSR
Con's
- Your neighbours will firstly laugh at you for buying a s/h Belarus (but not so much when they're sitting in the paddock waiting for the dealer technician to arrive to reflash the computer on their JD's & CNH's, even less when you are able to "shout" them drinks at the pub with the money you're saving & their laughing all stops when you loan them the Belarus beast to complete their tillage as the replacement ECU still hasn't arrived to mobilise their JD or CNH)
- The wiring defies all logic & is a complete mystery, doing away with conventions of + & -'s, & is more like some miniature nuclear powerplant where all you need to do is concentrate on containing the heat & smoke from exposure to the atmosphere (our multimeter has proved useless for diagnostic, probably had a geiger counter included when new in the factory tool kit)
- "LOUD" make that VERY LOUD, sounds like God clearing his throat on a bad day, reasonates for miles & requires ear plugs +over ear hearing protection so radio’s/CB’s & the like are superfluous as cab fitment. Subscribes to the screaming GM theory of converting diesel into noise = bulk “grunt”
- It's a very "historic & agricultural" tractor, in that it drives/operates extremely “agricultural” and historic as it pays homage in design/ergonomics to the Steam or is that Stone Age?
- Require 5 very unique special tools: being sledge hammer, stilson wrench, easy outs, thread locker & occasionally MIG welder.
- Try as you might the Belarus beast just won't die, several of our "farmhands" & neighbours have tried their best & been defeated, and nothing short of the tri-combo of a stake through the heart, silver bullet & Viking burial has a chance (& even then I'm sure the beast will rise again like the Phoenix...)
Would I buy another S/H Belarus, you bet if ever this one manages to wear out….would I buy a new Belarus, not while you can continue to pick up these rare beasts at give away prices S/H…..we’ve all come to admire this USSR marvel & for all its foibles/idiosyncrasies....it sure aint pretty.... and despite our farmhands treating it like the rejected relative you really only have to tolerate occasionally at Christmas, weddings & funerals.....
