LS Tractor MT242E to XU5055 specifications

MT242E lift ratings and the equipment behind them

The MT242E's rear hitch has two different measuring points. LS's operator manual rates it for 1,808 lb at the lower-link ends, falling to 1,433 lb with the load 24 inches behind them. The smaller number is not a weaker version of the tractor.

It describes a longer lever arm. LS's US brochure prints 1,433 lb in a row labelled hitch end; the manual's separate coordinates explain why that label should not be used to compare implements.

MT242E transmission choice also changes the working figures. The shuttle version has 35.4 PTO hp and a 7.4 gpm implement pump; MT242HE has 34.8 PTO hp and 6.7 gpm. Steering has a separate 5 gpm allowance in that brochure.

Adding steering flow to implement flow does not give an attachment all of the combined output. The cab's 11.4-gallon fuel capacity is another configuration distinction: open-station MT242E holds 10.6 gallons.

XR4046, XR4150 and XU5055 need different comparisons

Engine architecture separates the older XR4046 from XR4150. XR4046's N844L-F-34 is a four-cylinder engine with mechanical PFR injection; XR4150's L3C19-T2 uses three cylinders and Delphi common-rail injection. Their manuals specify 2,216 cc and 1,879 cc respectively.

A similar horsepower class does not make their injection equipment interchangeable.

XR4046's optional three-speed rear PTO is also worth identifying physically. The manual gives 540, 750 and 1,000 rpm selections, each with its own engine-speed setting. A sales listing that says independent PTO does not establish that all three ratios are fitted.

Its upper-link draft sensing is optional too. The hydrostatic XR4046H's implement pump is rated 7.3 gpm in this manual, compared with 8.2 gpm for mechanical transmission.

XU5055 moves to a Category II rear linkage. Its 4,079 lb link-end rating becomes 3,483 lb at 24 inches, and the manual separates a 4,674 lb frame tractor from a 5,121 lb cab tractor. Optional front weights are additional.

Those two base weights should not be interpreted as a two-wheel-drive versus four-wheel-drive choice. Its transmission description distinguishes the dry clutch used with synchro-shuttle from wet clutch discs with optional power shuttle; an optional creeper expands the forward ratios without creating an HST version.

Loader capacity changes with lift height

The Canadian 2026 sheet identifies LL3003/LL3004 loaders for MT242E and distinguishes 2,506 lb at the pivot pin at 1.5 metres from 2,063 lb at maximum height. A headline using the first rating does not promise that load at the top of the lift. Its backhoe figure is explicitly a two-foot flat-bottom depth, another measurement condition to retain when comparing attachment claims.