3010/4010 stories ?

[swindave]

any one have any experiences with the 3010/4010 tractors?
good , bad or ugly?
a big step for john deere away from the 2 cylinders!
always heard the pto was the only downfall on them?
i heard the 4010/3010 moved a few farmers from other colors to deere?

how was it in your area?

 

[wore out]

The PTO thing was usually due to a careless operator changing PTO stubs/speeds and not making sure the mating flanges were clean of any debris, then installing them with good bolts, being careful to wiggle them a bit while drawing up the bolts carefully to make sure the internal collar "shifted" instead of simply ralphing down on the bolts and bending or breaking the cross pin deep inside the tractor that does the actual shifting because the collar was not "meshed".

Once it was carefully snugged up, the bolts needed to be TIGHT so they didn't work loose in operation.

If done like that any problems would be very unlikely over the life of the tractor, IMHO.

 

[NY 986]

We have had our 4010 here since new during the early 1960's. Very little to complain about including the PTO. A dealer recommended using thin gauge steel cut into a small strip as a locking tab for the PTO hub bolts. The only time we had a problem with the PTO was due to operator error (me). Got in a hurry when changing from 1000 RPM over to 540 RPM and did not get things tight. In my opinion the vast majority of failure is due to operator or implement shafts which have a slight bend in them or have corrosion in the sliding overlap. That tractor in its lifetime has run a large manure spreader, 2 row forage harvester, and JD 347 wire baler so it has seen heavy PTO duty. Our tractor got the 12 volt conversion back in the early 1980's which was a great improvement and batteries last much longer.

 

[GreenEnvy]

Overall the 4010 was a success as they were much better all around tractors then a 2 cylinder. But in wheat country around here 99% of the work was off the drawbar. They never caught on because the 830 would run a 4010 into the ground. Even the 4020 wasn’t all that impressive to a few guys.

 

[tomstractorsandtoys]

My dad started farming in 1967. He went to the local Deere dealer about a new 3020. They had a used 4010 and the payments were about $40 cheaper per month so his dad talked him into the 4010. The tractor had been abused and carried a 5 bottom fully mounted plow so it had lots of hyd issues. In 1968 dad bought 2 4020's one new and one used and traded the 4010 on a new 480 mower conditioner.In 1989 at a consignment sale dad bought a nice 4010 wide front with a cab for $4300. It was hauled in from Ohio to a sale in New Holland PA. Dad sold the cab and the wide front off it and later that summer gave it to me as I was starting to farm. I changed it from 15.5x38 tires to 18.4x34's. The next year dad bought an early 4020 with a 72 model engine that ran great. We put the 72 engine in his 4020 and his 68 model engine in my 4010. I did lots of custom chopping corn silage with the 4010 and a 2 row Deere 35 chopper. Went to overhaul it and when tore down found the block was cracked top and bottom between all six sleeves. I really did not have the money for a block and the fellow at the salvage yard said to use Loctite 505 sealer top and bottom and if it holds 2 days it will be fine for 20 years. He was right as the tractor was used hard untill about 8 years ago when it got water in the oil. Right now it is in the back of the shed waiting for a complete rebuild to bring it back to life. It was my favorite tractor and was used hard doing lots of pto work. I did tear the pto pin out once on a discbine that had driveline issues. When we added the 4020 engine it wanted to run a little warm so we added an M&W 7 blade fan and shroud. In dads latter years he bough himself another 4010 and it never caused any problems on the light work he did. Tom

 

[rrlund]

Well, where do we start? My uncle traded his Oliver 88 off on a new 4010 diesel in the spring of 61. It was his big tractor farming close to 1000 acres of dry beans for a few years. He bought a 4020 in 64 and put a loader on the 4010. I guess he had pretty good luck with it using it for loader work and for use on the planter and bean puller.

Then there was the 3010 that I had. Right up there on the top of the list of the three worst tractors I ever owned. I was bent on having a 3010 or a 3020 and let my emotions get the best of me when I went to look at it I guess, and I bought it. I'd had it about a week, had it idling while I was hooking on to the 16A flail chopper and it locked right up. It spun a rod bearing. I split it, had the crank ground, did a major on it and put a new clutch in it.

I'd had it running for another week, ten days and the injector pump went bad. I got that fixed and decided I'd best retire it to loader duty. I had a good loader on a 350 Farmall, but the tractor was light and steered hard, so I made brackets and put that loader on the 3010. Well, then I was chopping feed with it, hit a woodchuck hole and broke one side of the casting off on the roll-o-matic front end. I got one from the boneyard and got it going again. After that, it was just nickel dime stuff almost every week. I always feel real good right after I get something fixed and going again, so I'll have to say one thing, I was on a constant high from fixing that thing.

A jockey had an Oliver 1600 that needed an overhaul. He was asking $2500 for it. I traded him even money and I hauled them. Best trade I ever made.

 

[NY 986]

From what I heard I would say that it was true that the 4010 brought in new customers for JD. A nearby farmer that was all IH bought a 4010 a year after they came out. Nothing to do with the 560 but that IH had nothing comparable in that size with similar features. The 4020 synchro probably had as much success as they could be priced very competitively with similar HP tractors from other manufacturers.

 

[craigco]

I use 2 3010s for most of my tractor work. One diesel and one propane. Had a pto issue once but it was a gear that broke off. When it was split it had already had the lockout done so you couldn't switch to 1000rpm. It has been pretty trouble free. Propane was bought for next to nothing has an old dual loader on it was used hard and just does random loader work around here. Replaced on l.p. line and other then that it just does what ever I need.

 

[NY 986]

I would say that all bets are off when it comes to a used tractor that you do not know the history off. I think that just about everybody that has bought such a tractor has been burned at least once. Dad bought a fairly new tractor of which the brand ultimately became a part of AGCO which was a nightmare. A neighbor bought a Ford 8000 that was a few years ago that was problem after problem. Not a Ford lover but no tractor that is a few years old is that much trouble without neglect and abuse. I don't care what color it is but if a tractor that is only a few years old looks like it rolled with Eisenhower to retake Europe then it probably should be left where it was parked instead of being bought.

 

[tomstractorsandtoys]

Greenenvy your post about the 830 and 4010 makes me think about my dad. He had a 720 diesel widefront with a 48 universal frame laoder,three pair of wheel weights,chains and a heavy blade on the rear that he used to feed silage out of a trench silo. The tractor was almost a small bulldozer. In 1968 he bought a new narrow front 4020 with an aftermarket cab. They got the idea to chain the two drawbar to drawbar in the trench silo. Both tractors hopped up and down and dug holes. They then decided to try again this time on the blacktop road. The 720 pulled the new 4020 backwards. Tom

 

[SHALER]

I was just a toddler when the New Gens came out so i cant say anything about whether many farmers 'converted ' over to Deere when the 3010/4010 came out. I live in an area of smaller farms and you do still see quite a few 3010/4010's chugging around which is a testament to those models, especially when looked at in light of their production numbers and advanced age. The resale value for these, especially the diesels, says alot. I personally also think the PTO issues are a bit overblown, ESPECIALLY in light of todays enviroment when there are just not many 1000RPM implements commonly used with those size tractors. Am a bit surprised no one has mentioned that pesky engine balancer box on the 3010.....

 

[NY 986]

I think that JD chipped away across the board when the New Gens came out. IH 806 was a very strong competitor when it was introduced but JD was in the process of going to the 20 series. I've been told by guys who were farming back then if it came down to price in terms of 4020 versus 806 that the 4020 synchro was extremely hard to beat. I remember dad saying that after he bought his 4010 both the IH dealer and a JD dealer came back not knowing about his purchase. An 806 with TA would have been 6,800 dollars and a 4020 synchro would have been 6,300 dollars with both having identical features in terms of tires and so forth.

 

[MikeJM]

Our neighbor bought a 3010 new to replace a late model John Deere A. Couldnt pull the same implements the A was pulling. Had to add a bunch of weight. Unfortunately it is the tractor that pushed them to get a Red one and theyve been red since.

 

[SVcummins]

😂😂😂

 

[SVcummins]

My dad farmed with a team of horses then he bought a 3010 and he couldn’t pull the same implements the team would he’s been farming with the same team ever since 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

 

[SVcummins]

I would like to have a 3010 or 4010 and a 5010 or 5020 .

My 1966 model A or I mean 3020 and new holland d1000 baler

 

[Robert (ID)]

The only tractor bought new on this place is a 1963 3010 diesel, bought as a hold over in 1964.. up till then the D-2 was the Big horse..

The 3010 was the BIG tractor and did all the tillage work with a 3 btm roll over that was bought with it (825 IIRC). It baled hay and chopped corn neither of which is an easy pto duty. It got the 20 kit engine update on JD dime. It is still here and dad pulls the drill,hay rakes and stack wagon with it during the summer. It gets the wood splitter put on it and splits many cords of wood over the winter..

A well used 1966 4020 came to the farm in the late 70's.. Its still here and is even more well used then before. It has pulled a gehl 600 2 row forage chopper many miles..

back in 2000 we got the chance at a 3020 gas.. Didn't even think twice about it.. it now has an F-11 loader on it, it loads hay in the feed wagon everyday all winter long, and unloads and stacks many loads of hay and staw during summer..

Id hate to think where this place would be without em..

 

[SVcummins]

3020 does everything my 4020 does just slower

 

[SVcummins]

And the Oliver has never used a quart of oil in the 40 years or a tank of fuel has it still has the same oil it came with and still honey colored

 

[SVcummins]

Yes and I have seen a one ton chebby drag a peterbilt backwards a tug of war is a pi$$ poor way to test drawbar performance . Let’s hook that chebby to 50,000 pounds and see what it does
Tug of war

 

[GreenEnvy]

Kinda hard on RRlund or anybody else that doesn't worship the 3010 or 20.

 

[SVcummins]

I consider myself lucky I guess because I have never been around any tractor or equipment of any brand that was as big of a pos as snow fellows say they have ? I’ve seen a few I wished weren’t designed the way they were but never had anything even that was beat to death that was a constant never ending problem . I’ve seen some foreign owned by car companies that I wish would get out of the farm equipment business but

 

[larryanderson]

We had a 4010D and also an 806 both pulling 5/14 semi mounted plows and the 806 was close to 100H.P.and 4010 about 90H.P. and the 806 could out plow the JD.M&W turbos were being marketed and it seems like it was around $450 put on.So we put a turbo on the 4010 and for one round we were king then the headgasket went out and smoke out the breather and warmed right up.They came out with a special headgasket and when we dynod it is was around 140 so we set it back to about 110 and never had any problems. Our next step in 1965 was a 1206 which at the time was a beast except rear end and wheel casting breakage was their weakness.I still deal in many late 4020/4320 and 1206 and 1456s which I actually enjoy more than my newer computer emission def tractors that speak in code only a dealer can diagnose.

 

[NY 986]

It should be said that JD's then strengthening financial division should get some of the credit for the brand switch. I've heard countless stories as to how someone was going to buy a non-JD product but the deal fell through due to financing or the lack there of.

 

[NY 986]

A dealer mechanic years ago said 115 HP was the max that a 4010 should be turned up to. There were 4010 M & W turbo equipped tractors around here that did very well keeping the limitations in mind. Our 4010 has run very well since the 4020 piston and sleeve set went into it back in 1976. It dyno'd 101 HP after the 4020 kit went in. The shop foreman at the dealership told dad not to turn it up anymore given that it was naturally aspirated.

 

[NY 986]

It should also be noted that there were a few 4010 pulling tractors around here back during the late 1960's and 1970's. They were owned mostly by vegetable growers who had money for expensive hobbies most years. Don't know how far they were turned up but a couple farmers got the idea to do spring work at their "track" HP. It did not take long for things to start failing on them. One grower had a few poor crop years so his 4010 puller sat in the shop corner for quite a while. In terms of setting a 4010 for reasonable power there was a farmer in Ontario County who had light ground and pulled 6 X 16's without issue with his 4010. As many 4010 turbo's as there were around I wonder what happened to most of them. Sitting in a barn someplace waiting for a new owner or sold to somebody who did not know how to manage them when turbo'd.

 

[larryanderson]

I have bought a few with turbos and usually take them off.People will buy the turbo Set up for their tractor but wont buy a used one with.I just sold one of my personal tractors that was one of the nicest originals I have seen.It had a complete M&W set up 9875 hours never been touched with original clutch.Even though 12 quarts was enough the 20qt.aluminum pans are collector items.TimS. makes the nicest turbo set up with the JD turbo.

 

[NY 986]

Too many 10 and 20 series converted to turbo tractors have been abused or the work to install was not proper so people shy away from them. When I referred to our 4010 getting a 4020 piston kit the shop foreman at the area JD dealer spent at least a half hour with my dad going over options and expectations of simply changing the existing liner, putting a 4020 kit in, where the HP should be set at, and if dad wanted to turbo it. I suspect that many just wanted to twist the tail of their tractor and did not think in terms of how it would hold up to it. There is a 3020 turbo in the community that had the turbo installed when new and has held up very well not needing any work done on it. Anyways, I think that I would want to know the full history of such a tractor before I would buy it. I'd shy away from a add on turbo at a consignment sale. There is an 806 that I know of that needs engine work done it because I suspect because of the turbo was pushed harder than it should have been.