It is amazing how naive some people are!!! Long rant.

[tomturkey]

this posting from 2012, brings back a lot of memories of JD Seller's posts. He was a man of many talents. Salesman, mechanic, trucker farmer farrier. His stories were very interesting and educational. He had a few readers that wanted to " cry bullhocky" with many of his stories. In fact there were rude and hateful posts. I've seen a bit of that still on this site. I'm not sure if JD Seller is still alive, but most would enjoy his knowledge and experiences. gobble

 

[Hoofer B]

I always liked J D Seller. With 70 employees, I have a life full of adventure on a daily basis. Some stories I tell may be far fetched, but are true. Fact is stranger than fiction. Spend a week with me and you will realize I have no need to make stories up. Bill

 

[Jim.ME]

Thanks I just aske was he back did not realize it was so old wopnder how he is doing

If you hover over or click on a member's avatar, beside their post, you can see when they were last seen (logged In), in most cases. some have turned that off in their preferences, by unchecking the two Privacy boxes. JDseller shows as last seen Nov. 20, 2019.

 

[NY 986]

this posting from 2012, brings back a lot of memories of JD Seller's posts. He was a man of many talents. Salesman, mechanic, trucker farmer farrier. His stories were very interesting and educational. He had a few readers that wanted to " cry bullhocky" with many of his stories. In fact there were rude and hateful posts. I've seen a bit of that still on this site. I'm not sure if JD Seller is still alive, but most would enjoy his knowledge and experiences. gobble

I want to say that with JD Seller that sometimes the memory is not what it used to be. Add to that a bit of stress that day and stress does not readily roll off as we age. I know a few here thought his whole life that he talked about here was one big story. I'm around a 1,000 miles away from where he is so I doubt that I will ever meet him.

 

[Tx Jim]

I remember one thing JDSeller stated about never receiving government farm payments that I'll bet was not totally correct. I'll bet farm he was associated with received FSA payments of some type

 

[Crazy Horse]

I remember one thing JDSeller stated about never receiving government farm payments that I'll bet was not totally correct. I'll bet farm he was associated with received FSA payments of some type

Somehow Tex I seem to remember him living up here north of the 49th, but maybe not? No matter, we have the farm handouts up here as well of course.

 

[Tx Jim]

Somehow Tex I seem to remember him living up here north of the 49th, but maybe not? No matter, we have the farm handouts up here as well of course.

I think he stated he lived/farmed in Iowa.

 

[jm.]

Me being new on here and a KUBOTA dealer he really went after me on how I should not be selling Japan junk ect. That went on and I took it for two or three years and one day I just called him out on it, We ended up on a phone conversation for about half hour, After that we exchanged information on tractors worth and other things for several years. I lost contact with him but he knew his John Deer tractors.

 

[NY 986]

I think he stated he lived/farmed in Iowa.

He said his farm is near Amana Colonies, IA.

 

[NY 986]

I remember one thing JDSeller stated about never receiving government farm payments that I'll bet was not totally correct. I'll bet farm he was associated with received FSA payments of some type

Yeah, all the multi-generation so called conservatives around here that criticized anyone for being involved with government payments were found to be taking the same with very few exceptions. Probably one of the very few good points about the local newspaper in that any sizeable payments (over 1,000 dollars) got published.

 

[EFV]

John T. has seen him at Half Century of Progress show in Rantoul in the last four years.
He had information about a no-till study that I wanted to know more about. Maybe someday.

 

[DoubleO7]

@Crazy Horse
Just tryin to help you tell how to know if the reply was to you or not. Thats all/

And it will be the last time.

 

[NY 986]

John T. has seen him at Half Century of Progress show in Rantoul in the last four years.
He had information about a no-till study that I wanted to know more about. Maybe someday.

Closer to home have you ever met George by Geneva, NY and if he is still around?

 

[Gabby Hayes]

I have a customer that is a real nice guy but is totally mechanically illiterate. He has had trouble changing his motor oil. HE is a genius with computer network systems. He makes a six digit salary doing that. I do a lot of repair work from him. He has a small farm and likes to play around.

He has been looking for a 100 hp plus cab tractor. I told him I would go look at any tractor he was interested in within easy driving distance. FREE just friends enjoying a day off. I did not want him to get took to the cleaners.

He found this JD 4440 in southern Missouri. It was kind of far away but we could drive down and back in a long day. I told him to get the serial number so I could run it and find out what I could on the ownership trail of this tractor. He did that. This tractor has had ten different recorded owners. Plus who knows how many more. It started out in Arkansas rice country. Then it went to a sugar cane plantation in Florida. Then to Mississippi on a cotton farm. Could not track who owned it in the last ten years but it did migrate to Missouri. I told him I would pass on this tractor if it where me. Too many owners and many of them in farming areas known for rough equipment.

Well guess what??? He and the wife went down last week so he could look at the tractor. They wanted to spend the night in St. Louis and see the sites. That is fine. He drove the tractor and just thought it was the greatest thing and a real "STEAL". The only thing he could see wrong was it would not stay in "D" range and would pop out of reverse in all gears. (Quad range tractor) The tractor jockey who owned it told him it just needed adjusting and he would knock off $500 so my guy could just have it done locally. My guy jumped all over this "DEAL". He paid $13000 and some change for this 1979 JD 4440 with unknown hours and history. ( Real clean local few owner JD 4440s are bringing $20k-22K). He even paid the jockey $1500 to deliver it 300 miles. What a good friendly guy!!! NOT

So this jem was delivered last Thursday while my guy was at work. His wife had the truck driver park it in their machinery shed. My guy called and said he would bring it over to me Saturday morning. He called me at 11 am Sat. told me he could not get the tractor to start. Asked me to come over.

Well here is what I have found so far:

1) Reason for not starting: one battery not two.
2) Small car battery cables not even close to enough for a diesel motor.
3) Stater motor has the lead melted out of the armature and the brushes are worn clear into the holders.
4) No engine air filter in the canister. Smell of ether is strong.
5) No AC compressor or lines from the cab. They have been cut off right behind the starter. Did not even bother looking on the cab top.
6) Wood block jambed under the rock shaft to keep the three point arms up. No hydraulic pressure or flow to the rear of the tractor. Steering and brakes only. Checked pressure/flow in front of the priority valve. 900 psi and 5 gpm flow.
7) Drained the hydraulic fluid(stuff)out. Looks like used motor oil to me. It is BLACK as coal and smells like diesel fuel. No hydraulic filter or sump screen in the tractor. So what ever was in the sump is going straight to the hydraulic pump.
8) Removed the rock shaft housing so I could look down into the transmission. "D" range shift collar and gear are shot. These gears are on the pinion shaft. Reverse collar is cracked. So to fix it right you have to take the whole transmission apart. Including both final drives.
9) Almost forgot: Engine has low compression on all cylinders. Rod and main bearing all are showing copper.

The good things about this JD 4440:
1) One of the best paint jobs I have ever seen. Does not seem to be any Bondo used either.
2) Brand new cab interior and seat cushions. (does have a wooden block under the seat to hold it up. No hydraulic pressure to work the seat)
3) Good tires. They are mates and have 80% tread.

So I had my guy bring his purchase agreement over. Guess how it is worded?? States clear as a bell that the tractor is sold AS-IS with transmission/hydraulic trouble. Plus non-working AC system. I asked my guy about this. He said the seller told him that was how he had to do it because the transmission adjustment was a transmission repair issue. Was told the AC just needed topped off come spring. My guy signed it with two witnesses to that fact. I found that unusual too but seller told my guy it was how Missouri law made him do it.

I just did a rough estimate on the engine/transmission/hydraulic repairs. It could easily get to 15-20K. Even then I am not sure if everything would be right. This tractor to me should have been a parts tractor.

My guys is sick over his. His wife is furious at him and the seller. He is going to talk to a lawyer tomorrow morning. I think he is out of luck as he signed a purchase agreement that clearly states that it was sold with problems and was AS-IS. It has been a long time since I have seen a con job this bad on someone. I am mystified how a guy as smart as this could not see any of the red flags that where there to be seen???

I am afraid he is going to be out a lot of money either way. If he tries to fix all that is wrong I am not sure what it would cost. The hydraulic system could be totally shot. The AC system is just about total junk. The engine overhaul could get real bad if the cam is bad and injection system need totally rebuilt. I really don't want to tackle all of these problems this late in the winter. This could take a month of solid work to get going. Any of you guys want a Shiny JD 4440???? LOL

Wow. A post from 2012. Talk about a blast from the past. RIP JDSeller.

 

[wore out]

Wow. A post from 2012. Talk about a blast from the past. RIP JDSeller.

Oh, gosh, if someone wants to bring up even more bullshipping from the past, what about "Indy dirt farmer"?

Anyone here remember him? (I'm not sure of the exact spelling of his "handle"?)

 

[NY 986]

I remember one thing JDSeller stated about never receiving government farm payments that I'll bet was not totally correct. I'll bet farm he was associated with received FSA payments of some type

Considering his saying that he did not have the easiest start during the late 1970's it would have been extremely hard to have survived the early 1980's without government payments. Easy for a multi-generation operation with no debt at the same time not to need assistance.

 

[Tx Jim]

Considering his saying that he did not have the easiest start during the late 1970's it would have been extremely hard to have survived the early 1980's without government payments. Easy for a multi-generation operation with no debt at the same time not to need assistance.

My exact same thoughts.

 

[Hoofer B]

I remember I d f. He turned out to be a carpet farmer if I temember

 

[EFV]

Closer to home have you ever met George by Geneva, NY and if he is still around?

Have never met him. Is that the Case parts guy ?

 

[NY 986]

Have never met him. Is that the Case parts guy ?

No. You are thinking of John Saeli on the east side of Seneca Lake. I don't know much about George but enjoyed his contributions here and had a 1934 JD A. I was wondering if he sold it as such a tractor was at the Windmill auction in Penn Yan this past March.