JD 2840

[JD2840]

was board so i searched for my favorite tractor, JD 2840 (yes my username) and i found a lot of post with people saying its a bad tractor and such. just surrious why this is? our 2840 always starts right up and is always a hard worker.

 

[Tx Jim]

I sold new 2840's. Most were hard starters after they had a few hrs put on them. The hyd hi-lo's and pto's gave trouble mostly because of leaking supply tubes. Their reputations are right next to a 2010D.

"Can't break a good one & can't repair a bad one"

I had one 2840 I'll never forget. The pto clutch came apart damaging the trans housing just after warranty ran out. JD made an allowance and was going to repair under warranty. Trans housing had to come from Mannheim,Germany so I traded for the 2840 so the customer could continue baling hay. Then JD said no warranty help since the 2840 had been traded in and dealer now owned it.

 

[fred goodrich]

I have your tractor a 2840 with 700 hrs on it. I am in NY and I ship. Fred 6076423293

 

[Resting Relics 1]

Hey 2840,
I have to agree with Tx Jim. I worked for a Deere dealer when the 2840's were in production. We had numerous problems with them ranging from poor starting, poor combustion with burn your eyes smoke, high lows that failed, bad head gaskets and liner problems just to name a few. Nice tractor when it ran,which in my experience was limited. Just the facts.
John

 

[Anonymous-0]

Got one. Like others have said, nice tractor when running but not very reliable. Leaks in the low pressure system are the main problem with mine, get them fixed and soon you have more. The HiLo self destructed once too. To be fair mine had seen a hard life before I got it and others had worked on it that had no clue how to fix it. I've run into incompetant repairs and neglect on other JD utility tractors but have been able to fix them, this 2840 seems to be possessed.

 

[Mike M]

In that case taking a page out of the auto dealers playbook and fudgeing the paperwork or delaying the paper work would of been in order.

 

[Anonymous-0]

May be you need to change your username & read this
stuff alot more.Some of these grumpy old men really
know there stuff, when there not out pushing fish
houses in the pond.hehe.
Good luck with that turkey

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 08:31:28 03/18/11) In that case taking a page out of the auto dealers playbook and fudgeing the paperwork or delaying the paper work would of been in order.

If you are referring to the 2840 I mentioned the problem was the tractor I sold was financed through JD credit. Therefore the Dallas Branch officials became aware of the 2840 trade-in. Then after trans case came from Germany and was installed warranty claim was denied.

 

[buickanddeere]

Many of the hydraulic problems were due to neglect or improper connections.
When the trans filter becomes plugged. There is a priority valve that diverts flow away from the front pump. And runs unfiltered oil to the brakes, high/low shift, pto etc.
There is also a relief valve that limits trans pressure to approx 150psi. Jam that valve or make it chatter. With dirt from the bypassing filter. And poof, the internal transmission lines crack, split, blow off etc.
As for cold weather starting? Some folk expect a farm diesel engine to start at 30-40 F without using the block heater. Best to lower ones expectations and just plug in the block heater.
Some operators don't seem to know enough to push the clutch down when cranking. Or lower the 3pt hitch a little so it isn't trying to raise while cranking.
Of course many starting problems can be traced back heavy single weight oil, partly charged batteries from frequent stop-start duty. And general neglect and undersized replacement of batteries, cables etc.
My Uncle's 1640 wouldn't crank and start in cool weather years ago. A little checking with the volt meter found one battery just sitting there. The connections looked good but they had high resistance.

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 09:25:32 03/18/11) Many of the hydraulic problems were due to neglect or improper connections.

b&d
2840's are an exception to any or your defenses of the hyd systems on JD Dubuque/Mannheim tractors. They had their inherit faults from the time they left the factory.

 

[rexhellwig]

OK, I'll bite.

How long have you had your 2840?
What kind of work is it used for?
How many hours have you used it?
How much have you spent on parts in this time?
How much for labor or hours spent repairing yourself?

Back in the day, 2840 repair dollars per hour of use were very high compaired to other tractors.

 

[cannonball]

Got a 1979 that has over 12000 hours on it...one high low (dad was running straight hyd oil) and one line broke in trans ..nothing done to engine same pump and injectors....2nd owner dad bought in 1983

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 13:51:22 03/18/11) Got a 1979 that has over 12000 hours on it...one high low (dad was running straight hyd oil) and one line broke in trans ..nothing done to engine same pump and injectors....2nd owner dad bought in 1983

"Can't break a good one & can't repair a bad one" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[buickanddeere]

I agree the Waterloo tractor's hydraulic system will tolerate more abuse than the Dubuque/Mannheim tractors.
Also the Dubuque/Mannheims can't handle high flow demands. Such as loaders,backhoes, log splitters and hydraulic motors.Unless they use the oil return kit from the scv's to a ported filter cover.
That said, there is no excuse for not keeping clean oil and a clean filter in any tractor.

 

[Spoker]

I worked on the 2840 when they were new and we had to swap out some of the 2840,s for the 2940's. The transmissions in the 2840 were to small for the hp the 2840 was putting out. The trannys were always dumping hyd. oil out on the ground. You could rebuild one and take it out of the shop, let it idle for a few min. and go check the tractor and it would be dumping oil on the ground. I had a factory service rep rebuild the tranny on one and it dumped oil in the shop befor we could get it outside. Never found a reason for the to do this except the rep told me the tranny was too small. I will turn my head and run if someone offered me a 2840. If you put the hyd. into the float position on a front bucket, you can not steer the tractor with much success. My two cents.

 

[buickanddeere]

To have tractor from your shop consistently pouring oil. Yet nobody else's tractors are pouring oil. Odds are somebody was performing substandard service.
The loss of steering with the loader is because somebody plumbed loader's valve to dump the pressure line direct to the trans sump. No wonder it couldn't steer.

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 15:22:06 03/18/11) I agree the Waterloo tractor's hydraulic system will tolerate more abuse than the Dubuque/Mannheim tractors. That said, there is no excuse for not keeping clean oil and a clean filter in any tractor.

buickanddeere
I'm astonished you've finally admitted that Waterloo New Generation tractors hyd's are light years ahead of the Dubuque/Mannheim utility tractors. There is still hope for you.

FYI clean hyd oil and filter wasn't the 2840's major mechanical problem.

 

[buickanddeere]

Check back. I said it months ago. It's all in
writing and dated.
Are you saying that a plugged filter and
contaminated oil isn't a concern? Water from
condensation is a common problem.And will plug the
filter with ice crystals.

 

[rexhellwig]

Assuming average hours when you bought it in 83, that sounds like you have treated each other pretty good.

 

[JD2840]

(quoted from post at 13:39:18 03/18/11) May be you need to change your username & read this
stuff alot more.Some of these grumpy old men really
know there stuff, when there not out pushing fish
houses in the pond.hehe.
Good luck with that turkey

not going to change my username becasue of other peoples tractors. mine works just fine. i cant do that anyways.


well i guess we must have a lucky one then :roll: ours works fine. only bad leak it ever had was on the lower 3point lift arms (which was a easy fix) and only other part we ever replaced was a fuel line that was a little bent. i think we've had it about 15 years or so and put who knows how many hours on it. always fires right up and is ready for work. only current problem are ones that could be on any tractor. the tach and hour meter dont work (neither of which matter to me) and one of the tires has a slow leak.

almost afraid to look up my second favorite JD the 1050

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 19:08:31 03/18/11) Check back. I said it months ago. It's all in writing and dated.Are you saying that a plugged filter and contaminated oil isn't a concern? Water from
condensation is a common problem.And will plug the
filter with ice crystals.

I think I have enough experience with both JD tractors not to state or imply that clean hyd oil and filter is required on any tractor. On a JD with wet brakes and clutches deterioration from water is far more prominent than "ice crystals",this is especially true in sunny Texas.

I checked the archives and never found where you admitted being wrong on any of your statements.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hey jd2840, iam just going on what the guys say on
here.Great stuff. Just messing with you.
Its all about who knows more on here with some.I
have learned alot more than i knew 3 yrs ago.
I do like the way the 2840s sound & look.
Take care RG

 

[JD2840]

(quoted from post at 13:09:06 03/19/11) Hey jd2840, iam just going on what the guys say on
here.Great stuff. Just messing with you.
Its all about who knows more on here with some.I
have learned alot more than i knew 3 yrs ago.
I do like the way the 2840s sound & look.
Take care RG

yeah sorry i wasn't in a good mood. lol