John Deere 4640

[Milk7]

I am wandering what the pros and cons of a 4640 diesel is. our biggest thing I need to run is a 100-140 hp Howard rotavator. and right now my biggest tractor is a faramll 706.

 

[SHALER]

I have heard they are a solid machine overall but I know very little about them except I believe they only have the 1 3/4 in 1,000RPM PTO which could be "Con" for many people.

 

[flying belgian]

Well I don't know much about 4640 but 4630 spent much time on and it was really a gutless clumsy tractor. I put the 4630 in category of, big, dumb tractor.

 

[DeltaSteve]

4640 is a big powerful tractor that is very thirsty. They are solid,reliable.They are a 'big frame' tractor. The biggest issue is they are only 1000 rpm PTO.Any of the 46xx series will be 1000 only.A 4440 would be a better choice.Or,stay with IH. A 1066/1086 or 1466/1486 could be had for less money.Hard to beat an IH for power.

 

[GreenEnvy]

We bought one new back in 1980 and ran it 20 years with no issues or breakdowns. They were about as good as a tractor could get for their time or all time. IH didnt have an answer to them until the 88 series. Only drawback like what has been said is the 1,000 rpm only pto. Because of that Ive seen them go as cheap as 4440s at auctions.

 

[ADB-Ia]

I also bought a 4640 new in 1980 and ran it for about 20 years. It was the best tractor I've ever owned. Lots of power, handy for a 150+ horse tractor, better visibility than most tractors of that size, quiet cab. The 4640 came with either a 16 speed quad range or an 8 speed power shift. The 8 speed power shift was a very dependable transmission but the 15 speed in the 50 series was an improvement as far as speed selection was concerned. I never heard of much trouble with the quad range but Deere didn't offer it in the 4840 which I think indicated that they thought the 4640 was about the maximum horse power for that transmission. The 1370 Case was the only tractor that I would consider a real competitor in its time across all categories. My opinion FWIW.

 

[Milk7]

could you have a 540 adaptor to a baler that takes 70 hp and run the 1000 pto at half the rpm?

 

[ADB-Ia]

Yes, I had a 540 adapter and a small 1000 adapter that I used often. Running at half speed for 540 rpm makes it fairly economical to run for 70 horse applications as well.

 

[GreenEnvy]

I agree on the Case comparison although it would have to be a 90 series for me.

 

[pete 23]

A lot will depend on the hours on the engine. During inspections we always checked the wear on the camshaft gear that drives the oil pump. If that gear wears out, no oil pressure. Only saw that happen once but lot of cams were replaced in the years before I worked on those.

Other wise, it is a good solid tractor with no particular problem not seen on all tractors.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 08:19:13 03/16/21) could you have a 540 adaptor to a baler that takes 70 hp and run the 1000 pto at half the rpm?

Some people say that it works fine, but I've never had any luck with it. The tractor can't maintain a steady RPM when it's loping along at part throttle like that.

 

[cjunrau]

yes and you use less than half the fuel, but don't do it if you have hills in your hay fields. I have been doing that with a 2394 and I changed over the baler to 1000 because I couldn't idle up the hills. 100 pto at 1200 rpm is around 600 rpm

 

[big tee]

I had 2 4630s over the years--One FWA and the other 2WD- The hydraulic FWA was worthless but the tractors were very dependable. The TWD started out my main tillage tractor, then planter tractor and now that now my son owns it a mowing tractor. It has the 404--not the 466 like the 4640 but for a 1974 tractor it was top of the line in my opinion--you sure you aren't thinking of a 4620???---Tee

 

[GaryinKs]

A 4320 or a 4440 would probably fit your operation better

 

[big tee]

I thought it was the 30 series that had the soft gear---Tee

 

[pete 23]

I believe there was a serial number break where we didn't have to check them but we did anyway if I remember right.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

I have a 46 and 4840, both power shifts. Just good machines. Theyre a lil clumsy, and the big 1000 only pto can be an issue, but not so much anymore. You can buy nearly any piece of equipment to run on 1000rpm. The poor fuel economy claim is a myth. They burn about the same fuel per hp/hr as any other tractor in their class. I am sure someone will come along and say I ran one once in 1987 and it seemed to need fuel at some point....

I bought my 4640 as an upgrade from a 4430, and it did not let me down. I round bale with it, haul in loads, run a 13 power harrow, just bought a 13 falc tiller, spread manure, etc.

 

[pete 23]

Did some checking. They went to the crankshaft driven oil pump some where in the mfg of the 466 so it would depend on serial number of engine as to weather or not checking wear on camshaft driven oil pump.

Been over 20 years since I retired from Deere dealer and only worked there for four years so don't remember a lot of things from the long green line. All years before that were for IH and CaseIH .