You have to fix it yourself

[DavidT1]

Just for fun, if you had to do ALL repairs, service and maintenance yourself with what equipment you currently have, what is the model John Deere tractor you would pick? Can be from any year, but the factors are you will be using it on a farm and must do all work yourself (minus machine work and similar).

Beings I have started off farming about 8 years ago and only have a JD 620, I think any two cylinder I would be okay with and maybe say a 3020. To me over a 3020 doing the work alone and at home would be too much or more so past my knowledge. The 620 blows me away at how much you can fix and kind of fast. Not super fancy of course, but sure gets it done.

Anyhow what is your pick?

 

[SETX]

My 4440. I've worked on just about everything on it.

 

[DavidT1]

SETX,
To get more info do you have a large farm shop and big repair equipment? Just curious as the 4440 I sure would assume is not a easy to repair with garage tool type tractor haha. Thanks for the vote.

 

[jwal10]

4240 JD. My shop was 50'x80'. 2 bays, 1 16'x50'. 1 24'x50'. I had smaller JD's, 2020, 2030, 3020, 2520, 4020. I also had 4430, 4440, 4630, 4640. Not a lot of difference, just some bigger, some smaller. Used the same tools. Never had to split one. Only had 1 transmission problem, on a 4430 P.S. Loaded on truck took to JD dealer. They hooked up some gauges and made a couple adjustments, never came off the truck....James

 

[SETX]

SETX,
To get more info do you have a large farm shop and big repair equipment? Just curious as the 4440 I sure would assume is not a easy to repair with garage tool type tractor haha. Thanks for the vote.

It's surprisingly an easy machine to work on and I have the original service manual which is about 300 pages of technical info.
Yes, I have a very large covered open sided equipment barn. I service all my own equipment and do the work on my older iron like the 4440, 5020 an 4020's. The new tractors i can service but JD has it to where you can't change a part without a tech there with a laptop.

Red

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Quite an open ended question but that's what this board is about and I'm waiting for my wife appointment anyway and this is a happier place for my mind to be.

You are correct on the 2 cylinders being the easiest and my favorite to work on by far. My 1952 Model A is by far my favorite tractor for mowing and most used one by me for small jobs. Its big enough and has a slow enough speed to handle a 3 point tiller. Parts availability is what will begin to get you a little bit a lot of things aren't made anymore from sheet metal to transmission pieces donors are your option. My John Deere 1938 B is easiest fast to repair simple no electrical system parts are mostly available and cheap BUT up to John Deere 8300 certainly more complicated but by the average person with a lifting device repairable. So about 70 years of tractors of different sizes haha. 4020-4440 you have a lot of parts availability more complicated than the b but more usable. The big ones and little ones that age you will have the same problems as a 2 cylinder I had to rebuild a used transmission shaft from 2 doners on the last 4640 top shaft eventually you won't be able to find the doner pieces.

You would be surprised what a person can do on new stuff though. I currently have an egr cooler and an oil cooler off of a 8370R covering my butt trying to find a tiny coolant leak without going after liner o-rings that the last guy probably should have replaced while he had the head off but I can't really blame him too much as the next step required pulling the engine. A lot of issues could be solved by John Deere designing an oil pan for the 8000 series instead of that massive cast frame to do anything underneath you have to pull the engine. Its had a small amount of water in it for the 4th time now. If it still has water in it next fall we would bite the bullet and put an engine in. Its not that you can't work on the tractor at all its just if its a bad ECM you have to ask for assistance or have to buy a computer. You can still do a lot of your own repair work. Same tractor had a steering line go and a snapped bolt in a final. We certainly aren't going to call for help on that. If you peel away the wiring you still have iron down below. If you yourself repair the wiring harness and tried the sensors on the other end and its down to putting a computer in that you have buy anyway I guess its going to cost the extra 500 bucks to see the tech for 30 minutes with the computer to flash a 3000 dollar ECM at least let him fry the ECM if something is wired wrong when HE puts it in. Emissions service burn is what would require seeing him as well eventually. Luckily that hasn't happened yet so far our 8370R is tier III by about 6 months. The 9410R has a DPF so I am sure eventually it will need some help. It does have a display that gives you a code but we will have to see when there's a serious problem what the display will let me do. It's just a different thought process on the new stuff. I am blessed to have things to lift engines and heavy stuff. A good forklift is worth its weight in gold. Grandpa did all of his repairs up to a 4440 with a much worse splitting stand than I built and for a lifting device all he had was a big (like a foot around pipeline pipe) steel pipe that he wrapped a chain around and used as a hoist outside the door of his shop no movement side to side you moved the tractor to get the engine out or the head or whatever it was being lifted a lot of times if it was just a head it would be cherry picker or hey you grab that side ill grab this one lets lift it.

In the case of my engine dilemma if you pay to have someone fix it you would have 40 grand in it pretty easy closer to 60 if you paid a dealer. Wouldn't you rather have a brand new engine for 27? could you rebuild it for 10? sure but there isn't the extra better part of a month to build the bracket for the stand and source parts and rebuild you have things to do. If you wanted to to rods and mains since there has been water in it you would have to pull it off of the frame anyway since there isn't a pan. In our very rare case they don't have a core for it anyway since it was only made for a very short period of time so you would yank it put the new one in and then debate rebuilding the old one to have on the shelf ready to go over the next winter instead of turning it in for 500 bucks at the scrapper.

Just an example of what goes through my head most days. I also can't afford rework that I caused or didn't get right the first time. And the tractor referenced above was bought from a dealer and they caught the water the first time however most times it would be the customers problem and next time since the coolant in the oil keeps appearing it will be. I CERTAINLY can't afford rework from someone else not going far enough. It's been bad enough the down time last year caused by letting them try repairing it. If we had traded the 8300 in on it we would still be out there combining.

I don't think there is a perfect answer. The 4020 until the late ones is probably as close as it gets to easiest to repair and maintain and have fantastic parts availability. But even then your side console slightly more complicated late models are more sought after easier to use with the levers in the correct spot and more expensive to buy and own. A lot of it is being content with what you have. I know that my A when I wreck the sheet metal im going to be sol and building it myself. I know when the 4440 needs split im going to loose a month of my life. I know the new stuff is going to have a lot of things in the way to get to what's broke. Trade offs abound.

Your 620 is about my favorite size of tractor. It will burn some gas but everything else is wonderful about it. Keep an eye out for a good doner to rob some bigger and more hard to find parts off as you go along and you will be set for a very long time.

 

[DavidT1]

All great replies and interesting to hear.

 

[chas036]

My 1950 JD A and my 48 B and JD 620 are the easist of my tractors to work on. My 730 gas and my 720 diesel are a liitle more complicated because they are bigger, but still managable. I am currently working on a JD 50 with power steering that picked up at an acuction last Sept , and It is a little more complicated tha a B , but still relatively easy to work on.

I also have an Oliver 1800 gas, and thank god it runs well because I am not looking forward to the day I have to do some major work on that tractor Compared to my JD's , everthing on that Oliver is so big and heavy and combersome to work on..

Now if I had a nice heated workshop with a concret floor, good big floor jacks and heavy duty hoists, maybe I would not feel so threatened about working on my Oliver. But working in an old shed without heat, and on a gravel floor with old tools, I just don't think I could deal with splitting a tractor, or lifting out an engine , and especialy at my age of 75.

 

[JOCCO]

Well I have a late B and I can tell you I do all the repairs myself and have for many years.

 

[rrlund]

My 1950 JD A and my 48 B and JD 620 are the easist of my tractors to work on. My 730 gas and my 720 diesel are a liitle more complicated because they are bigger, but still managable. I am currently working on a JD 50 with power steering that picked up at an acuction last Sept , and It is a little more complicated tha a B , but still relatively easy to work on.

I also have an Oliver 1800 gas, and thank god it runs well because I am not looking forward to the day I have to do some major work on that tractor Compared to my JD's , everthing on that Oliver is so big and heavy and combersome to work on..

Now if I had a nice heated workshop with a concret floor, good big floor jacks and heavy duty hoists, maybe I would not feel so threatened about working on my Oliver. But working in an old shed without heat, and on a gravel floor with old tools, I just don't think I could deal with splitting a tractor, or lifting out an engine , and especialy at my age of 75.

The Oliver has a frame though and never has to be split for anything.

 

[SamV]

JD B by far

 

[wore out]

Just for fun, if you had to do ALL repairs, service and maintenance yourself with what equipment you currently have, what is the model John Deere tractor you would pick? Can be from any year, but the factors are you will be using it on a farm and must do all work yourself (minus machine work and similar).

Beings I have started off farming about 8 years ago and only have a JD 620, I think any two cylinder I would be okay with and maybe say a 3020. To me over a 3020 doing the work alone and at home would be too much or more so past my knowledge. The 620 blows me away at how much you can fix and kind of fast. Not super fancy of course, but sure gets it done.

Anyhow what is your pick?

I've owned this little one since 1978, and farmed with it 'til I "retired" from farming after 1997, and have done all required repairs myself.

 

[VicS]

Just for fun, if you had to do ALL repairs, service and maintenance yourself with what equipment you currently have, what is the model John Deere tractor you would pick? Can be from any year, but the factors are you will be using it on a farm and must do all work yourself (minus machine work and similar).

Beings I have started off farming about 8 years ago and only have a JD 620, I think any two cylinder I would be okay with and maybe say a 3020. To me over a 3020 doing the work alone and at home would be too much or more so past my knowledge. The 620 blows me away at how much you can fix and kind of fast. Not super fancy of course, but sure gets it done.

Anyhow what is your pick?

I have a 435 JD top cut pulling tractor and a D17 mod pulling tractor. But the most important tractor on the farm is a 4320 Compact. 4x4 cab heat and air. Have put a new gasket between the block and the front cover. Not that different from the old ones. But tomorrow feeding big bales I'll be warm. And won't take but a minute to put forkes on front and back.