1973 4430 checkout questions

Hogleg

Member
We have a lease tractor on the property that we may decide to trade to instead of haveing our 2550 repaired (another story). We were discussing upgrading our baling operation to a larger cab tractor anyway. We run a Vermeer 605H now but may also upgrade the baler in the future. Anyway, some questions.

We have a 73 4430 on lease for a few days to finish up the hay we have down. Serial is 4430H004961R. Starts good, idles smooth. All functions work so far on baling (svcs, pto). Moderate blowby. 7135 hours. Air cond - old black compressor - guessing a R12 system. Blows slightly cold. Have not gone thru the rest of the tractor yet - I am sure there are other minor issues on this old of a tractor. Quad shift.

What are my options on getting the air cond working - guessing compressor upgrade kit? I have repaired air cond on my trucks but not a tractor. I usually do the repairs and have a professional in town do the vacuum and charging.

I have a 3000 psi gauge so I can test Svc pressure. What other pressures should I check and how to do that.

School me on what I should do to get a better idea on condition of the tractor. What else to checkout?

BTW, have been paying attention on the discussion of manheim vs. waterloo hydraulics. That is partly the motivation to move up - avoid continuing issues on the 2550. We have been turning down hay jobs due to equipment issues, so we may upgrade the baler and cutter in the near future.

John
 
The AC can be fixed,, I have one here just like yours right now,, this one is as ugly as a Wart,,has seen no Love for years, a 4 digit serial number,, I am going to put a complete line kit and compressor up grade from AP air,,it will work out well,,but I feel that I'm shoeing a dead horse,, the rest of this old Gal is in bad condition..
 
A lot of questions most of us have when buying a tractor are already
answered for you since you have been using it. On my 4430 I did the
sanden AC compressor conversion and new lines and filter drier eight
years ago from AP air and haven't had to touch it since. I installed
the parts and had a local shop charge it. Be sure if nothing else to
change the lines that go to the evaporator that run through the rear
cab post, they tend to rust away.
 
Tim S,

There seems to be an oil leak coming from behind the injection pump with fresh oil found, some of it puddling around some hoses laying on the frame. Here is a pic. Is this concerning or just old tractor dribbling? Salesman said pump would have to be removed and sent out to correct. Since we are in the process of negotiating, trying to decide if this is a deal killer or a way to push the price down a bit.

49607.jpg


John
 
Most of the time a leak in that area is from the throttle shaft seal, and yes the pump would need to be removed and sent to a pump shop,at that point it should be rebuilt too...$900-$1200 for that alone,,plus the removal and replacement of the pump. I can tell by the picture that this is an older unit,,unless it is in grand condition, with a very good price..I would keep on looking...
 

The old 4430 John Deeres were/are good tractors...however they had some weak points. The rear ends originally were 'two pinion' and many broke spiders or spider shafts...got converted to 3 pinion differentials(a good thing)...rear axels were small diameter and known to break-off if used with duals...I've upgraded quite a few with 92mm axels versus the original 86mm axels. Will see some with one small axel and one larger diameter rear axel.

Lots of stuff were lighter/smaller than the 4440 JD that replaced the 4430. Still good tractors if used properly and well maintained...however many were used and abused spindled fondled and worn-out. They were a popular tractor..John Deeres first series that came close to be truly modern
 

Can't be too surprised something breaks. When somebody adds duals, loads up with ballast, cranks up the injection pump then jams on the wheel brake to make a corner or to counter act wheel spin.
 
It is truly amazing the abuse a tractor axle takes on a daily basis.. Early 4430's around here got the Crapp worked out of them,, they were the big tractor on most farms and did the heavy work..
 
I like the later tractors as they were made from 73/77.That being said the 4440 were improved and the 50/55 were better yet.An average 4430 will bring around $10K and nice 4440 will bring around $20K and a nice 4450/ 4455 with power shift will be over $30 but well worth it.
 
This tractor looks pretty good. Paint is original and in good to very good shape. Glass all good. AC is working but weak. We found that one of the lines going up to the roof had been replaced, so they must have been maintaining the AC for a while and it is weak from setting. Story is the tractor came from a small dairy farm where it spent most of it's 7100 hours. For the last few years, the dairy was shut down and it was used for occasional brush hogging. He traded it in on a Gator. I have the owners name and will give him a call.

Starts right up on first tap. Idles smooth. Ran our 605H baler just fine. Quad range trans shifts all gears. We have put 5 hours on it so far and the only issue we see is the inj pump leak. In reading, it sounds like at 7K hours it is not unusual to have to rebuild a pump for leaks, right? Cab could use a new interior kit. Everything else runs out fine. Axles come out of the trumpets (??) at around 90+mm then taper down to around 85mm. Sounds like the bigger axle retrofit was done?

Dealer had me insure it for $15.5K which I infere to be a clue on what he wants for it. Listed for $16.5. With the pump issue hoping I can get him down into the $14K range. This pricing does not seem out of line for what these early 4430 tractors are selling for around here.

We are going to add a 148 loader to it. From what I can see, does not look like it ever had a loader on it. Going to use the Deere joystick kit and a PBY block. Just looks to be a nice, clean install.
 
Bought it... Traded the 2550 - PTO clutch was shot, probably due to a combination of running milky oil and running a Vermeer 605H baler on it. That is a lot of baler for that size tractor. The 4430 will run it better now. Got a really good trade value on the utility tractor, even when they will have to eat the costs for the clutch repair. Inside of sump was very clean - sump screen and filter did its job of protecting the hydro. Shutting it down after I noted hydro and pto issues saved the tractor.

Daughter out bushhogging now - the cab is nice since she is 8 months pregnant (can't tell her no). Air is sort of cold so will have a friend drop a can of freon into it. We have a very heavy duty Alamo bushhog that is made out of plate steel. This tractor runs it very well.

Anxious to get to know this Waterloo tractor a bit better. So far, so good!

John
 
(quoted from post at 14:34:08 06/15/17)

Daughter out bushhogging now - the cab is nice since she is 8 months pregnant (can't tell her no). Air is sort of cold so will have a friend drop a can of freon into it.

Anxious to get to know this Waterloo tractor a bit better. So far, so good!

John

John
I'll advise to check high & low pressures before adding any refrigerant to AC. If air is too cold why not turn compressor switch CCW a little ways.I'll bet you'll like the Waterloo built tractor better than the one built in Mannheim.
Jim
 

My 4430 has the "old black compressor" though converted to 134 and it blows colder than the other tractors that have been converted to Sanden or anything else newer.
 
If adding a can of R12 does not work, we will convert it to R134 with a new drier and the same compressor. It is working but air is slightly cool, not cold. Blower works well. Will probably clean the filter although it seems to be blowing well now.

Does anyone use a valve to shut off the hot water like we do on our semi?

Talked to the pump shop and have a handle on that issue. Will pull the pump and get it rebuilt. Will post another thread on how to set the timing to properly pull the pump.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top