Concerns with John Deere 4010 For Sale

Hi all. I'm evaluating a '62 4010 diesel that I'm potentially thinking about buying. I test drove the tractor and gave it a pretty thorough once over yesterday and noted a few things that are concerning me a bit. Other than these, it seems like a very good tractor for a nice price. I wanted to get this group's opinion if these are deal breakers since I'm fairly mechanically inclined but I don't want to get into a tractor that I'm going to have to crack open the engine, or split the tractor for.

Everything with this tractor seems good except the following:

-One of the weep holes on the left side of the engine is leaking a small amount of fresh oil. When I noticed this, i wiped it off, and after about 10 minutes of idling and light driving around, there was a small film of oil coming out again. The engine oil level was good when I checked the level at the dipstick and the oil looked and smelled good. The exhaust didn't smoke excessively, and there was not much blow by at the breather tube.

-The hydraulic fluid level didn't even register on the stick when I checked it. The 3-point hitch, the hydraulic remote, and the steering worked fine.

-All gears worked fine, but it was tricky to get into 5th, 7th, and especially 8th gear. For 5th and 7th, I had to shift into the gear, into the corresponding reverse and back into the gear to get the transmission to find the gear. If I didn't, do this the tractor acted like it was in neutral when I let out the clutch (no grinding). For 8th, since there is no reverse in that quadrant, I had to pull the lever short of all the way back to catch the gear, otherwise it would act just like 5th and 7th.

-About half the time when letting out the clutch during my check of the gears, I would hear a fairly noticeable metallic bang or clunk at the very last moment when the clutch was fully engaged. The owner said this was the brakes releasing, but I don't think he is correct, because it does this after I coast to a stop and start up again without touching the brakes. The brakes are a bit grabby and noisy, but seen to work fine (I'm used to noisy brakes from my dad's 3020 that have chattered for 30+ years of hard work and never had a problem)

I plan to use this tractor sparingly for mowing, a small no-till drill, and general activities like raking hay, hauling silage, etc.

Thanks!

I'd look for a better one.

The leaking weep hole is probably coolant. It means one of the sleeve o-rings is failing, or the sleeve and/or block is pitted. An engine overhaul is in the near future. Is coolant getting in the oil??

The shifting either needs linkage help, or internal help.

The banging noise is a mystery. Perhaps to scare you away!

There are a lot of them out there... I'd look for one that doesn't have you wondering.

What are you calling a nice prie? Good straight 4010 diesels with good rubber are selling above 6,000 dollars. The oil coming out of the weep hole needs to be dealt with soon if you acquire the tractor. Was there any hydraulic fluid under the tractor indicating a leak? It is possible the level is down due to servicing a leaky hydraulic circuit meaning cylinder or hoses are leaking. Shifter issue is most likely linkage related which could mean tightening by wrench or replacement of linkage parts. The brake issue is concerning and if the brake is not releasing that means pieces of the brake lining are getting into the hydraulic system. The clunking could have other causes as well. Then there is the issue of the PTO shifter pin and if that is broke. Don't pay top dollar for it and it would pay to see what else is out there for another JD New Generation tractor. Even if you could buy it for 4,500 you may wind up spending 3,000 dollars in no time flat to address some of those issues.

Don't expect a 55 year old tractor to work flawlessly...when they are that old it's hard to keep them away from a tool box..

The weep hole fluid looked and felt like oil, but I couldn't rule out coolant. I didn't consider the possibility that it was coolant when I was there. Either way, I knew it wasn't great and upon looking into it afterward it appeared an overhaul was the fix either way.

I was hoping the shifting issue would simply be a linkage issue - I'd be able to tackle that no problem myself. I don't have the space or equipment to split the tractor and deal with an internal transmission issue.

The current owner is asking $5700. Tach is showing 5400+ hours and is working but he doesn't believe it is original. Rear tires are 18.4-34 @80% and 3-rib fronts are @50% with neither having any cuts or nicks. Sheet metal is straight, newer seat etc.. The tractor looks great, but looks aren't everything. It sounds like I should walk away from this one.

The oil coming out the weep hole, if it is oil, is not a big problem. Those do that regularly with an overhaul needed, there would be other signs, why else would Deere remove the holes from the block on the later side console 4020's. Our 1968 4020 has weeped oil out of 3 holes for more than a decade without needing any overhaul.

The shifter sounds like our '68 4020, and the problem was the shifter moves rods that move cast arms on the right side of the transmission, and where the rods hooked to the cast arms the hole in the arms were very worn. So it was a quick replacement of the arms and adjusted the rods, and now it shifts like new. You can check it by taking the right side battery box off and looking behind it.

Matt

I've noted the clunking noise described on numerous old 10 and 20 series tractors. I've always figured it was the brakes or planet carrier taking up slack when you take off. Years ago as a tech at a JD dealership they actually had me pull a 4020 apart for inspection looking for this noise. I relined the brakes and rebuilt one axel that was loose....but didn't really 'fix' anything as far as the clunk noise goes. Could be the differential spider gears taking up slack...could be loose wheel weights or wheel discs slipping a bit on the rim.....?

The poor boy overhaul at my old dealership as far as leaking weep-holes was to pull a bullet from a .22LR cartridge and drive it in the hole....

:shock: can't say I agree with that practice however the techs at the dealership often did that. Lots of old 4010 and 4020 tractors still running decades later with plugged weep-holes.

I agree with coonie. A bargain is not a bargain
if you have to spend several thousand.
You still have the poorly designed pto. Look for a 4020.

The weep holes do not bother me as I just plug them. The later tractors do not have them and they can run for years without any problem. I must have damaged an o-ring when I overhauled my 3020 because it leaked right away. I plugged it thirteen years and about 4000 hours ago. The clunk in the rear is something that you do find sometimes. One of my 3020's has it fairly bad when you change directions. It has 9700 hours and is a loader tractor. Sounds like the trans needs the linkage rebuilt and there are some other improvements that can be made to help it shift better. There are two spring loaded pointers that go in the side of the trans. case that wear flat. We replace these with a ball and socket used in the later 30 series tractors (4230-4430). Add a little more spring pressure and they really help with shifting.With what it needs I would want to buy it a little cheaper but most good 4010's still bring $6000+ and a 4020 will cost $7500+. Like Tim said they are getting old and will need some care and repair. I prefer the 4020 pto but for the first 10 years we farmed a 4010 was my big tractor doing lots of pto work with a forage harvester. Tom

That is why I threw out the 4,500 dollar figure. I make no promises but hopefully a few thousand with the OP's labor thrown in would square it up enough to have a good tractor with 7,500 dollars total investment. But one should not assume that a new hydraulic pump or injector pump is many years down the road but that is not to say those are a trouble spot by reputation either. That is a risk you take with any older tractor regardless of what brand it is. No more at risk than an IH 806 or Oliver 1850 in that respect.

Hyd. oil low is common on those as the load shaft seals will leak it all out. Check those I'll bet they are wet there.
Clunk can be loose wheel wedges or clamps where rim mounts to the castings. you can check by looking at it will someone else runs it forward and back.

Dad always said you have two choices in farm equipment, Parts or Payments. I have always bought used and went the parts route but once in a while I wonder what a new one with no issues would be like. Like you said you never know. Years ago at a farm sale I bought a nice sharp original 706 diesel. Brought it home and hired man was spreading fertlizer when it put a rod thru the side of the block. Next time a beat up wore out piece of junk just goes and goes with no problems. I know of a 656 IH that had blowby so bad they tied an oil jug under the tube and at the end of the day dumped the oil back in. It was their big tractor and ran for years like that. Tom

The clunk in the rear end of those tractors is very often the ring gear in the final drive clunking back and forth on the 3 dowel pins that are meant to hold it in place. The noise is common on 10 series tractors and really doesn't cause much trouble.

Thanks everyone - the tractor is now sold so I'll be looking for another one.

(quoted from post at 12:24:39 07/17/17) The clunk in the rear end of those tractors is very often the ring gear in the final drive clunking back and forth on the 3 dowel pins that are meant to hold it in place. The noise is common on 10 series tractors and really doesn't cause much trouble.

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