New to me 4020 with Levy HFWA and turbo

Just acquired this gem from northern Illinois. Has Levy HFWA as well as an M&W turbo set up. No issues. I was wondering what some of you think as to rarity and value. I don't mind telling that I paid 14k for it just because I liked it.
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Nice looking 4020. From seeing a 6 volt battery previous owner must have changed electrical system over to 12 volts.

As far as rarity it is basically a 4020 with some add ons.Rarity or collectabiliy usually refers to low numbered tractors or first or last built.Looks like it is in good shape and the turbo plus Levy front end makes it unique.As for price if you and the seller were happy that's all that matters.Generally speaking addons don't enhance value.If it was a 72 HFWA power shift and S.N. above 270000 with low hours and all original then it would be a rare tractor.

To the right person, the add on can have some value.


A D21 with a Deere 4230-4640 HFWA sold for $48000. And that's for sure not factory and fairly easy and unexpensive to do (except for time). A 5020 with HFWA sold for $35000 not too long ago. It was nicely restored, but the FWA added $15000 at least.

At 14K, it is probably an OK deal. Could you take more pictures of the setup? Where is the pump for the levy kit? Did they use the main front pump, or there is another one?

On the video description, it seems that the peoples are confusing this JD axle for a factory fitted Levy with grill sloped forward. I hope that bidders knew what they are buying...

There was one of these at the Rantual show, first one I have ever seen, it looked like it would do "Much" better than the Deere system,,I thought it was a good clean set up. Pulling power to run the pump from the front PTO made sense..

It appears to have 20qt M&W pan plus fan & shroud which sell for $1000+The older style turbo set up isn't as desireable. Looks like tach isn't original but that is common on 50 year old tractors.Except for being factory the HFWA wasn't very desirable except to collectors and actually hurt value on 30/40 series.

I never got Deere's decision in respect to HFWA. Surely, the engineers had to be aware of the pitfalls and how MFWD would have an advantage in terms of continuous operation. Most likely the engineers were aware and at least ran this by the upper management at Waterloo. I get that it was probably too late to do anything about the 10 series but for the 20 series the transmission case could have been redone to accept a mount for a transfer case. Move one or both batteries to open up the area by the transmission case. Maybe they way over estimated the market for mounted corn pickers, front PTO driven equipment, and front mounted cultivators. It seems like the same stubbornness that made it take way to long to start on 4 and 6 cylinder engine tractors. Water under the bridge at this point but fun to speculate.

Look under the tractor by the front pto. It runs off that and has electric over hydraulic solenoids that it
only works when clutch is out, in forward gears 1-6.

A major show stopper for the mechanical axles of that area is that they don't turn sharp at all. ZF in Germany had good axles back in the early 70s in the 100-06 tractors. But IH1066 sucked at turning big time with their Coleman.

I think IH could have centered the drive by running a chain setup to bring the drive point to the center around the bottom of the oil pan. Sure, it would have added to the cost but the centerline design might have sold more MFWD assemblies. I think that in Deere's case the engineers could not see past the 1950's. Had power brakes and synchronized shift not existed in automobiles prior to the Deere NG tractors I wonder if Deere engineers would have incorporated those features. Back to MFWD there were some transmission designs that did not readily open themselves up to a centerline drive but the engineers could have done more even if the results looked a little awkward.

That is a late 1970s Ford with the ZF3000 series axles. Those turn not super sharp, but twice as much as an IH or other american axles of those days.
I agree that the driveshaft could be a real problem if you are condidering the tractor set for row crops and 60" center to center of the front. Not a problem in many regions at all, so htose designs proved to be successfull.
Massey sold many, many tractors with MFWD and center drives with no U joint, driving directly trough the front axle pivot. (mf188 OR 1080 would be a good exemple).
In a muddy sugar beets or corn silage harvest, the 4020 and 4430 even with HFWD did not stand a chance against the 80HP massey or Fiat with MFWD.

The later Deere 40S, 50, and 55 series with MFWD have mostly a different clutch housing and driveshaft difference between them and a 30-20 series. Deere could have done that long time ago.

Overall, it is John Deere Waterloo not listening to the European market, that wanted that long time ago. The market in Europe had moved to 50% 4Rm above 60HP in the early 70 and probably 70 to 80% by the late 70s.

Deere Mannheim even did sell the 1130 to 2130 with a MFWD, after they hd sold the 2130 to 3130 with HFWD. I guess that the 2030 HFWD would be a nice collector tractor in USA. It has the same axle and same front axle pulling power as a 4640... About the power of an H, I was told.

https://www.olx.ro/oferta/tractor-john-deere-2130ls-4x4-75-hp-ID8Ajg3.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppZX7iqb8fA

Another issue with the Deere front axle is that it runs at 2200 PSI only, maybe less (I dont know how the priority valve messes it up). But it is small pressure.
The same axle on a Deere 6600 or 8820 combine is pushing more like 3000 to 3500PSI, so way more force. To succeed with HFWA, Deere should have installed a 2 stage pump with one stage at 4000PSI for the front axle.

Forget all the adapting of HFWD. Deere should have flattened off an area where the left battery is located so it would accept a transfer case. Run a straight shaft forward of the bellhousing then use a chain drive or another transfer case to move the out put to the center of the tractor and then to the front axle. The transfer case could have been built so it could send the shaft straight through the oscillation point of the front axle eliminating two u-joint assemblies saving on cost. The left battery could have been relocated along the left frame rail near the starter or redesign the right battery area to accept a larger battery or two skinny batteries.

What's the other shifting quadrant next to the cowling? Sure looks tough.

I think Deere really underestimated how big a thing MFWD would become. Their hydraulic design was for the occasional boost, not recognizing farmers would want it as an all the time thing. Eventually they figured it out...

Hydraulic assist 4 wheel drive was originally used on self propelled forage harvesters and then on combines. It was a cost effective to adapt it to tractors. The sales pitch was that a tractor tilling ground with HFWA has less wheel slippage than the same 2WD tractor with duels and you save fuel. Now add the duels to the HFWA tractor and you save more fuel and cover more ground.

(quoted from post at 13:21:44 09/26/17) The sales pitch was that a tractor tilling ground with HFWA has less wheel slippage than the same 2WD tractor with duels and you save fuel. Now add the duels to the HFWA tractor and you save more fuel and cover more ground.

Click to expand...

I wonder how the JD engineers rationalized that a HFWD saved fuel because frt hyd pump had to pump oil nearly all the time if not 100% of the time when tractor was moving??????

Tractor fronts were geared differently than combines
because of that pressure difference.

Tractor was $14500 on YTMAG.

Now is $23000 on tractorhouse.

https://www.external_link.com/listings/farm-equipment/for-sale/21933483/1966-john-deere-4020

Tractor was $14000 here, and is now at $23000 on tractor house.

Deal fell through for me. I never ended up with it.