Value of 4010 Diesel

chas036

Member
Is the 4010 diesel with a syncro a good reliable tractor? Any inherent problems I should look for when looking one over?

At an auction, what would be your max bid for this model of tractor if it is in average condition, runs good with tires 70%?

Can you still get all the parts to fix them like the diesel injector pump, rings , sleeves, manifolds, etc?

How can you tell if the injector pump is going bad when it is running?
 
Parts availability is good. A lot of new parts available with perhaps an engine block being problematic as not offered new and used are not just laying around but no where near the problem of a 3020. I've seen three sell in the last couple of years with a low of 3,300 dollars for a fairly rough diesel to 7,000 dollars for a pretty good but not quite show quality diesel. The big thing is to check the PTO stud bolts to see if tight and to operate the PTO at 540 RPM to make sure it is OK. Converted to 12V is a plus. I can tell you from personal experience batteries last much longer in the 12V system. Check the 3 point yoke for leaks around the draft control. If you could hook up to a remote cylinder you could check for an internal valve leak via the cylinder creeping. Make sure shift linkage is crisp and tight and once in position there is no grinding as though not engaged. WAtch for excessive weaping out of the left hand holes in the block. All in all a pretty good tractor but there are things to watch.
 
Well they are up to 58 years old now ! They are the forerunner of the greatest tractor ever made --the 4020 ! Weak spot on them was the pto had a little pin up inside the tractor that would break or bend ? requiring a major split to fix.
 
How can you tell if this pin is bad when trying out the tractor? What usually causes this to break or bend? I would be using the pto only for mowing with a bush 4 foot hog and nothing more.
 
A 4 foot brush hog ? Get a nice compact like a JD650 if that is all you are planning to do ?

What happened to the 3pt snow blower dream ?

I think you would have to put it on a pto load to make sure it works right ?
 
Trying to run a 4010 on a 4 foot brush hog is like driving a thumb tack with a 16 pound sledge hammer. It will do the job but you won't like the results. Four foot won't even begin to take out your tire tracks. To run a brush hog that size about all you need is 20-25 hp a 4010 puts out 80. If that is the biggest thing you need a tractor for a newer compact utility tractor would be better suited to your needs. I would recommend you start a new thread at the top under Tractor Talk and ask for suggestions on what everyone thinks would be better. List everything you plan to use the tractor for and everything you think you might use it for. John Deere isn't the only tractor made. In Tractor Talk you will get a bigger pool of opinions to choose from.
 
Engine block is no problem as 4020 is a match.
There are plenty of those around.
As everyone else mentions, the pto is the big drawback.
 
The bush hog is the only pto use for that tractor . I will probably use it more to do plowing and disking and retire my 730 gas to lighter duty like spreading manure.

As for the snow blower, I am still looking. I did buy a great condition oliver 1800 for $2400 that has a low reveres of 1.8 mph which is perfect for my winter snow blowing tractor.
 
They are good tractors--one we had was the best tractor on the farm. If it has the original head and the fat injectors, they can be expensive to service. But the head and injectors could be upgraded when the time comes.
 
I've got a new frontier 7ft snowblow I'm going to sell. It would fit nice behind a 4010.
 
When did this Oliver come into the picture ? I read before you got a MF but then was still looking as you didn't like the MF.
May as well use the Oliver more and work the ground and mow with it. Guys that have Olivers like them.
 
(quoted from post at 19:17:14 01/18/18) When did this Oliver come into the picture ? I read before you got a MF but then was still looking as you didn't like the MF.
May as well use the Oliver more and work the ground and mow with it. Guys that have Olivers like them.

I still have the Massey 85 that I bought in dec. , but as soon as spring comes, I plan on selling it. As stated once before, I just don't feel comfortable driving it because of low seat position and the position of the clutch peddle. I just don't like straddling the transmission. I prefer to sit up high like in the Oliver and my john deere two cylinders.

The oliver runs great and maybe after I start using it , I could easily see it might become my tractor of choice. Currently my tractor of choice that use is the most is my 620, followed by my B.
 
If the four 3/8" bolts are tight that hold the 540 PTO stub to the hub plus the PTO turns once the lever is engaged then there is no problem. Bending or breaking of the pin only occurs when the 4 bolts are run loose. This means that the drive is shifting from 540 to 1000 RPM while running which it is not designed to do.
 
Yes, And a 4010 is half the price of a 4020 for a good reason. It's about half the tractor! Dad bought a '63 that already had the 4020 kit in the engine December of 1968. Farmer selling it said it burned a little oil. Took it to the self-proclaimed Best Deere diesel mechanic in 3 or 5 midwestern states for a tune-up in January, blew a frt tire on the way there so both frt tires replaced, 11Lx15's, Couple weeks later got new Power Torque GY rears. Got new paint. Take it to the field and it had ALL it wanted pulling our Case 5-14 pull plow with Midwest plow harrow. Plow became a 4-14 about the 3rd day of plowing. It would burn 4-5 quarts of oil per tank of fuel. No leaks, Burned it. Burned oil till we rebuilt it with M&W sleeve & pistons 2+ yrs later. 24 volt electrical system was a bad joke. Tractor had never had a loader on it but in 5-6 years and 2500 hours the tierods were totally worn out, right wheel tierod fell apart plowing. Steering wandered. Dad only ever used the PTO to pull our #30 combine, Every load he checked the 4 capscrews on the stub shaft. Just before the land auction summer of '72 the landlord's kids wanted to settle their Mom's estate, Dad hooked our 6 ft Brillion bush hog to it to mow waterways, roadbanks, around buildings. The capscrews came loose, pto tried to shift while running and the tractor went back to the shop that did the engine rebuild for the pto rebuild. Tractor was sold out of the repair shop, we didn't need or want it. Never had a tractor so hard to keep running for only 140-150 hours a year. It was a constant MONEY PIT. It plowed about 120 to 140 acres a year, disked ahead of corn/bean planter, cultivated, combined 30-40 acres of oats 3 years, and really nothing else! A Farmall Super H pulled the planter, chopped corn stalks, ground cattle feed, did hog chores, mowed, raked, baled hay, hauled in all the corn, oats, and beans, and went 10 miles round trip to town for hog feed 2-3 times a week all summer 5000 pounds at a time.

Buy a 4020 or a 756/826.
 
(quoted from post at 15:46:46 01/18/18) Watch for excessive weaping out of the left hand holes in the block.

Will all the 10 series and 20 series tractors eventually start leaking through the weep holes? Is this an inherent problem in theses tractors?

Can you put in new sleeves and pistons and rings "without" having to split the tractor?
 


You would be better off to split it for pulling the motor. But I reckon if the block needed no machine work you could do it without ever splitting the tractor.
 
The weep holes are there to let you know there is a problem but it is not a problem area and O Rings along with liners do not fail at a greater rate than anything else out there. If the engine needs no other work then you can do new sleeves, pistons, etc. in frame. If everything checks out that I discussed down below you do not need to fear that you have a troublesome tractor. Yes, the 4020 is nicer and JD obviously improved the design but the 4010 in good condition should serve you a long time at minimum cost. I can speak about 4010 diesels because we have had one on this farm since it was new. Dad always considered it the best tractor ever bought here. By the way I don't know where you can buy a good 4010 at half the price of a 4020 but not where I live. An early 4020 (1964-1968) might price at a couple thousand dollars higher than a 4010 but talking apples and apples on condition a very good early 4020 might sell for 8,500-9,000 dollars and I already gave the example of a 7,000 dollar 4010 of which I was at the sale to see it sold.
 
Sorry your 4010 was a lemon but most were not. My big tractor for the first 10 years I farmed was a 4010. We always pulled an Oliver 5 bottom 14 inch plow or a Deere 4 bottom 16 inch with no problems. The oil use should be blamed on the person who did the overhaul. I did have pto problems once but that was caused by a bad u joint in a forage harvester that I did not pick up soon enough. We used the pto hard and changed it often between 540 and 1000 rpm. My 4010 has over 10,000 hours on it and has been overhauled once. Nothing wrong with a 4010 but the 4020 had improvements. Tom
 
Do not let the weep holes bother you a lot. The newer 4020's do not even have them. I have a 3020 here that has been leaking for over 10 years. I plugged them rather than looking at the leak. Someday it will get water in the oil but so will thousands more 3020 and 4020's. I would wait untill it either gets water in the oil or starts showing signs of needing an overhaul(high oil use, excessive blow by or very hard starting). Tom
 
Ours pulled an Oliver 565 5 X 16 plow on loamy ground usually in 4th and 5th on the sand. This was before the 4020 kit went into it during 1976.
 
(quoted from post at 18:34:17 01/19/18) Ours pulled an Oliver 565 5 X 16 plow on loamy ground usually in 4th and 5th on the sand. This was before the 4020 kit went into it during 1976.

What is the 4020 kit and are they still available?
 
IIRC the 4010 diesel engine sleeves and pistons sub up to the larger bore ones for a 4020. Same thing in a diesel 3010 you can put 3020 sleeves in it. May be some injector and or timing changes needed along with it ? Most of them should all of needed overhauled at least once by now and should be updated.
 
A 4020 overhaul kit is oversized pistons (larger diameter) to increase displacement from about 380 CID to 404 CID. The 4020 kit is all that is available now, I think the original 4010 kit was discontinued back in the 1960's or 1970's.
 
I just went to look at a 4010 diesel that will be in an auction in a few weeks and I saw water dripping from the weep holes without the tractor even starting. From the rust stains, it looks like it has been doing it awhile. When I checked the oil it was jet black, so I assume it is not getting into the oil yet.

The tractor looks in good overall shape with almost new rear tires. I haven't started it , but are these weep hole drips something that should keep me bidding on the tractor? If this is the only problem, what would be the max you would bid?

If it does need new seals and sleeves, what is the price of those? I can do the work myself. How do you pull the old sleeves out?
 
There is a risk just to be clear but a lot of those tractors have run thousands of hour that way. If you buy it pull out the dipstick and look at the oil on a regular basis but that should be done on any tractor.
 
Does the 4010 gas model have the same problems with weep holes and cavitation? Is the 4010 gas a good reliable engine?
 

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