Help me decide what to do about my 68 JD 2020

I think I've made a decision on this but I'd like input from the forum before I commit. There may be something I am not thinking of and I want to make the best decision.

I have a 1968 JD 2020 diesel. It has been a solid running tractor for the years that I have owned it. It leaks some hyd. fluid and it's not perfect but it has been reliable with good PTO, strong 3 Pt. lift, good sheet metal, etc.

The tractor's in a diesel engine repair shop right now. The engine is locked up. The shop owner pulled the oil pan and although he can't see everything the bottom line is it needs a rebuild. So this post doesn't get even longer I won't cover all the details but I am not interested in doing less than full rebuild. As I see it I have three options.


1. Have the shop rebuild the engine which will be $5,500 - $5,700. The upside to this option is that I get a fresh engine. The downside is my 2020 has the less desirable of the two injector pumps and I have no idea of how long that pump has been on the tractor, at least ten years. It works right now. I learned here, and the shop confirmed that a replacement pump, depending on who's numbers you use, will run me anywhere from $2,200 - $2,800. Used 2020's that I am seeing in the SE that are in what appears to be similar condition to mine are about $6500.


2. This option was offered by the shop. He says that in the past he has bought and installed 219 model JD engines that comes from a company that takes them out of 6000 series JD high boy sprayers. He says he's had good luck doing this. He gets the engine from a large supplier and they typically have less than 1,000 easy hours on them. He explained this in a lot of detail but summarized he says there is no used market for the sprayers and these engines are in tons of different equipment and have a solid record of reliability. Upside is the engine is a bit more powerful than the original, has a newer and available injector pump that comes with the engine, is from the late 80's to early 90's so it is a more modern design. Downside is that it is still a used, not rebuilt, engine. He made a very valid point in saying that if he lacked any confidence in these engines he wouldn't install it knowing the R&R falls to him if it's bad. The cost of this option is the same as rebuilding mine.

3. I sell mine as is and buy another used tractor. The obvious downside to this is I could get lucky or get junk, as I would look for one in the same general price range as options 1 & 2. I have always thought I might find a deal someday on a 1970's tractor in the 90 hp range but that same issues hold true of all used purchases, and they don't go as cheap here as they seem to in other parts of the country so I am tabling that for the future and sticking to something like I have if I go the used route.


So what would you do? As I said I am leaning hard in a direction but I'd like some input in case I am missing something.

Engine swap . Even a 279 will bolt in there .

I agree with b&d,unless you need a bigger tractor. 219/239s are far more common than your engine and much newer. Gives you an extra 10hp which the chassis should handle if you don't abuse it.
That said, if you can get something for your tractor....1000 or 1500 if the rest is good...and add the cost of the rebuild or swap to that you could find a newer decent 60 plus hp tractor for that kind of money....and we all know how much fun the hunt can be...!
Ben

Engine swap.

If you buy another tractor, you do not know its history or problems!

I'm for the engine swap too,,

I wonder what or why it locked up ?

I'll add another vote for the engine swap. It sounds like you have an honest shop there. In my case, it was changing a 2520 from gas to diesel. That made a whole different tractor out of it. The diesel engine I got had the good pump on it, just like you'd be getting with the swap.

If you do an engine to another 50 year old engine that hasn?t been rebuilt it might run a week and blow up just like the one you have so why take the chance

It's locked up because I did a really stupid thing that I knew better than to do. This tractor has lost hydraulic oil since I had it but it never lost much in the way of engine oil. I am normally the type that is real good about checking fluids in my machines, especially if it's been sitting for a month or so. after about five or six weeks of the tractor sitting I decided that I was going to cut some fields. The battery was weak so I brought out a jump box and fired it off. Normally I would have checked the oil before doing that but it was a dark day I had the brilliant idea of pulling it out from under the shed that it's in so I could see better. "It'll only be a minute and this tractor doesn't lose oil" I stupidly told myself. I drove it about ten feet forward and heard a rod knock. I immediately shut it off and checked the oil level. There was no reading on the stick. That had never happened to me before with this tractor. I am still kicking myself because of my own stupidity. I am definitely going to pay for it though, to the tune of almost 6k.

Don t feel too badly . We all here have done as bad or worse.

I would second engine swap.That being said I prefer 2510/2520 series.I would guess salvage value wouldnt be much over $2K A good running 2020 would not bring $5K in our area.

Are you interested in finding a 6000 series sprayer on your own, buying it, and having shop swap the engines out? Might save over buying the engine from a guy who did the exact same thing and then sold it to you for a profit.

If not, and your mechanic recommends it, I d go for buying it from the reseller. A used 1000 hour sprayer engine that is a better engine is probably gonna end up being a better engine versus a rebuilt less desirable one.

On a side note, I m sort of in the same boat right now. I have a a 2020 gas I want to swap a diesel into. I ve since bought a 2030 diesel, but I haven t been able to sell the gasser. Nobody wants a gas tractor, or they want it given to them. I ll be looking for a sprayer now. Thanks for the tip.

I would question why the price of an engine swap is the same as the price of a full engine rebuild, or even an in-frame rebuild. There would be less labor involved in a swap, and the parts should cost less too. The sprayers may not sell for much, probably around $1000 or less like an older combine. It sounds like there might be a lot of markup on the used engine.

Salvage value of your tractor as-is is probably $1000 or more, depending on the tires.

Go with the 219 you will not be sorry. I did the same thing when the 202 in my 2510 needed rebuilt. I bought a used running 219 for $500 and then rebuilt it before installing it. Tom