Top 4 list -worst John Deere's

SHALER

Member
Ok, the polar vortex is starting to make itself known so Ill throw a log on the fire. Give me the 4 worst JD tractors SINCE 1960, basically the new Gens on. One small
request please...as an example, if you had a particularly bothersome 6030, we dont need to hear about how it caused your drinking problem, drained your bank account, and
therefore should be on the "Four worst list". Im fairly confident the 6030, by almost all measures, would not make this list. Im looking more for popular consensus. Ill
get the ball rolling by suggesting two, the 2010 and 2840.
 
I don't know about the 1010 and 2010. Unremarkable ag tractors but they have their defenders on the industrial side. If you got a good one then you got a very good tractor but if you got a bad one then you would be pulling the hair out of your head until it left the yard for good. Some people criticize the 4010 but mine has been here since new and it has been an excellent tractor. Some have had good luck with the 8630 but a lot of them were not overly durable. JD support is pretty good overall in this area and that is a big reason that JD tractors will get looks by me.
 
One of the biggest problem with the 1010 and 2010 is the way the sleeves are made and they come in a set of 4 that are hook together with a plate and if you can find a set of sleeve they cost a lot of $$$
 
I come up with the 2010,2840 and the 2940. If I had to have a 4th maybe a 3010 gas with a MS carb or a 4030 gas. Both were gutless gas drinkers. I have also heard (no experience) the 3150's were very trouble prone. Tom
 
Is the 2840 the same tractor as the Mannheim 3130 sold here in Canada, right? The 3130 actually was not a bad tractor, not the best, but good used ones still sell for around 10k, and they are sold pretty quick. Was there some differences in the two of them?

Ben
 

Diesel 2010, diesel 1010, spark ignition 2010 and some of the 40 series Mannheim tractors .
The spark ignition 1010 was an entirely acceptable tractor .
 
(quoted from post at 22:45:49 02/05/21) One of the biggest problem with the 1010 and 2010 is the way the sleeves are made and they come in a set of 4 that are hook together with a plate and if you can find a set of sleeve they cost a lot of $$$

If you can find one? All you got to do is call your Deere dealer as the Sleeve & Deck are still available.
Reliance also makes over sized pistons for the 2010 gas.
 
The 510 and 710 models were considered less of a tractor than most other JDs of that era.

Ben
 
Anybody remember the 4000... 4020 motor on 3020 drive train. IIRC. way more motor then anything else.. lots of Hydralic problems, couldnt keep clutch, Trans or rearend in em.. Worked on a bunch of em, never was impressed.
 
Agree with the rest mine would be 2950,55 and all 30,40,50 series fourwheel drives I think they were engineered with crayons and a bar napkin
 
4000 is not a 3020 drivetrain. Look in parts book. Does have 3 1/8 inch axles. Dad bought one with not quite 3000 hours on on sale in 1979. I still have it. Head never been off. When new had smaller tires, lighter wheel castings, only the 540 pro shaft but internals for 1000 rpm. Also one less headlight, only one grab handle and step. Different tach and no shielding around rock shaft and associated toolbox. No front pro. Probably missing some. Tractor now has 16.9 x 38 rubber and castings off 4440. Both handles, steps and a 1000 rpm pro stub shaft.
 
The 4000 did not have a 3020 rearend in them the rearend was unique to only the 4000 they had the axle machined down outside of the out side bearing and 3020 wheel could be used on them . They did have a different casting and rim unless they were ordered with different wheels .the rims had 2 lugs in them kinda like the old G had . They did have a 3 pt like the early 3020. differential lock was an option. Did not have battery covers or scv cover tin . I have 2 one is a 1969 and was a loader tractor for many years it got overhauled at 9200 hours never touched the rearend. The other is a 1970 model it got overhauled at 11000 hours was a main tractor till 1979 pulled a 35 jd cutter and a 5 bottom plow that one does have diff lock and heavy wheels . It has 16000 hours on now and never had the rearend apart . They do have the same clutch as a 4020 . Both have 18/4 34 tires
 
The sleeve set for the 1010 back when I priced them where over $500 and that was just the sleeves. No pistons no gasket just the sleeve set
 
Someone must have let it freeze, How in the heck is the deck gonna crack sandwiched in between head and block. Maybe to cheap to put in antifreeze. The big reason the deck gets cracked is someone don't know how to remove deck and sleeves,,and DON'T read the service manual on how to remove sleeve deck!!
 
We have done well with our 8430. Steigers may have more raw power but the guy down the road from me years ago among others bought their new pickup trucks wrenching on Steigers.
 
Easy to have the desk crack due to one or tow sleeve stick tight when removing them to replace the o-rings so the deck twist and then crack where the sleeve mount to the deck.
 
We've had Versatile, Steiger, and JD over the years from that era. The JDs were by far the most expensive to keep running. We had an 8440 and I would say the reason you have done well with your 8430 is because you can't tear them up. They are gutless!!! Ours would bareley out pull our 4640. It never works when you put a small block engine in a big 4x4. Course we lost the engine in it. Probably had something to do with making the engine part of the frame and mounting the front axle right on the bottom of it so every jolt gets transferred to the block. Ever wonder why the 50 series engines had a stronger block? Thats why. We had an 8850 too and our dealer had to rent a whole other building when it went down. There wasn't enough room in their shop. The bill was $30,000 and that was in 1996. Wonder how many pickups that would have bought. Back when the 30/40/50 series were still on the front lines, you could walk into any JD shop around here and find one split 15 ways scattered all around getting worked on. They did have few perks like hydraulics but that wasn't a big deal back then. JD didn't have a highly dependable 4x4 until they copied Steiger/Versatile and made the 60 series a modular design.
 
Like I said if it is done according to service manual sleeve deck would not get cracked!!! Ya work the bottom of EACH sleeve a little with block of wood!!! Individual needs to read service manual!!
 
Well I guess you needed to see the one I have. Cracked sleeve. Cracked deck and yes it had good antifreeze in it. POOR design from the get go but I guess you believe your oh so smart. Sure would be nice if you left me alone your getting to be a pain in the back sides and I thought you where a friend bu guess your not any more. I leave you alone so pleas do the same
 
Why the 2950/55. Have had both though maybe I missed something being 4-13 years old at the time. Have my uncles 2950 currently to keep it exercised. Seems to be a good tractor of unknown hours.
 
Here they were marketed as a 4020,30,40 replacement with mfwd and 260/280 loaders the clutch system is a joke and if you look at the transmission the 4020 is way heavier if they were used for light work they were ok but if you used them hard the only thing that lasted was the engine
 
The 4000 was designed to deliver 4020 power at the PTO but to pull smaller implements because the ground tilled on an annual basis was minimal. A good option for small dairy farms that maybe put in a few acres of corn plus small grains but needed a lot of power to chop silage.
 
Our 2950 did in fact replace a 4020 with an Ezee on loader. The dry clutch was a weakness in them. But between the MFWD, and SG cab nobody missed the 4020. Both tractors were used for haying only.
 
Back in the 70's, on Dad's farm in northern ND, he picked a quite a bit of extra land in '72, which meant we had to upgrade from a two wheel drive to a four wheel drive for the main tillage tractor. Dad and a friend both ordered 800 Versatiles and the they came in with consecutive serial numbers. After 7 years of use, the 800 got traded for an 875. At the time, Dad looked at getting an 8640, but could not justify the extra money for less horsepower as the 875 had about another 20 HP at the drawbar. Another neighbor wound up buying the 8640 and Dad found out he had dodged a bullet. That 8640 wasn't able to do 2 days worth of spring's work that year when it was new. It was in the shop twice, once for cooling issues and another time for hydraulic issues and parts took a long time to arrive. The owner had to do spring's work with a loaner 7520, which was a struggle as he had upgraded his tillage equipment to match the 8640's HP.

When I moved to the Red River Valley in the early 80's, I was surprised to see that while farmers here had JD everything, their four wheel drives tractors were not, mostly Steigers instead. I found out that it was widely accepted that the JD four wheel drives could not stand up to the heavy pulling in the ancient lakebed soil. Which incidentally, was exactly the conditions the Steigers, which were built locally, were made for. It wasn't until the late 90's or so, before the JD four wheel drives began to become popular here.

I think the reason that the JD four wheel drives struggled so much early on, compared to competitors like Versatile and Steiger, is the engineering approach that was taken. Versatile and Steiger looked to heavy logging and road construction equipment as a foundation for their designs, while JD thought that they could basically add on another powered axle to a conventional two wheel drive tractor as their design basis. Thus when you compare the tractors of that era, the JDs just aren't as ruggedly constructed. Another concern, was that while Versatile and Steiger were using outside manufacturers engines that had been in production and use for a while, JD was trodding new ground in terms of horsepower in their engines, which was naturally going to have some growing pains.
 
The 8850 never should have been built but all manufacturers have mistakes in that regard. Last I knew there was an 8850 not too far away sitting in a shed for reasons not known.
 

Forbpe, worst Deere are all Tractors with sleeves and deck design (Dubuque or Manheim), the 3130/2840 (but I think that 2940/30-3140 is one of the best).

Then the Deere 7720 to 7920 with Autopower are quite the piece of garbage reliability wise compared to Fendt tractor.

The reliability of the Deere 6030 series engines left a lot to be desired ( exhaust manifolds, turbochargers, cylinder heads gaskets)...
 
2010 Diesel. Dad couldn't believe JD could build such a PS. Original owner brought it back in a week. Traded it for a 3010. Rated 45 hp. Ours could barely put out 38. But was a good hay baling tractor.
 
. Just like today And the e series or other cheaper tractors it was made to keep up with the cheap junk sold buy the other cheap manufacturers it was a price point tractor
The 4000
 
(quoted from post at 13:21:36 02/05/21) Ok, the polar vortex is starting to make itself known so Ill throw a log on the fire. Give me the 4 worst JD tractors SINCE 1960, basically the new Gens on. One small
request please...as an example, if you had a particularly bothersome 6030, we dont need to hear about how it caused your drinking problem, drained your bank account, and
therefore should be on the "Four worst list". Im fairly confident the 6030, by almost all measures, would not make this list. Im looking more for popular consensus. Ill
get the ball rolling by suggesting two, the 2010 and 2840.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, mine is that the worst DEERE's (while not up to the standards we expect from DEERE) the smaller tractors were not much worse than the average of the industry standard/offerings of some other manufacturers in the same era.

In my area where heavy tillage is the most common use of tractors IH sure had their share of transmission and final drive issues and more than one neighbor was put out of business when their Alice Chompers engines ventilated themselves or their transmissions or final drives failed. Repeatedly.

Getting into the big four wheel drive era of the 70's into the 80's anyone ever try to keep the engine together in an Alice Chompers 8850 or an IH 4786 or even the big 4X4 Cases of that era?

They ALL caused financial hardship and RUIN in that era when they "went down", not only the green ones.
 
Marketing is not the fault of the tractor. Never had a loader on one. 2950 was 2wd and 2955 was mfwd. Both had cabs. They were used for everything tillage through chopping back in the day and were the big tractor on the farm. Current 2950 2wd and no cab leads a pretty light use life. Uncle only put about 20 hrs a year on it for the last decade plus. I would never buy a 2x50/55 with a cab just because of the unique clutch system.
 
I thought the 4000 was a 4020 engine with 4010 running gear. As far as the sleeve and deck design, I havent had any issues. Im sure other folks have had trouble but the problems I have run into (on the 1010 anyway) have been in the transmission, and those issues can be traced directly back to a lack of maintenance.
 
2010 had to be the all time worst tractor I ever had too this day I still cuss when I see one. I did take the engine off My 2010 and put it on a 1010 . 1010 are nice when running but a royal pain to work on the top end as the steering shaft goes trough fuel tank.
 
No it did not have a 4010 rearend or transmission The 4000 had narrower planet gears in the axle
housing then the 4020 but wider then the 4010 . these parts were only used on the 4000. If you need
these parts now they are no longer available But 4020 parts can be used . But you would need the
axle housing also . They did not give much of a problem . The 4000 in its first year without extra
options was 900 lbs lighter an 900 dollars cheaper. part of the weight difference was in the
lighter cast rear wheels and 2 inch narrower rims lighter 3 pt arms less tin .
 
Actually the final drive ring gear like most of the tractor was a 4020 part as well. (same part / number as 4020) The final drive casting was different / unique to the 4000 due to the smaller axle bearing the smaller diameter axle shaft required as well as the planetary carrier. Just some more facts not fiction! DW
 
The block is just an open tub that retains coolant around sleeves. No casting in top of block to machine for individual sleeves. This design not only poor but an odd ball! DW
 
If that is the case, why does JD list over size piston and rings for the 1010 diesel in the John Deere parts manual!!!!
 

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