JD 4630

BOUGHT A JD 4630, TRACTOR IN GOOD SHAPE POWER SHIFT WITH DUALS 4,000 HRS, NEED A SECOND TRACTOR TO PULL 14" INTERNATIONAL 501 DISC BREAKING NEW GROUND. ARE THESE GOOD STOUT TRACTORS WITH OUT MANY ISSUES

Well they are CHEAP horsepower around here. The 1000 RPM only PTO kills them on resale. They are not great on fuel economy and have very little lugging torque. Pull them under 16-17 hundred RPM and they fall on there face. The 8 speed power shift works well and held up great but it is not enough gears for heavy tillage You will find your running against the governors or lugging it with some tillage tools.

Now for some good news. They never really had any major issues mechanically. They have a fairly good cab for their age. Parts are readily available for them.

You should have gotten it at a bargain. It takes a real sharp one with a Quad range to break 15K around here. Average ones bring JD 4020 price, 10-12K for average ones is not uncommon.

A quadra Range would have been a better choice but the power shift is a proven transmission.
I had one with Quadra Range and once I put radial tires 20.8 X 38 I had a good outfit. They commonly put out close to 200HP on a dyno right from the factory. They were known for bad bearings in the rear end. The 4o series solved that problem but also dropped the hp back down to 150hp. John Deere replaced water pumps, radiator fan and radiator under warranty trying to cool them down. I added a small car radiator with a electric fan in front of the fuel tank to mine and it never over heated after that. Looked a little crude but solved the problem. The 4630 was a good tractor for me and yeah it took fuel but you got more done per hour so fuel wasn't a issue. Lugging down - we ran them full throttle and if you dropped rpms you simply dropped from c2 to c1 with a flip of the lever on the go the did the opposite when you pulled through the tough spot.

jbradford, The JD 4630 is a pretty good ol tractor considering a lot of things. Relatives had one, after they had been out about 4 yrs. PS tranny, Never had any trouble with it, the 1.5 mph jump from 4th to 5th is a basic thing not that much one can do in 5th. So 4th is the Go to Gear. Any JD PS on Loader work is Legendary! Our tractor was No Exception, NEVER Beat doing loader work, Period.
Field work Our 4630 PS was to replace our 5020 syncro-Shift 8-speed. Our 5020 would work circles around the 4630 all day long and straggle to stay
up in sight of it.
We pulled a 21 ft Jd offset with it in Okla Panhandle sand, same disk we pulled with our 5020! it handled it not as well as it.
Our 4630 was OK on most jobs But where it truly shined head and shoulders was pulling our 650 A&L Tandem axle Grain Cart in Wheat or Corn harvest.
Catching on the run, Far end of a field 1/2 mile back to the top side, Full Buggie!, Drift 3 rows over to the left, put a little distance between the Header and Tractor, Full throttle, Slam the shifter to 8th and sit back and feel the of ol B!tch just gather ground like a Corvette on open asphalt. She could get spooky.
Only internal tran/rearend problems we ever had was PTO Clutched got warped after an older Grain cart gear box S-Canned and fouled it up.
So they have their Strong points, and weak points Fuel consumption is what it is!, Your plowing gears is 1-4. Lighter work 5th some, Grain drill maybe 6th throttled back some. Loader work, Round bales 1-6th gears.
Our 4630 had a cooling problem, tried all the usual fixes, remove one or both thermostats, New thermostats,.....Finely removed the old steel radiator replaced with new Copper one, No more heating problems!
Just stay on top of your gauges! Water Temp!, Oil temp! Tranny temp! make sure the idiot light all work and correctly!
Could you have gotten a better tractor that is debatable. But you got as good an all around using tractor that can be had for the dollar spent. Depending on soil type, and Moisture you have 150+ horses there so pay attention to what you are doing you can tear up a lot real quickly if one goes to sleep for just a short few seconds
I think You Done Good. ...IMO
Later,
John A.

JD where can you buy 4020's for 10-12 I don't see them for less than about 15-20 unless they are slap worn out.