John Deere 4630 syncro

Does the syncro transmission hurt the value of a 4630 as compared to the powershift or quad range? This is a cab tractor with working AC and good duals.

Just my opinion but I think Power Shift hurts the value most because they can be extremely expensive to rebuild. Not saying the others are cheap and the 16 speeds in the QR has appeal over the alternative of 8 speeds in the SR or PS. I say this because you are talking about a tractor that is at least 40 years old and no matter how well taken care of things that old will start needing repairs eventually.

Yes, it hurts value. Quad ranges have most appeal followed by powershifts, then synchros. Most guys around here only buy a synchro (which is very rare anyway) for stationary PTO work. A synchro in that tractor could cut the value in half. I haven't seen one sell in awhile, but the last one was $5500 for a 4 post rops with synchro at Dodgeville consignment sale. Before that, one sold for $10,000 with cab at sellout auction in Richland center. The 4030 open station with quad range and combine engine repower brought $10,100 at that sale.

no it was just another option when it was new, only thing about it today is its old tractor no matter what tranny is in it

No,should make no difference.That tractor is old enough that the transmission wont matter.But,It's also 'rare' enough that it might be worth more money to a collector.I've never seen,or heard of a 4630 syncro.Always thought PS was the only transmission choice available for that tractor.I'ts 46 years old.All I can say is there are a 4430 and 4440 in the neighborhood with syncro. They have had ZERO problems with those two tractors after many thousands of hrs.Other tractors have come and gone,but those two old syncro tractors stay around. Price it the same as any other 4630.

I think you could find that a quad isn't cheap to fix either. I have dumped a lot of money into the hi lo on our 4230, which is our only quad range.

Your thinking of the 4840 that was Powershift only.

When I was in high school, we tried out a used 4630 with a syncro range transmission. That is the only one I have seen personally, but I have also seen a few listed in various classified ads. The 4630 we did purchase had a power shift transmission. Always felt it needed one gear in between 4th and 5th, because that was quite a wide step in between. The Quad Range offered that necessary step in a 4630, and the rest of the 30 and 40 series tractors, but it also was a matter of personal preference. I didn't like the 8 speed transmission with the lack of gears, for heavy tillage, simply because of wanting a gear midway between 4th and 5th. I did like the 8 speed powershift for ease of use by less experienced operators for hauling grain or that sort of work. I also liked the 8 speed powershift for cultivating and planting. I tend to prefer the 8 speed syncro for loader work.

I am not completely positive, but I believe the 8 speed syncro transmission in the 30 series is set up similarly to the earlier 4000 tractor, whereby they lacked synchronizers between for forward and reverse stations in the transmission. They were only synchronized between the forward stations, which is essentially how the quad range is set up, and I believe a quad range is essentially an 8 speed syncro with a hi-lo powershift clutch pack inserted into the drivetrain. I don't want to open up a can of worms here, but the hi-lo in the quad range was Deere's alternative to IH's Torque Amplifier and Ford's Dual Power.

Having had a 4630 powershift; yes, repairing an 8 speed powershift can and does get expensive. Having had a 4640 quad range; repairing one of them can also get expensive.

I want it mostly for running a tub grinder but other PTO work as well because it has both 540 and
1000. Based on the prices you quote I think the tractor I'm looking at is in the ballpark mostly
because of the good cab and working A/C. Tired of getting wet all winter and choking on dust all
summer.

No 540 rpm pto on a 4630. You have to look at 4430 or smaller. The 4630's, to my knowledge, were the smaller 1 3/8 inch diameter 1000 only. My 4640 has 1 3/4 inch diameter 1000 pto.

4630's only came in 1000 pto

Yes, you are correct, I have the small 1000 on my tub grinder so it filled that bill, not sure what I was thinking about on the 540 comment but I know the tractor only has the small shaft 1000.

We did the Hi-Lo on the 8430 along with the synchronizer assembly 20 years ago. The whole bill was 4,300 dollars then but that included two axle bearings under the "while we had it tore apart let's address it" plan.

Well I am late to this post. So here goes. The JD 4630 is an OK early higher horse power tractor. What I mean by that is they did not have many issues but has some limits. The main one being they had a poor torque curve. If you lugged them much under 1800-1900 they fell on there face. So that means IF your doing tillage you need to be able to change gears. Therefore the Power shifts and Quad range transmissions are the most desired. There where a fair number of the JD 4630s with the 8 speed syncro range transmission. I have bought/sold/traded 3-4 of them. They mainly where sold in the south but you do see them in the Midwest. The 8 speed synrco transmissions was the cheapest. The positive is they where pretty rugged. The negative is they usually where the "big dog" on just about any farm they were in when they were newer. So they got the hard jobs and usually where turned up too. The majority of them around here where running 200 HP. That is pushing a JD 404 a long ways. So they can be pretty beat in the motors/transmission/rear ends. They also where 1 3/8 1000 PTO only. So no 540 PTO. They had the early sound guard cab so with working AC they are not a bad ride.

Now for value. The JD 4630 is the cheapest 30 series tractor in value. A JD 4230 or 4430 will out sell them. The 1000 PTO kills them. Then you add in the one your looking at having the 8 speed syncro it is not a high value tractor. If it is in perfect shape with shiny paint and an overhaul engine your still talking around $10,000 top end. I have seen good running but poor paint and cab rough one not bring $6500-7500. Even then they do not have buyers fighting over them. Heck pretty nice JD 4640s are hard pressed to go for much over $12-14K now at private sales.

So if you want it for mainly 1000 Rpm PTO work and can get it for the $8-9K then it would be an OK deal. Much more money than that and I would pass. You can get a newer better tractor for a little more money.