(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

2 vs. 4 vs. 6 cylinder

S

SouthernFarmall

Member
I understand most (if not all) pre-1960 John Deeres ran on 2 cylinders, and that IH was running 4 cylinder long before then. I was wondering, what is the difference (power, dependability, fuel economy, high-speed torque, low-speed torque, etc.) between these two styles? Just for the sake of discussion, lets add those 6 cylinder Olivers into the mix. Are their engines better, worse, or about the same as IH or JD?
There must have been something good with every design to have major manufacturers stick with them for so long.
I appreciate all replies! SF
 
It"s a simple, logical fact that the more cylinders an engine has, the smoother it runs.

As far as how many cylinders a tractor engine has, probably a combination of factors, such as simplicity of design, reliability, engines available of a particular size, (some tractor manufacturers purchased their engines from an outside source on occasion), engineer"s personal preference, etc. Maybe even the "we"ve always done it that way" syndrome.

Can"t say exactly what would lead to a final decision.
 
It is kind of like Ford vs Chevy, depends on which you like the best. Both have pros and cons. Clearly the Deere 2 cylinder has fewer parts, a selling point back then was there was less to go wrong. I think Deere had a little better fuel economy (at least some models vs IH). The two cylinder engine did have very good low end torque. Deere tractors of this era had a very heavy transmission and diff/bull gears.
Deere changed to 4 and 6 cylinder in 1960, the 2 cylinder ran out of capacity to produce more power and maintain reliability customers expected. The two cylinder engine was getting expensive to manufacture requiring expensive and more difficult to machine due to the requirement for stronger castings. The tooling was also getting old and beginng to wear out. Deere also wanted to upgrade to a tractor that was more comfortable.

International was clearly a smoother running tractor. International was the sales leader until approx. the mid 1960's.

I can't tell you much about Oliver, but hope this helps.
 
I've never worked a 2 cyl JD much but have worked 4 cyl. Farmall and 6 cyl Olivers.

When a spark plug fouls on a 4 cyl, the motor will hardly run under full load. If you are plowing, the problem will need to fixed right away.

On the 6 cyl when the plug fouls, you will notice it but you can finished the round.
 
john deere is the only manufacturer you mention that is still in business without a major merger that said im a jd fan but have worked all the other colors as well and not for just an hour here and there its my opinion they all have there ups and downs for instance jd's are great pull tractors for plowing and such but arent very good for pto work because of the not so smooth idle however the ollies work great for pto work but hook them to a plow and they will fall on there face the fastest of any mostly do to the short stroke farmalls were made CHEAP with parts readily available and widely interchangable so in my honest opinion the tractor a farmer would chose back then depended on what he was going to use it for
 
I own all of those 2 cylinder JD 4 cylinder of many brands and the 6 cylinder Oliver's. I have found as for real pull power the Oliver at least for PTO drive out pulls a 4 cylinder engine with as per the Neb test has the same HP. As for the old JDs my 1935 JD-B will out pull my 1960 Ford 841 for 10 feet but after that 10 feet the JD's flywheel slows down so it looses its pull power. As for fuel I know each one burns more or less depending on what your doing. I.E. the JD-B seems to use less fuel raking hay then say my A/C C
 
Fewer the parts, the larger and beefier they are. Few to pay for when repairs are due.
HP = the amount of air/fuel pumped through the engine per hour. That has to do with total displacement, rpms, camming and port flow.
Torque rise has to do with cam duration and port flow.
 
How about three vs 5 cylinder engines like the 3 cylinder 4000 Fords and some Fiat 5 cylinder tractors odd? Maybe but it does reduce the need for counter balanced crankshafts and less wear and tear on heavy parts. We need to think outside the box.
 
Now that is not very nice. Remember if it weren't for John Deere and his "Steel plow" you IH guys would still be plowing with a stick.
 
2 pistons for a JD 730D cost as much as 6 complete piston/liner sets for a D17D Allis Chalmers. I'll bet sleeves and pistons for an Oliver will be in the same area price wise.
 
Let's say power is equal , the one thing not being addressed here is the front / rear weight bias of these same tractors. The JD by it's design has a lot more of it's weight on the rear where it counts than the others. In bone stock form and equal gross weight , the JD will out pull the others in the loose field soil. Ever notice how far forward in the chassis the engine of an Ollie is? Same with IH. The front of the valve cover on a JD 2cyl is about the same as the rear of the engine on the others. That's why the others need all the added weight. Added weight uses up HP that should be used to pull. John Deere even kept this concept with the "new gen" tractors and even used it as an advertising tool. Look how far back the engine is in a 4020 compared to an Ollie 1850 or IH 806. Those two tractors need added weight or duals to do what the 4020 does stock.
 
Ive owned all of the mentioned brands besides ford. I had a john deere 60, good tractor, good power and a nice tone in the exhaust with a straight pipe, would i want to use one everyday for plowing, probably not. My Farmall H has been the most reliable, it can sit for 6 months and will fire right up. However the clutches on the 2cyl tractors were probably the easiest to replace and back up to a wagon with. My wd45- Good power, was in rough shape when i got it, ask Vito about it haha. He can probably show you some pictures of how beautiful it looks now (if he still has it). As far as Olivers go, i never really cared for them myself, although they did balance out really nice for pulling and if you kept the engine in the higher rpms, they were golden. I work for John Deere now though, so I have to say they are the best, even though Im an IH fan at heart
 
Every engine design is based on a number of compromises. Depending on what the engineers wanted to optimize or sacrifice, you get quite different designs intended for the same purpose. And once a company gets tooled up to make an engine, they are loathe to change it if it works. A number of factors probably influenced JD's decision to phase out two cylinder tractors: manufacturing costs and demands for higher horsepower tractors are two.

I wouldn't use the words "better" and "worse" to describe the various tractor engine designs of the forties and fifties. Just "different".
 
(quoted from post at 04:38:42 04/25/11)
(quoted from post at 03:13:51 04/25/11) That's not neccessarily true. A straight 6 is a lot smoother than a V-8 engine.
Click to expand...

How do you explain that?
Click to expand...

This is a pretty good explanation from Wikipedia:
"An inline six engine is in perfect primary and secondary mechanical balance, without the use of a balance shaft. The engine is in primary balance because the front and rear trio of cylinders are mirror images, and the pistons move in pairs. That is, piston #1 balances #6, #2 balances #5, and #3 balances #4, largely eliminating the polar rocking motion that would otherwise result. Secondary imbalance is avoided because an inline six cylinder crankshaft has six crank throws arranged in three planes offset at 120°. The result is that differences in piston speed at any given point in rotation are effectively canceled."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
FORD TRACTORS - ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS 101
Replies
7
Views
2K
used red MN
U
R
Why did J I Case Lose Respect?
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
Bret4207
B
R
COM friendly fueding page 2
Replies
11
Views
2K
320B
3
T
Found this on the Dain
Replies
7
Views
3K
kj(seil)
K
W
Overdrive in John Deere transmissions
Replies
3
Views
995
The Dukester
T
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top