Buying Advice JD 2940 deal or no deal?

[full throttle]

I bought a 160 recreational property in Feb and it's time to buy a tractor. It's in Throckmorton county Texas, with about 100 ft of elevation change. Tractor use will be maintaining dirt roads and fence lines, putting in 15 or so acres of food plots, mowing a few pastures, clearing brush, etc. Everyone says get 4x4, a FEL and as much hp as I can afford. I agree these are key features for me and would like to stay under 15k.

I have an acquaintance who has a 1982 JD 2940 80 hp on his farm that they are not using and is asking 14k. It's has 3k hrs approximately. He says there is a little bucket creep on the FEL but could be fixed very easily for under $750 with a joystick conversion. It's a KD loader and I have confirmed this with them.

Lastly, he says the tractor starts up perfect when cold, but after its warmed up, if you shut it down, a little diesel bleeds into the cylinder and can be a little finicky to restart. Everything else on the tractor is in good working order. Does this sound like a good deal or should I be looking at other options? Looking around on CL Etc, I can't seem to find any deal remotely close to this one but have only been searching for about two months. Thanks for any suggestions and here are a few pics.

 

[RPW]

Price seems fair compared to tractorhouse. You might be able to talk him down a bit but from the pictures I wouldn't be afraid of it. The hours are ok but if you aren't mechanically inclined you could incure some hefty dealer repairs. From what you've described it sounds like the injectors are weak and probably need replacing hence the diesel leaking down into the cylinders.

 

[buickanddeere]

The hydraulics have been hammering due to a starved front pump if scv's were used to operate the loader.
A closed Center joystick supplied from a T into the SCV valve and drains into a ported transmission filter is required.
2wd and a loader isn't 4wd and a loader.
The transmission hydraulics can be a problem if somebody has allowed the filter to plug up or if the wrong oil was used. There are updates for the internal transmission pipe work if It's been shook apart.
Test the engine coolant with a test strip to check the corrosion inhibitor .
It isn't going to do any harm to talk to a JD sales person about a 5055E 4x4 ust out of curiosity . Major repairs on an old tractor will total up to the price of a new tractor.

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

Enjoy the site... and here's a wee bit more info on this tractor: TractorData.com John Deere 294 tractor information

 

[MF283]

If that was around here, i'd buy it, rather have it than a newer tractor.

Ronnie

 

[buickanddeere]

The hydraulics have been hammering due to a starved front pump if scv's were used to operate the loader.
A closed Center joystick supplied from a T into the SCV valve and drains into a ported transmission filter is required.
2wd and a loader isn't 4wd and a loader.
The transmission hydraulics can be a problem if somebody has allowed the filter to plug up or if the wrong oil was used. There are updates for the internal transmission pipe work if It's been shook apart.
Test the engine coolant with a test strip to check the corrosion inhibitor .
It isn't going to do any harm to talk to a JD sales person about a 5055E 4x4 ust out of curiosity . Major repairs on an old tractor will total up to the price of a new tractor.

I didn't open up the images to save data. Now seeing it's 4WD that does make a difference . Look around the place, somebody has removed the rops and tossed it in a corner .
Change the transmission filter and tell us if there is anything in it.

 

[hawkeye_miner]

That's not a bad price, but I would run a few tractors before you jump on that deal.

 

[jenkinsph]

Tractor looks good in the pictures but can't see much detail. Hours are low and seem to match the appearance imo. If you could buy it for about $13,500 then you could get new injectors and the joystick valve and stay within your budget. I agree to ask about the rops too.

 

[full throttle]

Thanks. Can someone please explains what's the Rops are? And when looking at other tractors, how important do you feel 4x4 is? Most opinions I've gotten so far is that it's a must for most guys. But you sure can get a lot more tractor in 2wd it seems.

 

[buickanddeere]

Thanks. Can someone please explains what's the Rops are? And when looking at other tractors, how important do you feel 4x4 is? Most opinions I've gotten so far is that it's a must for most guys. But you sure can get a lot more tractor in 2wd it seems.

Anybody that has not operated both a 2WD loader tractor and a 4WD loader tractor on anything but a concrete feedlot wouldn't know. Off concrete the 4WD is better for loader work.
ROPS = roll over protection system.