4310 Mid Mount PTO operation

JackIL · May 2, 2003

I'm not Andy, but will answer anyway. For the 4100 there is a kit available to hold the mower all the way up. Same kit for the 4010, 4110, and 4115. No independent hydraulic lift for the mower on these tractors. For all other 4X00 and 4X10 tractors, there is a 3rd SCV kit available which can be used to control the MMM. Then the Dual SCV for the loader is free to operate the loader. The rockshaft of course has it's own independent valve and lever.

JackIL

thcri · May 2, 2003

JackIl,

So basically he did purchase an accessory for his tractor right? Do you know roughly how much that kit is?

murph

ps: i deleted my last post if you saw it, I asked some questions that you answered in your post that I did not see.

Anonymous Poster · May 2, 2003

Murph,

See this for my experience with the 3rd SCV issue /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The MMM will "lock" all the way up by turning the height adjustment knob all the way in. That's what I do when I want to use the loader, and have to disconnect the MMM cylinder hoses, since I don't have the 3rd SCV. 3rd SCV is only $200 if you order it with the tractor.

Andy

Anonymous Poster · May 3, 2003

I have a 4310 and have the same issues with the mid PTO both in design and enagaging it. I was wondering why on such a nice tractor is was setup this way. I figured it must have had something to do with cost. I hope down the road it gets raised up on the list a bit on the next series.

Craig

JJC · May 4, 2003

You can just leave the front pto switch pulled up all of the time. If you use something from the rear pto is the only time you would want to shut off the front switch. I think it is a great set up, It is easy to maintain, and lets face it who wants an extra lever and linkage to clutter the operaters area. and poss. lead to a potential problem.

thcri · May 4, 2003

Sooo like you run the mid PTO all the time? I guess to me the whole thing sounds not so much complicated for the owner but if you have a sequence that you have to follow what happens when you loan your tractor out to your neighbor who hasn't read the book and he does the wrong sequence. I think John Deere is better than that and I use to be jealous of my neighbors independent PTO's that he has on his older John Deere's compared to my New Holland Live PTO's. I will keep my live PTO's any day over the new John Deere series. I just push the clutch in and engage the PTO I want or both and that's it. Don't have to stop and remember which has to be engaged first or if at all depending on which PTO I want. My 13 year old daughter handles mine just fine.

just my feeling
murph

Anonymous Poster · May 5, 2003

I'm not sure what potential problem there is by having the extra linkage. The only problem I have had on my 755 is to forget to switch back to mid PTO after I have been doing some work with the rear PTO. The lever is out of the way but accessable and it is detented so it can not be inadvertantly moved in the event the PTO is engaged. John Deere has been making compact tractors with live, independant PTOs for years. I've enjoyed the flexibility on my 755. I was really surprised that JD got rid of something that you would normally expect from them. JD was the manufacturer that set themselves apart from the competition by offering well thought out designs with a focus on ease of operation. I can get over the lack of independant PTOs but I am having a hard time understanding how JD could have a design that can result in expensive damage due to inadvertant action. What if during mowing you hit a bump or or are on a side slope, you reach out to grab the right fender grip for support and hit the mid PTO knob my mistake? What damage will occur? JD has designed Loadmatch, Speedmatch, Motionmatch and an electronic cruise control into this series. I'm sure they could have designed either an electronic or mechanical interlock to prevent mid PTO activation/deactivation when the rear PTO is engaged.

Neophyte · Jul 26, 2003

I realize this is an old post but just in case someone from JD is listening, I wanted to make a comment regarding this design limitation. Even being a newcomer to compact tractors, I could tell it was a significant design flaw and it turned me off.

With the big three being fairly equal, it's the small features or limitations that can steer you one way or another. For me, if I was buying new, I might not buy a JD 4210/4310 for this very reason. It seems like a major design flaw to have the mid PTO dependent upon the rear PTO being engaged. Even their 4110/4115 have independent mid/rear PTO engagement. Why would they take a step backwards in this department with a more advanced machine? Other than this limitation and excessive electronics, I really like the 4210/4310 tractors. But what do I know? ... I'm just a neophyte when it comes to compact tractors!

Does anyone know if they have changed this yet or have any plans to change it?

yellowsocks93 · Jul 26, 2003

I don't know if they have plans to change this for the future but I hate to see the quality of JD going downhill so fast. They spent 160 years getting quality and their reputation to where it is today with a lot of hard work and they should try to keep thier standing as the best tractor maker in the world. I wish JD would make things like they used to with the 300 series garden tractors, 55 & 70 series compacts. These products really stood out, well built and designed. Sure they don't have the flat floor and e-match controls but they were built to last. I will always buy John Deere no matter how bad I complain about things being cheaply made but they need to stick out from the field once again.

Nick

990 4x4 turf, 272 RFM, 430 loader, 25A flail

GreenMtnMan · Jul 26, 2003

I don't know if this is what you're saying, but it seems to me it's a big leap to conclude JD quality is going downhill fast from their design decision to not separate the mid and rear PTOs. I don't like the fact that the air conditioning systems on most current vehicles don't have bi-level functions, but that doesn't mean the quality has tanked. Sometimes simplicity makes for more reliable products.

But, I may be wrong - it's happened before /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif