Just went thru a 4400 owned by the county and purchased at their annual equipment auction. A REALLY nice machine, Quick starting even in 20 deg weather. Hydrostat. ~35 hp. The perfect haying tractor for a beginner. 4WD with QA equipped loader. Easy on and off.
This machine could not be put into a higher transmission range. The range selection shaft going into the transmission had broken off. JD dealer says this is a common problem with these models. Replacement part was in the toolbox. So: pull off the seat, a dozen bolts off the transmission case top, pull off the c clip holding the broken shaft in, pop in the new one and put it back together. Caused by 2 situations: The range selector shaft has a groove cut into it to hold an O-ring right at the inside of the case. The groove is deep and severely weakens the shaft strength. If the lever handle is not installed properly, the transmission's gear forks are the 'stop', instead of the external handle 'stop', so you tend to over travel the shaft, it twists and eventually fails. Some guys have had a shaft made without the O-ring groove. You don't have to split the tractor to fix this problem. About a 4 hour job. The plastic hood, front grill and side panel parts are very flimsy. I bought a whole new aftermarket set from an ebay seller. PERFECT fit.
This machine also came with worn out R3 turf tires. We put brand new Titan R4s on the OEM turf wheels and it's a pretty sweet machine. No problems now with shifting or 4wd engagement. No scrub front to rear either. Get a weight box because the loader can pick up more than the empty rear wheels can hold down.
The FWD/REV pedals have to be aligned perfectly in order to start it. Otherwise lots of hair loss.
BTW: we saved the Rimguard from the turfs by draining it out into buckets, then pumped it back in to the R4s with a 12V sprayer pump. No DEF, no codes, no problems. Fits under a garage door withe the ROPS folded.
I'd call it a powerful Subcompact CUT. Smaller frame than my 1070 with same tires and engine power. You can get spoiled by the HS transmission.