Buying Advice Bought a farm, looking for a tractor...and help choosing!

bigbull338 · May 20, 2011

while your doing that id put a new muffler on it.

D7E · May 20, 2011

curdy said:
Any thoughts on the Deere 2040? Price looks decent in comparison to other machines listed online, but I rarely offer what people are asking. In the limited research I could do, seems that a '76 less desirable than the later years that had: more power ('80+), closed center hydraulic system ('77+), top shaft synchronized trans ('80+), independent PTO ('80+), 4x4 ('80+)

Can anyone help bring me up to speed quickly with what to look for in regards to any potential issues? Any thoughts on the closed vs open hydraulics?

Just got off the phone with the seller. It was originally owned by a property maintenance company. He is the 2nd owner and has had it for about 20 yrs. He had a landscaping business and said he used it to load mulch and salt during the winter. He said it hasn't had much use outside of clearing the driveway in the winter in the last 10 yrs due to some health conditions. There's a fuel line that needs to be replaced. He also made mention that it starts up no problem with a shot of ether. I inquired more about this and he said he would do that because it would sit so long between uses. I don't really like the sound of that personally.

He explained that he thought his price was well below what its worth and if he 'restored' it (clean, paint, fix fuel line) he could get $12k for it...but he needs money now. He did let me know he turned down an offer of $3500.

Thoughts?

All i can say is we had 2 2040's ,( european which ran 1979-1981 ) one with opu cab and one with sg2 cab and they were very good , Personally i found deere hyd's of the 30'40'50 series were their downfall and were always poorer than other brands running hyd powered machines for long days and using european big end dump trailers the deeres hyd's lacked the vigour and speed of say ford ,IH,or MF. And the torsion bar sensing on the lower links was not as good as top link sensing brands for draught control but still a wonderful tractor if not hardcore farming I would certainly have one for haymaking or PTO work

Kyle_in_Tex · May 22, 2011

Hey Curdy, howabout some pic's and keep us updated on what ya' fix as you go?

Did the salt loading cause any major rust problems?

Soundguy · May 22, 2011

considering all the parts in a tractor and component prices vs unit price of the machine.. it's a wonde rmore manufacturers didn't just incorporate higher gpm pumps on their stock machines.

lets face it.. early machines with 3-4 gpm pumps? that's comical. then mid classics with 5-7 gpm? still not great.. gives you a slow laoder... fine for tail wheel stuff.

10 and 12 gpm? ok for small to medium laoders.. etc.. can't imagine the price to upgrade on the unit at time of build was really that much, vs the difference it made to the customer..

soundguy

Farmwithjunk said:
I've got a 2440 and a 2640 that I keep around to this day because of their hydraulics being FAR BETTER (ie faster cycling, better flow) than competitive Massey Ferguson, Ford, and IH tractors of the same era. Both are running hydraulic powered ditch bank mowers that require high flow and constant fast cycling.

Funny.....The 30, 40, and 50 series Deere's are what just about ran every one else out of business in the 70's and 80's, and in every case I know of, the farmers who owned and operated them listed their far superior hydraulics (compared to the rest of the market) as one of the primary reasons why they made the switch to Deere (and stayed there)

You Deere haters are a comical lot sometimes!

curdy · May 22, 2011

A friend let me borrow his equipment trailer and I brought her home yesterday. The look on my kids' faces as I pulled in was one I will try never to forget. Shoot, I might as well been 10 yrs old again when I was driving it around the farm. The smell of the diesel, the sound of the engine, the feeling of driving it around, all of it brought back some very fond memories of riding around with my pop pop on his tractors.

I'll get some pictures up soon. Salt doesn't look like it was too much of an issue. The bucket it thick and solid, which was something I looked to make sure of first thing. There are quite a few areas with some decent rusting, so I'll be working some on cleaning it up and probably giving it a paint job.

Should I start a new thread in the owners area? No doubt I'm going to be needing advice as I go through and fix her up. Plus, I'm no longer doing as the title says

bigbull338 · May 22, 2011

congrats on getting her home an driving through the pastures.

Farmwithjunk · May 23, 2011

Soundguy said:
considering all the parts in a tractor and component prices vs unit price of the machine.. it's a wonde rmore manufacturers didn't just incorporate higher gpm pumps on their stock machines.

lets face it.. early machines with 3-4 gpm pumps? that's comical. then mid classics with 5-7 gpm? still not great.. gives you a slow laoder... fine for tail wheel stuff.

10 and 12 gpm? ok for small to medium laoders.. etc.. can't imagine the price to upgrade on the unit at time of build was really that much, vs the difference it made to the customer..

soundguy

You gotta remember what we had for implements (sized to match these tractors) "back in the day". There wasn't much need for high flow/fast cycling hydraulics way back then. It was pure and simple then.....And no one was in a big rush.

If a user needed high capacity hydraulics then, it was common to see "stinger" pumps on the crankshaft OR on the PTO. And the 30/40/50 series Deere's that Sparky (up above) is so jealous of? They raised the bar as far as "integral hydraulics".

Soundguy · May 23, 2011

I wonder why deere went to a higher gpm then.. good foresight i guess.. just stayed ahead of the crowd. even more surprising is that when need arose.. that other manufacturers didn't follow suit.

I'm a ford fan.. but their built in hyds aren't anything to brag about for volume... even my 5000 only has 7gpm... stock anyway..

soundguy

curdy · Jun 6, 2011

Thought I'd post a fun pic of the family taking a hay ride

No hay wagon yet, but the small utility trailer worked great!

I will have questions regarding different things that will need to be fixed. Would it make sense to post here?

One thing for example is the the control valve for loader has an issue. The lever that works the arms will drop them if pulled back about half way. If pulled further it raises the arms as its supposed to (although a bit slower than I think it should). What would cause that?

Kyle_in_Tex · Jun 6, 2011

curdy said:
One thing for example is the the control valve for loader has an issue. The lever that works the arms will drop them if pulled back about half way. If pulled further it raises the arms as its supposed to (although a bit slower than I think it should). What would cause that?

Low RPM's, or weak hydraulic pressure are possibilities. Many loaders do this a little anyway.

Otherwise, If you take care of it, that tractor will bring your money back whenever you want to sell it. It just might need a little fixing up between now and then.