G4200 Possible Purchase

[MHJ]

I posted this previously but I think it was in the wrong forum.
Hi all, I'm looking at possibly purchasing a G4200 with 1,000hrs on it. I'm going to look at it next week in TN but am not all that familiar with diesel engines nor with this model kubota. I attached a couple pics of the engine and wanted to see if anyone could give me some ideas on what to look for in this tractor to be sure I don't buy junk. It has the deck but no 3PH. Paint is in good condition, supposedly starts up fine and turns the blades. They're asking $1,100.

 

[MHJ]

Went and saw it, the deck has a few rust spots, some welds and one spot where it rusted through about the size of a half dollar. Engine runs great, starts right up. It did have the wrong size belts on the front PTO, needed 2 new mower deck wheels and I don't think the parking brake works. Other than that it's good.

 

[Baby Grand]

We have a G5200, which is the 3 cylinder version of that tractor.
It's a great lawn tractor & we use it to pull a Cyclone Rake, in the Fall, for leaf duty.
Condition & hours look good on that one, for the price.

Is it an HST or manual tranny?
The brake/parking brake on our (HST) is a single disc in the transmission drive line that's connected by cable to the pedal, so it may be an easy fix (cable), or more involved (disc or pad). I believe the manual shift tractors have a shoe/drum in the driveline that's operated by a rigid linkage to the pedal.

Mower decks in decent shape for that tractor are rarely up for sale & very expensive, so make sure that deck is repairable before you agree on a price.
You may want to get an estimate from a weldor/fabricator on the cost to fix it before you buy.
Since this model is primarily a lawn mower, if the deck is bad, then the tractor is of little use, unless you plan to race it. 8^)

The 4, 5 & 6000 G series tend to run hot, so if you do get it, watch the temp gauge carefully the first time you work it hard on a warm day.

A 3pt hitch was only an option on the G6200, I believe.
They also offered a front snow blower, but I 've never seen one for sale apart from a tractor/implements package type deal.

Good luck & let us know what you decide,

Jim

 

[MHJ]

Jim, thanks a lot for that info. It was an HST. When I went back a 2nd time planning to buy it I found some pretty bad spots on the deck plus the person selling hadn't told me it was hard to start (maybe just needs glow plugs but maybe more involved than that...) He had it warmed up the first time I went to see it. 2nd time it cranked and cranked and finally started and blew a bunch of white smoke but that combined with the holes in deck I decided to pass. He agreed to $750 but it was too big of a risk for me. I eneded up buying a 1998 G1800 with 950hrs for $1,750 plus got a new battery, new blades, everything greased and all fluids/oil changed. I really liked the G4200 but the G1800 just seemed like a better situation for me. I'm sure I'll have questions on the G1800 once I get it home but it's in really good condition. The driveshaft felt very tight, transmission was real tight.