Info on Asian(?) JD 5400 (long)

N80 · Sep 16, 2007

I need some info on a tractor. A friend of my B-I-L just bought a tractor. It is now sitting in my B-I-L's barn lot along with a shiny new Howse heavy duty 7 foot rotary cutter, TuffLine disk and some sort of spring harrow cultivator.

By all accounts he got a great deal on the tractor. It is a JD 5400, MFWD, with cab and 1800 hours. Shed stored, single owner, little old man who only drove it on weekends, etc etc. He got it for $10k. Oh, and it has the optional 12/12 synchronized tranny with power reverser.

My B-I-L and I were both jealous.....until we started poking around.

The first thing you notice is that on the hood it says "5400" followed by two Chinese looking letters then "John Deere". A look in the cab reveals more oriental writing on everything. The owner told Charley (the guy who bought it) that it was supposed to be sold in Korea.

Second, the tires are oriental brand. I don't remember the name, but I'd never heard it before. Also, the rears are R1s but they a narrow both in profile and in width.

Third, the PTO shaft is broken off

. There are about two inches remaining. The previous owner had some sort of extender for it....and it is twisted like a candy cane

.

Fourth, the tractor looks good but the cab is pretty beat up. The AC seems so-so. It is plummed for an FEL but does not have one. The cab lookslike a factory install. However, the front inside edge seems to cover the rear attachment point for the loader post/supports.

I got specs on the tractor here. I have no idea if they are accurate:

JOHN DEERE: Agricultural Equipment: Tractors: 5000 Series Specifications

So, we would like some info on this machine if anyone has any. Why the oriental stuff? Where was it made? How on earth do you snap the PTO shaft off? What kind of damage could that lead to? We're both curious, but my B-I-L will be doing most of the work that needs to be done on this tractor so he's interested for that reason as well.

He wants me to ask if there is any way to get info about a JD tractor based on its serial number. I have it, but could not find any resources by serial number.

It looks like a great machine and a great deal. I'm still jealous. The Chinese letters on the side puts my B-I-L in a perfect stew. He wants to spray paint them off. I thinks its funny but its giving him fits. If it weren't for that PTO shaft I'd say that it looks like a sweet deal. But he broke it and then twisted an extender all to peices. I cannot imagine what he must have been doing.

Also, just for my curiosity, why are the front hubs on these JD's so huge?

RogerH · Sep 16, 2007

Perhaps it is of Korean origin. The Korean company, Kukje, builds several models of John Deere tractors under some sort of agreement with John Deere. Don't know the details, but might give you a lead.

jdbower · Sep 17, 2007

Did you happen to grab a shot of any of the text? Korean is pretty distinctive, the characters frequently have a lot of right angles and fairly unique circles in them. To distinguish between Chinese and Japanese I generally need a few more characters. It's a bit tough to see, but the tractor on the upper right here shows some Korean-looking characters and claims to be a Korean export. There's another shot further down showing characters on the front of the cab.

N80 · Sep 17, 2007

Did I grab a shot? JD, please, you know I never go anywhere without my D200. However, the TBN photo galleries are a bit messed up right now and I can't upload any pics. I'll upload it somewhere else and post it later tonight but it looks exactly like the 5400 in the picture further down. Even the cab is exact so it must have been factory. You can't see it clearly but there are oriental markings right between the '5400' and the 'John Deere". Here is the picture from your link:

But, I'm still not sure what that means. Was is made in Korea by Kukje or was it made in the US for the Korean market? The only origin specs on the JD 5400 say they were made in Georgia (US). I cannot find serial number references for this model anywhere although they are available for many other JD models.

I'm going to reference this thread in the general Owning and Operating forum to see if I can get some more responses.

RoyJackson · Sep 17, 2007

I'm guessing, but I think you're looking at a Deere grey market tractor an individual purchased in Asia and imported into the United States. There should be a serial number on a placard just above the PTO (I'm guessing on this location, but that's where I've seen the serial number on every Deere I've seen).
Once you have that serial number, your local Deere dealer may be able to pull it up on the company database and give you more information.

If it's a grey market tractor, the dealer may not be willing to work on it.

As far as the PTO...sounds like the tractor was hooked up to an implement that was really locked up, engaged at too high an RPM or it's some of that cheap chinese steel. Can the PTO be engaged and, if so, does the shaft (what remains of it) rotate? Does it rotate in the correct direction?
If it rotates, maybe it's just the PTO shaft itself broken and needs to be replaced...if it doesn't rotate...well, that could be expensive. If it rotates in the wrong direction (to match foreign implements), that could be a real expensive problem.
Hopefully, if this is a grey market machine, it was built to Deere specs. If that's the case, parts for domestic machines should fit.

N80 · Sep 17, 2007

RoyJackson said:
I'm guessing, but I think you're looking at a Deere grey market tractor an individual purchased in Asia and imported into the United States.

I'm beginning to think you are right.

There should be a serial number on a placard just above the PTO (I'm guessing on this location, but that's where I've seen the serial number on every Deere I've seen).
Once you have that serial number, your local Deere dealer may be able to pull it up on the company database and give you more information.

I got the serial number off the engine block. My B-I-L has a friend who is a Deere mechanic. He, the mechanic, said he could look it up.

If it's a grey market tractor, the dealer may not be willing to work on it.

My B-I-L can do most of the work that needs to be done short of rebuilding the engine. He usually sends that out. Most everything else he does. He's concerned about parts.

As far as the PTO...sounds like the tractor was hooked up to an implement that was really locked up, engaged at too high an RPM or it's some of that cheap chinese steel.

Yes, it works properly, it is just short. The previous owner was using it with some sort of extender that you can bolt on. What's so scary is that the extender that was on there was twisted like a candy cane. I'm not sure if he was the one that broke it or not, but the fact that he twisted up and extender suggests that he was doing something that broke it in the first place. It is really hard for me to imagine an implement of circumstance that would lead to breaking a PTO shaft like that. I would have thought there were half a dozen other places that would have been the weaker link. If it is the 'cheap Chinese steel' scenario...well, that doesn't bode well for the rest of the machine.

Hopefully, if this is a grey market machine, it was built to Deere specs. If that's the case, parts for domestic machines should fit.

Yep. And if that is the case and the broken PTO isn't related to other internal damage, then I'd say he still got a good deal. This is a big hefty machine, 4wd, cab and all. I'm personally not fond of a 3 cylinder with a turbo (we are at low altitudes here) and my B-I-L probably cannot work on a turbo, but other than that, pretty awesome machine.

N80 · Sep 17, 2007

Okay, here is a picture of the tractor. You can clearly see the oriental lettering on the hood:

You can't see it, but the tires are made by Woosung. That alone suggests that this tractor was made in Korea. Why would JD make it in the US and put imported tires on it?

Here is a pciture of the PTO shaft. It has been sawed smooth, but you can see how short it is:

flyngti · Sep 17, 2007

The writing on the hood certainly looks Korean.

irwin · Sep 17, 2007

Hi George:

Tractor house has a few 5400's listed. Here's a link to one. 1995 JOHN DEERE 5400 For Sale at TractorHouse.com ... sure looks similar....

Here's one with cab...1996 JOHN DEERE 5400 For Sale at TractorHouse.com

RoyJackson · Sep 17, 2007

"I got the serial number off the engine block. My B-I-L has a friend who is a Deere mechanic. He, the mechanic, said he could look it up"

I believe that will be the engine serial number rather then the Tractor serial number...

Your Bro-in-Law ought to ask the seller how the PTO broke...just out of curiousity...
And, if he can work on a diesel, he can work on a turbo diesel...not that much difference.

I'm not a big enthusiast of turboed engines either, but for the power output they do get better fuel economy then a normally aspirated engine (of the same power) when off boost.