John Deere 4400 problems

Anonymous Poster · Apr 12, 2002

Well.......
I bought the tractor new in June 2000.
1. About March of 2001 differental lock failed and tractor would not start about 50/50 of the time,and bolt came off 1 common break pedal on the right side (hydro) dealer comes and gets the tractor,end up replacing hydro tranny,new differental lock,starter and fuel pump.They bring it home and I go out and still have problems starting it 50/50 time.
2.Fall of 2001 it goes back to the shop for small leak in rear-end which was result of repairs in March of 2001.
ALL OF THE ABOVE WAS REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY

3A.(April 2002)Tractor is in shop now(for new loader) and loss of power/loose wheel bolt problems and a blinker switch problem.....Come to find out brakes were seized up and rear end is torn apart and they are in the process of freeing the brakes up so they will not put a drag on tractor when running.
THE ABOVE (3A) IS BEING REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY
B. Wheel bolts backing out of wheels,predominantly left side.When using the tractor for an afternoon(4 hours + or -)have to tighten wheel bolts up at least 2 times,last trip out I took hammer and wrench with me.John Deere is bucking me on this problem.Here is why acording to them........My tractor originally came with R-4 tires,last summer I bought R-1 tires and rims because the R-4's were not aggressive enough.I intalled the R-1 tires and rims myself.John Deere is saying one of the reasons they will not cover the loose bolt problem is because a John deere dealership did not install the R-1 tires.Well I had no problems with the bolts coming loose....and in the meantime my tractor had to go back to the shop and have the leak fixed.......So a John Deere dealer took the R-1 wheels and tires off and fixed the leak and reinstalled the wheels and tires, and everything was okay until this February (ish) and I started to have a problem with the loose bolts. The dealer comes down to put a part on and did not have the right tools,so I decided to order a loader in the mean time and the dealer says the parts(loader) will be in about a month and they will look at the loose wheel bolt problem and install the part(starting related part) when the tractor is in the shop they were not able to install in the field(lack of right tools)Also they are going to install a loader I ordered. Well I call my dealer the other day to see how things are going and he says ok,they are freeing the sticky brake problem up,but.........The John deere representative says John deere will not cover the loose wheel bolt problem,which now needs new axles, hubs and seals because the loose wheel bolts has damaged my tractor( Problem is I installed the wheels my self and did not torque)repairs unless John Deere decides otherwise.I figured it up I have spent a little over $30000 on this tractor and attachments so far and the tractors warranty will expire in June of 2002.
Well I told John Deere they had the wheels off in the fall of 2001 and re-installed and I did not even have 50 hours back on the tractor before I started to have loose wheel bolt problems,when they fixed the leak.

beenthere · Apr 12, 2002

That is a tough one. I can see where you would want some help with this.
My dealer told me it was my responsibility to keep the wheel bolts tight by continually checking them. I took a pointer from someone on TBN to mark the bolts with a black pen, so I can see if they are turning back (saves getting the wrench out each time I use the tractor).
Wish you luck on this, as someone is going to lose. Your dealer is in a bad spot.

JC4HD · Apr 12, 2002

With my off-road Motorcycles...I found that a couple of drops of Locktite red or a similar "thread lock" (on a clean surface) works wonders from the smallest to the largest nuts or bolts (red is the strongest)... worth trying seeing how this obviously could get very expensive...

JATO_RaT · Apr 13, 2002

Farmboy, you've have had some problems if all this is to be believed. I have yet to have a wheel nut or bolt get loose. I check only once and forget about them. As far as the rest goes, I would be in a real quandry about how to proceed. The starting problem is something that would have really concerned me to the point of either having it fixed period or the tractor replaced. Why are the brakes locked up? My first thoughts would be to sell or trade in while I had only $30,000 tied up in a tractor that I would guess is worth half that amount. Problem is, John Deere, to their benefit, have a great records keeping setup. Every warranty item that has been done to it is available to any JD dealer via computer. That means anyone wanting to buy it could possibly get its track record and have second thoughts when looking at the list of repairs. Thats a real shame that you have had such enourmous problems. I would be very P.O'd.
I certainly hope you can get some satisfaction and soon, you've paid an enormous price for something that should never have happened not to mention the time it is unavailable to you. I'm frustrated and its not even my problem, best wishes, hope it works out well for you. Rat...

Anonymous Poster · Apr 13, 2002

I have yet to have a wheel nut or bolt get loose. I check only once and forget about them.

I know of no farmer etc that have to get off of a tractor and check wheel bolts. When i was growing up we had a farmall tractor and never had a wheel bolt back out and or had reason to check them unless we changed a tire.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 14, 2002

If an individual had wheel weights on the tractor it would be very difficult to check/torque the wheel bolts if you could not see the bolts,would it not?What are you suppose to do take the wheel weights off every time you checked the bolts before using the tractor?This could be labor intensive if not time consuming.

dmccarty · Apr 15, 2002

Farm Boy,

I worked on a farm when I was 16.

The Boss was not really into PM. His MF 165 lost the wheel bolts on one
of his tires. I can't remember if it was the front or real tire but it was
on the left side.

Later...
Dan

GaryK · Apr 15, 2002

I think I would be on the horn with JD and remind them that one of their dealers had the wheels off last..............The dealer knows this and probably does not want to eat the cost...