John deere 4610

[blosee]

Im looking at buying a 2004 john deere 4610. It has the hydrostat. Overall it looks like a nice machine that was taken care of but it has over 4000 hours. Owner has only owned it for a few hundred hours and is unsure if its had any motor or transmission work in the past. I've tried searching for other 4610s with that many hours to compare it too but I havent found any. Does anyone have a 4610 with that many hours? Have ya had to do any major work?

 

[rScotty]

Ok....let's see...offering any opinion on an unknown specific tractor that's 20 years old and has that many hours is probably something best avoided. But avoiding it doesn't help anyone, so here goes.

First of all, about myself - I'm an older guy who enjoys mechanical things and have owned many. When I go looking something like a tractor, car, truck, or tools, I always start by looking for good used older ones. I do buy new, but prefer used. I definitely do not ever want a rebuild project, but do not mind doing small repairs.

I'm assuming that personal description applies to you as well, and that you are also comfortable hand tools, basic electrics, and shop manuals. And tht you already have a volt/ohm meter that you often use at home and in your shop for troubleshooting, some tools, and maybe some pressure gauges and such.
OR, equally important, maybe you want to put in the time to learn all these things....
Be honest, because if that description doesn't fit, then you'd best walk away from an older tractor no matter how nice it looks.

I actually considered buying a new JD 4610 back in 2006, and have followed them a little bit sinse then. My impressio is that they are a decent tractor without any design problems. Yanmar built them for JD, and Yanmar is known for quality, Older tractors are all about how they are treated. The 4000 hours wouldn't immediately worry me, but it sure would make me step back and consider the overall condition carefully. In people terms, 4000 hours on something as nice as an older JD is certainly mature - but not yet too old. Most homeowners use their tractors about 100 hrs a year for chores....more if mowing acreage.
If you would post some pictures, we might spot some areas of interest.

As you walk up, look under it. Some grease and oil where around shafts is common, but look carefully under where it sat last night for any oil puddles. Look for oil on the inside of the front tires, the front/rear of the engine, and the rear axles. An older tractor will suffer from leaky seals long before it suffers from engine/tranny wear. Tractor engines and transmissions can easily go 4000 hours. The things that require attention are more likely to be electrical or accessory systems like hydraulics or brakes. Put your flashlight on the clear fuel filter to see if it has water or crud in it.

Always ask why he is selling it. I've found that people are honest when given a chance. How are his other machines? In good shape? It's always a good sign when an owner has manuals and records..

A diesel engine shows it's age first by becoming harder to start when cold. Ask to see it start from cold on a cool morning. It should start ok at 50 degrees, but the best you can hope for around freezing is if it will fire off after 5/10 seconds of cranking, stumble and smoke for that much longer, and then smooth right out to a high idle.

The simple test for a transmission is if it engages and drives smoothly in Forward & Reverse.
The PTO should engage and turn with just a rumbling sound if any. The 3pt should go up and down smoothly.
Expect that power steering and any hydraulics will take half a minute to warm up. Some older hydraulic pumps will whine while cold. but once warm should work smoothly without any overly loud whining noises.

That's enough to get you started. Do a search on JD 4610 around this TBN site for JD 4610 info and see what you find. Ask lots of questions.
Good hunting,
rScotty

 

[blosee]

Ok....let's see...offering any opinion on an unknown specific tractor that's 20 years old and has that many hours is probably something best avoided. But avoiding it doesn't help anyone, so here goes.

First of all, about myself - I'm an older guy who enjoys mechanical things and have owned many. When I go looking something like a tractor, car, truck, or tools, I always start by looking for good used older ones. I do buy new, but prefer used. I definitely do not ever want a rebuild project, but do not mind doing small repairs.

I'm assuming that personal description applies to you as well, and that you are also comfortable hand tools, basic electrics, and shop manuals. And tht you already have a volt/ohm meter that you often use at home and in your shop for troubleshooting, some tools, and maybe some pressure gauges and such.
OR, equally important, maybe you want to put in the time to learn all these things....
Be honest, because if that description doesn't fit, then you'd best walk away from an older tractor no matter how nice it looks.

I actually considered buying a new JD 4610 back in 2006, and have followed them a little bit sinse then. My impressio is that they are a decent tractor without any design problems. Yanmar built them for JD, and Yanmar is known for quality, Older tractors are all about how they are treated. The 4000 hours wouldn't immediately worry me, but it sure would make me step back and consider the overall condition carefully. In people terms, 4000 hours on something as nice as an older JD is certainly mature - but not yet too old. Most homeowners use their tractors about 100 hrs a year for chores....more if mowing acreage.
If you would post some pictures, we might spot some areas of interest.

As you walk up, look under it. Some grease and oil where around shafts is common, but look carefully under where it sat last night for any oil puddles. Look for oil on the inside of the front tires, the front/rear of the engine, and the rear axles. An older tractor will suffer from leaky seals long before it suffers from engine/tranny wear. Tractor engines and transmissions can easily go 4000 hours. The things that require attention are more likely to be electrical or accessory systems like hydraulics or brakes. Put your flashlight on the clear fuel filter to see if it has water or crud in it.

Always ask why he is selling it. I've found that people are honest when given a chance. How are his other machines? In good shape? It's always a good sign when an owner has manuals and records..

A diesel engine shows it's age first by becoming harder to start when cold. Ask to see it start from cold on a cool morning. It should start ok at 50 degrees, but the best you can hope for around freezing is if it will fire off after 5/10 seconds of cranking, stumble and smoke for that much longer, and then smooth right out to a high idle.

The simple test for a transmission is if it engages and drives smoothly in Forward & Reverse.
The PTO should engage and turn with just a rumbling sound if any. The 3pt should go up and down smoothly.
Expect that power steering and any hydraulics will take half a minute to warm up. Some older hydraulic pumps will whine while cold. but once warm should work smoothly without any overly loud whining noises.

That's enough to get you started. Do a search on JD 4610 around this TBN site for JD 4610 info and see what you find. Ask lots of questions.
Good hunting,
rScotty

Yes im familiar with checking the basic and im not scared to do some basic maintenance repairs. The tractor is about 3 hours away so all I have to go off of is pictures which in my opinion show a tractor that has nowhere near 4000 hours (seats not even cracked).

My reason for asking this question is to try and get an idea of how common it is for one of these smaller tractor to live that long. I dont exactly want to do a major engine or transmission repair shortly after spending 10k+ on a tractor. Cant imagine finding a block is even an option on something like that.

 

[Yander]

Yanmar or not, unless you have some sense of how the tractor was maintained, walk away from the 4,000 hours.

Unless, it is a screaming deal and you're ok with the risk. Yanmar go well beyond 4k hours but only if maintenance is done properly.

 

[TCowner]

I look at these higher hour tractors from time to time but keep reminding myself that if I can't do a repair (there probably will be a few issues with 4,000 hours) that my John Deere dealer charges $150 per hour shop rate. A good deal can go south fairly quickly with those numbers.

 

[rScotty]

Yes im familiar with checking the basic and im not scared to do some basic maintenance repairs. The tractor is about 3 hours away so all I have to go off of is pictures which in my opinion show a tractor that has nowhere near 4000 hours (seats not even cracked).

Well, a replacement seat is inexpensive. How are the tires?

My reason for asking this question is to try and get an idea of how common it is for one of these smaller tractor to live that long. I dont exactly want to do a major engine or transmission repair shortly after spending 10k+ on a tractor. Cant imagine finding a block is even an option on something like that.

I agree. It would be nice to know how long they last. But you aren't going to find a mechanical answer to your question, only opinions and "guesstimations" of what we would do. .

Nobody can give you an solid answer to your question. We couldn't even even if that were our own tractor with 4000 hours, because there simply are not enough of those Yanmar/Deeres out there with that many hours. Someday, maybe...but not yet.
Nobody knows how long they last....either with or without maintenance.
Nobody... Knows.... There is no hard data, just speculation based on our own mechanical experience.

Here on TBN we do see a few compacts with half that many hours - I'd say there are enough now to know they do last longer than 2000 hours. And last year I was asked to look at a very similar JD from that era with just over 3000 hrs. It was used for mowing & seemed OK - though the seat was completely shot. My feeling is that most high hour compact utility tractors have been used mostly for mowing, but that's just another guess.

I've been around that tractor world since small 4wd tractors came out in the alate 1970s, here on TBN for 25 years and other forums before that. The last two used tractors we bought had higher hours than the one you are looking at. Both have required minor work, and both still run fine. But we keep them as backups. I wouldn't be comfortable using them everyday.
YMMV
good luck,
rScotty

 

[blosee]