My new (old) tractor.

[TractorTrey]

Ok, I've been reading posts for awhile and pricing tractors for about 6 or 8 months now. I finally took the plunge and bought my first tractor. I bought the tractor because I thought it was a heck of a deal. I got a JD 2640 with a 620 FEL. It has about 2300 hours on it.

I have 5 acres to mow and I'm slowly building my "micro-mansion". The house is done, the driveway is about 75% done, I plan on using it to build a fence around the property, I'll be building a couple of buildings on the land, planting trees... etc. etc...

I guess my question is did I get too much tractor? I really wanted a FEL and I still need to get the other implements, but the one thing I didn't think about was would the tractor tear up the land while I'm using it? I didn't want to go with one of the new chinese tractors, mainly because I don't think they have enough hours on them to have proved themselves yet. Plus, this one was cheaper, and I'll admit, I have a thing for John Deere's.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the tractor and the deal I got. But did I bite off more than I can chew?

 

[Thomas]

Good morning and welcome TractorTrey.
First,if your happy w/the tractor that's what counts the most,and about tearing up the lawn maybe truff tires could be the answer.

 

[Egon]

I think you will find that tearing up the ground is a matter of how you operate the tractor.

Seems like most people need a larger tractor for the building stage and a smaller on for maintenance.

 

[slaveToHorses]

Well, the 2640 is a great tractor and those are low hours for a 25 year old machine. The 620 FEL can lift most of the tractors that people talk about on this site Which transmission does yours have hi/lo synchro or collar shift?

The big win on a 2640 is the power of the motor for the relatively small size and weight of the tractor.

But compared to a 3x20 or 4x20 the turning radius isn't great and it will be a lot worse if you are trying to not dig in while you are turning (ie. using a graceful arc). Fortunately it is not that heavy for it's size (5,000lbs without the FEL and without fluid in the tires). But it is still 1,000 lbs heavier than a 4x20 tractor.

The stock tires are 16.9x28 on the rear. Those are wide enough and the machine is light enough to not dig in too bad. That's good. But it isn't a 4x4 so it probably has the ribbed tires in the front. Those puppies are designed to dig in so if you have ribbed fronts and you want to mow lawn, then you will be wanting to change them to something less radical. You can do that without changing the wheel. The rears are another story. If you wanted to go to an industrial tread (R4) or a turf tread (R2) then you will probably have to get different wheels.

The 2640 has a Category II 3pt hitch so you will need to get some bushings so you can use Cat I implements. You will be restricted a bit on implements because you have a 70hp PTO. You will want to be carefull to choose heavy duty post hole diggers or mowing decks or you will run the risk of tearing up their gear box.

The one problem with a big and powerfull (relatively) tractor is if you are a beginner, you can make big mistakes, really fast. But big fun and that big 4 cylinder makes a very pretty sound. If I recall correctly the tractor is made in Mannheim Germany and the engine is made at the Deere plant in Saron France.

The 2240 through 2940 were really excellent machines and have proven to be very reliable.

 

[TractorTrey]

Thanks so much for all the comments, I'm traveling on business but I'll check my transmission and find out what type it is when I get home on Friday. It has the square fenders (which I personaly like better than the rounded ones) but I think that means it's probably from 1975 to about 1979? Not sure about that but that's what I've seen looking at old ads and stuff in magazines. I need to get the serial number off of it and see exactly what I have. I'm glad to hear that ya'll think I bought the right tractor though.

My next question is manuals. I've seen several sites with manuals for this tractor from $25 to $140. What manuals should I buy for it and the FEL? I have what looks like two small diesel leaks that I need to fix that looks like they are coming from the fuel pump? Not real sure about that though, this is my first diesel, I thought it was the carburator. They look like easy fixes though because I can see what exactly is leaking. Thanks for all the help and I think ya'll are stuck with me for awhile so excuse the dumb questions until I get up to speed.

Thanks,
Trey

 

[slaveToHorses]

I think the flat tops came later but I could be wrong.
As to manuals, I would get what you can from Deere on CD if possible.
I have found good quality hardcover manuals from various sources
including ebay. I do like having both. One for browsing by the fire and
the other for printing off pages that I can tape to the tractor while
I am working and get greasy without worrying

Here is a link to the Deere publications site to order technical manuals for it:
http://techpubs.deere.com/deere/TechPubSearch.aspx?Model=2640&Language=English&ExactModel=TRUE

 

[jd110]

The square fenders were optional from earliest (1977) to latest (1981) models. The rounded fenders were standard. The 1980 and 1981 models had (tiger stripes)decals and the battery access had two gull wing type doors where the earlier models had one door on top of dash for battery access. Both versions were great machines with 70 pto horsepowerout of a 276 cubic inch four cylinder engine. Congrats on a great purchase. It is only too big if you can't maneuver it in the areas you want to use it.