Realistic Maintenance on JD 4120 ?

[tillboy2001]

Ok, I've never been a tractor owner...but have been around a few in my days. My dad is a mechanic so I've learned from him and do most of my own auto repairs when possible. So that's my background.

I've never owned a diesel engine and never anything with hydraulics. So tell me, what should I be looking out for? How often to change the oil with normal, fairly light usage. How often to check other items (filters, etc). How often to change various fluids, etc. Just be reasonable...not looking for the '****' maintenance routine...LOL Like, I don't want to be changing the oil every month for example. Some people sort of over do it, if you know what I mean.

Thanks. I think this site will really be a big help when I start having problems or questions on how to do something tractor-related /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

P.S. I know much of this is in the manual..but looking for real world experience.

 

[beenthere]

I think 'real world' experience is what is in the manual. It's what I follow as close as possible. Oil and filters are cheap compared to an expensive overhaul. Diesels get oil dirtier looking quicker than gas engines. but 'black' doesn't mean it is dirty, necessarily.

How many hours do you expect to put on your JD 4120 in a year? If more hours in dirty, dusty weather, then maybe the schedule for oil changes should be moved up a bit.

How often do you change your car engine oil? I do mine about every 5,000 miles, and the tractor every 50.

 

[dmp437]

Change your engine oil at 50 hours, no sooner. At first oil change (50 hours) use a decent oil like Shell Rotella 15W-40 that you can pick up at TSC. At 100 hours switch to straight synthetic engine oil such as Mobil 1. At cold startups the engine starts & runs much better on the straight synthetic. After break-in I change engine oil twice a year; spring & fall.
Since you have a mechanical background consider picking up the service manual on CD at the Deere dealer. A lot of interesting details about how and why something works in addition to how to fix it with lots of pictures & diagrams. The one for my 4310 is 828 pages so it's a fair amount of reading.
Also, being a Buckeye ( /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ) you may want to consider adding the heaters (coolant & transmission) to aid in cold startup. Adding a heater is usually done at a scheduled service time since you have to drain the fluid to install it.