Buying Advice Need advice on a Jinma 284

[double hunter]

A gentleman down the road is wanting to sell me his Jinma 284, I know nothing about these tractors, it looks and runs good, has less than a hundred hours, it is a 4 wheel dr, power steering, the only problem I see with the tractor is the clutch may need replacing, it does not engage until the clutch pedal is all the way up and then when the tractor is under load it will not pull, the price he is asking seems very reasonable, with some eq he is going to include I figure I will hace around 2500.00 in the tractor, I think it is a 2004, what would be the value of the tractor with the clutch repaired, someone told me these tractors have an adj clutch, any advice will be appreciated.

 

[Affordable]

A gentleman down the road is wanting to sell me his Jinma 284, I know nothing about these tractors, it looks and runs good, has less than a hundred hours, it is a 4 wheel dr, power steering, the only problem I see with the tractor is the clutch may need replacing, it does not engage until the clutch pedal is all the way up and then when the tractor is under load it will not pull, the price he is asking seems very reasonable, with some eq he is going to include I figure I will hace around 2500.00 in the tractor, I think it is a 2004, what would be the value of the tractor with the clutch repaired, someone told me these tractors have an adj clutch, any advice will be appreciated.

That tractor sold new for around $ 6,000.00 with no implements or frontloader,if it's clean, well maintained, with a new/good clutch prob. around $ 3,500.00

Tommy
Affordable Tractor Sales
"Your Jinma Parts Superstore"
Home of compact Jinma, Foton, and Koyker Tractors and Parts, Wood Chippers, Backhoes - Affordable Tractor Sales Company

 

[mark1]

That tractor sold new for around $ 6,000.00 with no implements or frontloader,if it's clean, well maintained, with a new/good clutch prob. around $ 3,500.00

Tommy
Affordable Tractor Sales
"Your Jinma Parts Superstore"
Home of compact Jinma, Foton, and Koyker Tractors and Parts, Wood Chippers, Backhoes - Affordable Tractor Sales Company

Yes the clutch may need adjusting.depending on how long it's been slipping. an adjustment my be all that's needed or it my need replacing. There has been many notes on here about how to adjust the clutch and after doing it once or twice it's reasonably easy.

Where is it at? If it's close to upstate NY.I'll help. I need a project.

 

[double hunter]

Thanks for the info and the offer but I am in central Miss., I'm going to talk to him tomorrow and see where we are, theres a local dealer who use to sell the tractors and he will still service them but he wants 1100.00 to install a new clutch but he said with no more hrs that the machine has i might get by with just an adj, the tractor only has 57 hrs on the meter, 2500.00 might not be such a good price if its in the 3500.00 value range, are these good tractors, never have had any exp. with one.

 

[Smalljobs]

I have just turned 400 hours on my 284, all with heavy stop and go work. Clutch is fine and has never been adjusted.

 

[greg_g]

theres a local dealer who use to sell the tractors and he will still service them but he wants 1100.00 to install a new clutch but he said with no more hrs that the machine has i might get by with just an adj, the tractor only has 57 hrs on the mete.

With a novice behind the wheel, it doesn't take long to burn up a clutch disc. But $1100 is a rip-off, especially if it's only going to involve replacing a $50 friction disc. I replaced an entire clutchpack on a 35hp; $175 labor + $300 for the clutchpack itself. And that left me with the original clutchpack, which I subsequently rebuilt for about $90 in parts (my own labor). After I traded the tractor, the price of new clutchpacks had risen to $400 - which facilitated selling the rebuild for $300

... are these good tractors, never have had any exp. with one.

I had two, got rid of them both. Electrical problems on the 1st, clutch problems on the 2nd. Nothing that wasn't repairable, and all under warranty. Unfortunately, the selling dealer was too cheap to hire competent mechanics. Besides, I discovered that 25hp was insufficient to work my 30 acres of hillside. Went to a 45hp and never looked back.

//greg//

 

[20 20]

They are good tractors, I had over 900hrs on mine when I let it go(mistake), it ran like new and had no issue's, I was also not easy on it. I agree the clutch fix is on the high side, could be done cheaper.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would go for it for that price. I have a 2003 and its got 950 hours and runs like a champ, is very strong, and virtually trouble free.

Chris

 

[double hunter]

The man called me this afternoon and made an offer I couldn't refuse, tractor, barely used 5' bushhog, 5' blade, 5' tiller, boom pole and middle buster for 2800.00, the tractor runs great and I didn't really get a chance to try but as I was driving it across the lot to park it, i stood up on the brake and this thing felt like it was pulling as it should I would have thought if the clutch was slipping it would have been slipping then, the tractor has 57 hours on it, looks and runs good, power steering and 4 wheel drive, the 4 wheel drive lever is stuck, I could not get it to think about moving, I'll get out there tomorrow and hook up something and see if the clutch is slipping, any advice on the 4 wheel dr lever, the tractor is a Work Trak 284.

 

[Rich Waugh]

Odds are good that the 4WD lever is just rusted in place - some PB Blaster or equivalent, a bit of time and a few taps should loosen it up. Don't rush it - it may take a couple of days of soaking it and tapping it before you get to feel some movement. Once you do feel it move a bit, be sure you're in gear and rolling when you try to actually shift it into or out of 4WD.

Go over the manual and adjust the clutch properly! Bad adjustment ruins more of these clutches than any other cause. Properly adjusted and operated (no slipping or riding) they hold up quite well. Tractor clutches are intended to be an all-in or all-out proposition for the most part. If you don't have the full set of manuals for it, order them from a dealer like Tommy at Affordable Tractor - he'll also back you up with real professional advice when needed so he deserves the custom.

 

[double hunter]

Finally got a chance to drive my new toy (just had to go fishing this morning, it's a tuff job but somebody has to do it), I don't think the clutch is bad, I put in low range and one of the lower gears and drove it up the back of my pond dam with rotary cutter behind it and it climbed the dam just find, no hesitation in low gear, shifted it into high range and 3rd gear when I let out on the clutch it just sat there for a few seconds then it went on, just hesitated for a few secondsl I think if the clutch was bad it would not have climbed the dam, there is a dealer who used to sell Jinma and he told me the other day that he would check the clutch adj for a couple hrs. labor charge, this may be my best option, what do you all think.

 

[greg_g]

No, you're describing a clutch that's has a worn out main drive friction disc. If it was out of adjustment, it's out of adjustment in both ranges and all gears. But to hold in low gears and slip in high gears is the classic sign of a worn friction disc. The only reason it started moving in high gear, was heat. It slipped long enough to expand just enough to engage. That won't last long.

The good news is that friction discs only cost about $50. But it requires splitting the tractor and essentially rebuilding the clutchpack to install.

//greg//

 

[double hunter]

Couple of squirts of PB Blaster and the 4 wd is working like a champ, now I've got to do something with the clutch.

 

[double hunter]

Went by the shop this afternoona nd picked up my Jinma and they had the clutch adjusted and working like achamp.

 

[Rich Waugh]

That's good news! Were they able to give you a measurement on how much friction material is left, so you can plan ahead?

 

[greg_g]

Went by the shop this afternoona nd picked up my Jinma and they had the clutch adjusted and working like achamp.

Rich has a good point. Reminds me of used car dealer that put sawdust in the tranny to muffle the clanking. This is said not to impugn the guy that sold you the tractor. But there is an adjustment that can be made to take up the slack on a worn friction disc. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's only good as long as there's material left on the disc. You now have no idea at all how soon the rivets will start hitting the pressure plate. When that happens, rebuilding/replacing a clutchpack can turn into an expensive proposition.

FYI, there's about 9mm of friction material on a new 200 series friction disc. But of that, only ~75% is wear material. After that, you risk hitting rivets.

//greg//

 

[erj]

Rich and Greg,
For my education-
What tool do you use to go through the small access hole and measure mm on disc?
Thank you,
RonJ

 

[greg_g]

None that I know of. The measurements I provided were done with a caliper when the disc was in hand. For mounted discs, I insert a slim object of a known width. Personally I use a 6" digital caliper ($20 from Harbor Freight). If you don't have an accurate caliper, use something of a known width - like nails. Metric nails are perfect for the job, but they're not very common in this country. Here's a "penny nail" chart. Simply convert the diameter or head width to millimeters. Select the closest size nail, grind the point off to gauge small gaps. Use the head for wider ones

//greg//

 

[Rich Waugh]

That's pretty much the same method I use, Ron. Find/make something that will get into the area and can be used for visual comparison with the object being "measured." Nope, it's not really accurate, but it is good enough to estimate available clutch material, tread depth, clearances, etc. If you have a caliper and a grinder, you can make progressively more "accurate" comparator pieces until you can arrive at a surprisingly close reading - just takes patience, so I generally get close enough for the purpose and let it go at that..