990 vs 4510

[willy1947]

How does everyone like their 990's? I'm thinking about choosing it over the 4510, because of a $3000 price difference. Is it worth it? Assume the 4510 is geared w/power-reverser.

The FEL will not be used too much. The primary use will be bus hogging and grading.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[johnbilt]

Hi

I've been happy with my 990. It has excellent traction and power. The engine starts easy and runs smooth. The 990 is a great product. The tall tires and weight add up to a lot more tractor than a 790. The price, availability, and time was right for me. That doesn't mean that I'd never consider a 4XXX unit for the right deal.

1) How do you feel about working with a geared tractor without the bells and whistles ?? Did you get an opportunity to drive one of each ?? Even if the price is right, you won't be happy if you experience regret later, wishing you had the more modern unit.

2) What is the potential resale of a 4510 with a gear trans? My impression is that most folks shopping for a 4000 series will be looking for a hydro unit. If I was comparing, I'd shoot for a 4610 or 4710 hydro with the larger loader, but the price does creep up....

3) Buy what you like at the price you like.

Also, there seems to be more accessories, like soft cabs and such, for the 4XXX series, if you're interested in that.

Just my 2 cents from shopping last year.....

Enjoy,

John

 

[yellowsocks93]

I too like my 990 very much and it is very similar to our 970. I had the modern unit traded down according to most other dealers I talk to except mine but I love it. You can still get many of the accessories that were out for the 70 series such as soft sided cabs through Deere I bet. You can get most anything from them if you have your dealer order it. I think if you want all the bells and whistles then get the 4000 series such as fully independent PTOs, flat operators platform, a little better hydraulics but all in all if you can stand a non syncronized transmission then the 990 is a great choice. The 4510 would be a nifty power reverser with syncronized shifts in all gears. I would drive both and see what you like the best assuming the dealer has both in stock. Sometimes 990s can be hard to come by at dealers. They are not a real good seller these days. The 790 is a great seller though.

 

[jrdellaratta]

I am consistently surprised by how well my 990 performs. I was an Orange guy all the way before, but couldn't pass up a great deal on a used 990, with several attachments, and w/ only 40 hours on her. I've never looked back.

No experience with anything in the JD 4xxx zone, however.

 

[zuiko]

The 990 is great but for $3k difference I would seriously consider the 4510. The ePowerReverser would be handy to have and the 4510 would have higher resale value.

There is over a $6k difference between list prices on those two machines so your dealer is discounting the 4510 much more heavily than the 990. That does not account for the FEL. The difference would be even greater with that assuming the 4510 has the 460 loader rather than the 430 loader on the 990.

 

[Monroe40]

Hi Dave,

I've been pleased with my 990. I have 39 hours on it since Sept 2003. I, too, was looking at the 990 vs. 4510, both with FEL and 4WD. I liked the better specs on the 4510 -- hydraulically and loader capacity. The 4510 also has the possibility of adding more options. Increasing the price more. However, I had just managed to swallow the $3000ish difference from the 790 to the 990 and just couldn't bring myself to spend the extra money for the 4510. Perhaps if I had started at the 990 price I could have talked myself into the 4510.....

So now that the water is under the bridge, I have no regrets. I am a weekend tractor user and so a geared tractor is ok. I'm not on a paid job with the thing so high efficiency loader work isn't that important. I probably have 150 or more bucket loads of dirt into the hole made from when dirt was scooped out for the pole barn fill. (And it's only 1/2 full.) Box scraper work on the driveway -- up and down 1/4 mile driveway. Gears are fine. Brush hoggin' I'm going slow. Clutch and stop. Clutch all the way in to disengage the PTO.

I'm sure I would be happy with a 4510, but for my purposes the 990 has been a very good choice.

Dave

 

[johnbilt]

Hi

I was checking over the spec sheet on the JD website for the 4510. Nice machine. And it is fitted with the 460 loader.

The 990 is a great value, basic workhorse tractor. I would join in the consensus here and say that the 990 has worked excellent for me.

John

 

[timb]

Anyone know why the 990 can only use the 430 loader and not the 460? I know the 990 is shorter and lighter but if you dig far enough into the specs (see Stoneham's site) it looks like the 990 axles are actually rated for higher load than the 4510-4710. So it doesn't seem like the 990 lacks for stout. The two things that keep pushing me to the big 4000's over the 990 is the loader capacity and the slightly more flexible reverser tranny but I haven't heard anyone not love their 990.

Tim

 

[zuiko]

I imagine it is positioning. They are pretty keen to limit the 90 series because they don't want it cutting into the 4x10 series sales. Same reason its GST only, no Mid-PTO available.

They say a MX6 rotary cutter is too much for the 990 but I have no problems at all with it. I am glad I went that route since it covers the width of the tractor. The MX5 does not.

What is the weight and size difference between the 4510 and 990?

 

[timb]

990 - 68.4" wheelbase, 123" overall, 2954/3175 lbs. in 2WD/MFWD.

4510 - 71.5" wheelbase, 128" overall, 3150/3450 lbs 2WD/MFWD.

But - interestingly, axle ratings:

990 - F/R in lbs. - 5513/5292.
4510 - F/R in lbs - 4960/5292.

So (unless that's one of the infamous JD document misprints) while the big 4000's might have just a tick more moment arm and mass for stability sure seems like the 990 could have handled the front axle stress of the 460 FEL.

On the up side if the 430 is enough loader for your needs, doesn't seem like you could hurt the 990 with it.

Tim