Deere 4020

CADplans · Sep 26, 2021

My BIL had that "J" shift transmission 4020,,
One of the best days of that farm was the day that 4020 LEFT,,!!
The transmission was a nightmare,, it self destructed twice in less than 5 years
The tractor was not abused,, no other tractor on that 1,600 acre farm ever had such a short life.

That transmission is basically an automatic,, like a car automatic, except it did not "shift" itself.
the tractor was perfect for baling hay,, if the hay gets heavy and thick, just shift to a lower gear.
no clutch needed.

RickB · Sep 26, 2021

Results do vary, but the 8 speed Deere power shift is generally regarded as the first successful and reliable full power shift transmission used in farm tractors. It stayed in production essentially unchanged from 1965 to 1982 and was installed in tens of thousands of tractors if not hundreds of thousands. The most common descriptive adjective associated with it is bulletproof.

rScotty · Sep 30, 2021

RickB said:
Results do vary, but the 8 speed Deere power shift is generally regarded as the first successful and reliable full power shift transmission used in farm tractors. It stayed in production essentially unchanged from 1965 to 1982 and was installed in tens of thousands of tractors if not hundreds of thousands. The most common descriptive adjective associated with it is bulletproof.

That's what I've heard from neighbors, too. I've never owned one myself, but if I needed a tractor that size the 4020 powershift would be on my "go find one" list.

K5lwq · Oct 1, 2021

The 4020 is arguably one of the best all around tractors ever made. It has always been one of my favorites.

rScotty · Oct 2, 2021

RickB said:
Because there was no decent cab available for that tractor. The concept of an isolated cab hadn't been adopted yet, all OEM and aftermarket cabs were dropped onto open operator stations. Vibrations, noise and heat that would escape an open 4020 are retained, reflected and redirect back at the operator. They are hot, loud and uncomfortable, especially without air conditioning.

That's interesting, I've only worked with the open station 4020s.
So what were the fixes for the loud cabs? Were there insulation kits? Could the cabs be removed and go back to being open station?
Is it possible to remove the doors and glass so that the cab becomes more like a canopy? It's easy - and worthwhile - to insulate the underside of a canopy.

STx · Oct 2, 2021

rScotty said:
That's interesting, I've only worked with the open station 4020s.
So what were the fixes for the loud cabs? Were there insulation kits? Could the cabs be removed and go back to being open station?
Is it possible to remove the doors and glass so that the cab becomes more like a canopy? It's easy - and worthwhile - to insulate the underside of a canopy.

I know you can remove the doors and glass and maybe some other panels.

I tend to wear earplugs on equipment these days, something that's happened as I've gotten older. The only exception is the excavator, it just isn't loud