Is my 4210 not running right? HELP

[bradc]

I recently traded my 1 year old 4110 for a new 4210 e hydro. I have a very long driveway and wanted the big snow blower so it was new tractor time!! I am generally very happy , this tractor is great. The problem (or non problem?) I have is it seems to be down on power. It runs smooth , idles with no smoke etc. but here is the problem. I went to drive down the street to my neighbors to help him backblade some stone in his driveway and when I put in it high (C) range , the tractor will not pull the gear. This was driving with no pto implements and just with my 4 foot back blade hanging off the back on flat paved road. If you throttle up to operating rpm (2600) and accelerate slowly with the hydro pedal when you get about halfway down on the pdal the tractor runs out of power and you need to back off the pedal. I initially thought maybe the gearing is just way high and it won't pull that gear. But the more I drove it the more it seemed to not have any guts. Can any other 4210 owner comment on this, will your tractor pull top gear? I am not looking to race around (haha) but with out any attachments on pavement in 2wd I though it would pull high range. It will come close to stalling if you leave your foot depressed , you have to back off or it will die. B and A are fine. The dealer made a servoice call this week , they suspected the brake rods were dragging. I had verified the weren't by jacking previously but they were certain that was the problem. After inspection they found tha brake rods were fin and not dragging and after driving the tractor the technician agreed it "seemed" down on power. but all his tests showed it was running fine. I should note the tractor has only 6.5 hours on it and it could still be tight and not generating full power. It is also on the same tank of diesel that it came with so maybe I have old fuel with low Cetane rating... any comments would be great. My dealer is sold out of 4210's or I would have driven another one to see if its normal or not.

Thanks!
Brad

 

[thebigc]

At one time, I was thinking of trading my 4100 up to a 4200 and my dealer told me I'd be better off going to a 4300 for just the reason you described. He said the 4200 is just too underpowered for its size and the high range on the HST is unuseable. When the 4210 came out, with two more HP, I wondered if JD had solved this issue...

 

[JeffSpencer]

I do not have that problem with my 4200. However, at some point my 3ph lever, when pulled all the way back to raise the 3ph to it's full height, the hydraulics were in a strain which drained alot of power. Try lowering the 3ph rock shaft and see if that is your problem. My 4200 amazes me everytime I use it and I used to operate a Case 555. These little tractors are awesome!

If you think something is not right, force your dealer to get it right. Don't let the warranty slip away.

 

[Dutch445]

Brad,
Welcome to TBN!

As a dealership employee and not an owner, I do get to drive brand new tractors very often. I have to say that with the 4210, what you are describing could be normal. I use that scenario with customers, and often show the 4310 or 4410 so they can feel the difference. C range is tough going for the 4210, even with no attachment or implement on the tractor. Especially right out of the box, and not being broken in. I would think that after a good break in, the HP should be up where it is supposed to be and you will find the tracor to do what is expected. I tell people not to baby the tractor during breakin the way an automobile is broken in, that the engine needs to be worked, to help seat rings etc... and yes, they build horsepower as they get broken in. That may take a while depending on what you are doing with the tractor. I know a lot of residential customers never really work the engine, and I think the tractors don't get a good break in like an agricultural tractor that gets put on a heavy PTO implement might.

If you still feel the same way after 100 hrs or so, see if the dealer will dyno the tractor to make sure it's at recommended HP.

Also, are you aware of the loadmatch feature on the tractor and how to use it?

Enjoy your new tractor!
/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[beenthere]

I think you should sit down with your dealer/salesman and have a real heart to heart talk. Either find the problem, or get you an upgrade to a tractor that pulls in high gear.

I thought that was the main reason for the e-hydro (that you could not stall the engine when over-loading in any gear range). Something is not exactly right, and the dealer and you need to work it out. May cost you for trading up, but not much because this is still new. I wouldn't accept it as it is.

My Deere 4300 acts like that if I have a load and am going up a grade. I just lay off the forward foot hyd pedal for the engine rpm to stay up. Or I just select B range and don't get in such a hurry. Actually, I do most of my work in B range. Only if tilling or FEL hard work do I get into A range, and only if free running on the road do I get into C range.
But, I have looked at trading up to the 4410 to get more engine power in C range, and now am holding back to see what the new series is going to be like. The Deere engines, I hear, have better torque at lower rpm, which sounds like the future way to go.

 

[JohnMC]

I have a 4210 I purchased last Feb '04. I had no issues with "C" range and no load on the tractor. I took it down the road the first day it was delivered and in "C" range went as fast as it would go just for about 100 yards and I have some 20 degree inclines and no problems at all. I would speculate you have something out of adjustment. There were some technical bulletins on potentiometers on the go pedals. I don't know enough about the hydro system to be of any help but just from what you describe and compared to mine, it should be able to travel the road without a load no problem. You need to have the dealer take care of it now or you may be stuck with a lemon. See if the dealer has another new/used 4210 on the lot you can compare yours to.......

 

[turbo36]

I agree with JohnMC it sounds like a misadjusted pot, I had the same problem with my 4410. "C" range was unusable as delivered after a trip to the dealer and a pot adjustment it worked fine. Keep in mind "C" range is pretty tall and the power will fall off pretty fast on the hills.

 

[TCSavage]

I have a 2002 4210 with the same identical problem. The dealer has made several service calls and the unit has had more shop time than I care to admit. The ehydro was finally replaced which helped somewhat, however the final conclusion was to use the loadmatch at all times. The dealer put it on a dyno and the rated power was there. They also "tweaked" the injector pump which helped somewhat, but I now get a fair amount of smoke.

 

[RogerH]

Make sure your Load Match switch is turned on. That will help quite a bit. That is the switch just to the left of the steering column. I recall a thread earlier on this forum where someone actually timed the hill climbing of their tractor with load match on and off. Perhaps a more experienced member can find that thread and post a link to it.

 

[JDgreen227]

My 4210 has never been operated on the road but I have tried using C range on my property, it is about 1000 feet deep and slopes front to back....I can run in that range going down the slope but going the opposite way it struggles, even with no implements on but the MMM. I knew the engine was smaller than the one in the 4310 when I bought it, and that is one of the reasons I decided to pass on the salesguys offer to load the rear tires. Knowing the power output might be on the low side, I didn't want to add hundreds of pounds of weight, especially weight that would be difficult to remove.


But 20 degree inclines in "C" range....sorry, I don't buy that unless you are going DOWNHILL on that kind of incline.