Buying Advice John Deere 2240 4wd

[goeduck]

Congratulations on getting her home! Very cool looking tractor. I like that vintage.

 

[rScotty]

Ok, so I got the tractor. It has been pretty handy so far! I was able to lift my 1600 lb. bale with the use of a ratchet strap and set it into my half-full round bale feeder. I picked up a back blade for it and that has been handy clearing the driveway...a FEL does not work as good as i would have expected for scraping packed snow and ice!
The next tool im looking at is a post pounder. Ill meet up with a guy this week to look at an older danhauser PTO driven pounder. It should work for what i need it for. Im also looking for a box blade. Ive got a large area id like to level. I found a large quonset hut that was taken apart and put up for sale and i think it would fit well in this area.
Heres some pics of the tractor...sorry, they are a bit overdue. It has a 143 loader on it and the basic 2-stick 8F, 4R transmission.
They got the one fitting that was puking fluid replaced before delivering it to my place. There are a couple of other seepages, but nothing major. All hydraulics work fine, but one thing that i didnt notice when test driving it was that there seems to be some noise that sounds like a hydraulic pump. It kinda sounds like an 80's ford truck power steering pump that is growling a bit. Nothing to compare this to, so i dont know if it a normal sound or not. It seems to be coming from the area under the shift sticks.
Also, didnt notice this before, but it is almost as if there is a tooth missing somewhere in the steering linkage. When going straight at higher speeds the wheels seem to have some freeplay side to side (think shopping cart wheels here). When turning, they lock in tight and hold solid. It is almost like a tooth in a steering gear is missing right where it would hold the wheels straight. Its barely noticable though as i have taken it on a 16 mile round trip to load some heavy steel into the back of my truck without issue.

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How is that tractor working out for you? Update?
rScotty

 

[THEPARTYHOUND]

Its been working very well! I have, since the last posting, put a SSQA setup in the FEL and got a set of pallet forks for it. The engine runs awesome. Provided that I plug in the block heater for an hour or two, it fires right up in the coldest of temps. I'm pretty reliant on the 'ol bugger by now for everything from bringing my pallets of split firewood up from the lower field to bringing hay out to the cows. The next thing i will be looking for is a 2 bottom plow and a disc. I'd like to put in a couple of acres of sainfoin to see how it does, then a few more acres if it does well. Maybe some wild rye if it does poorly...

 

[kthompson]

I like the looks of your tractor. JD has built some great tractors. Have you considered trying to add a back glass and at least right side door or glass and heater? I have a different JD with cab and you live a must colder climate than I do but even with no left door the other will help stop wind. Not to make something tacky looking but lexan with simple clamps would be a good test.

 

[THEPARTYHOUND]

Really, the windshield has made a huge difference when pushing snow around. So far I just bundle up well if Im gonna be out doing something for any length of time in the really cold stuff...gotta love Carhartt! It wouldn't be too hard to fabricate a frame and side glass, but I guess I haven't really pursued it like I thought I might.
In fact, Im looking pretty hard at upgrading to something a little bigger with a cab. We will see, but it just might happen...