SlyFoxFarm
New member
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2019
- Messages
- 9
- Tractor
- John Deere 4310
Hello All
New member, so I'm going to give a little introduction. I live on a 10.5 acre homestead in the Northern Rockies. I've been looking for a tractor for snow removal (average 60" of snowfall), hauling logs (burn 4-5 cords per winter, but usually have at least two winters worth), food plot establishment (gotta fill the freezer!), and minor earthworks (grading, gravel work, etc). After saving and watching for several years I have finally purchased my first tractor!
I picked up a 2004 John Deere 4310 with a 430 FEL, eHydro, Power Beyond, R4s and about 850 hours. After establishing a price (take some guesses), I took it to our local Deere dealer for an inspection to make sure there weren't any major problems I was missing. I was able to talk to the mechanic that did the inspection and got to ask all the questions I had. One of my main concerns was with the Power Beyond, which can be used with a backhoe. I have heard that a backhoe can be hard on these tractors if used by an inexperienced operator. After looking at the points on the tractor which would be used to connect the backhoe attachment plates, he determined that this machine had not had a backhoe. It has its functional issues: lighting issues, sticking brakes, steering tilt loose, frozen (rusted) ball link on one lift arm, frozen top link, and some cosmetic issues: cracked hood, missing fuel lid, broken flasher lens, but it seems like a really solid tractor. I decided to buy my first tractor.
After making the purchase, I took it home and did a full service: Engine Oil & Filter, Transmission/Hydraulic Oil, Filters, and Suction Screen, Fuel Filter, Air Filter, & Lubricated As Recommended.
I'm looking for any advice I can get on the issues I'm seeing.
Lighting Issue: All lights work properly except for the Flashers/Signals. The Signal Lever turns them on, but they are opposite of what the manual says they should be: Pushing away lights left, and pulling towards you lights right. The Flasher/Signal lights also do not turn on when the light knob is in the Flasher position.
Sticking Brakes: The mechanic said that it looks like it had been parked for a long time at some point with the parking brake on. Whenever the brake pedals are used, the brakes stick in place. I have to go under the tractor and pull down on the arm that is connected to the spring. For now, my plan is to just not use the brakes, but wondering if this is a matter of lubrication, calibration, or possible damage?
Steering Wheel Tilt: I've seen that this is a common problem on the 4310. Sad to see such poor design on such a nice tractor. Thinking I may possibly go the route of welding in a permanent position and forgo the plastic replacement parts. Any other ideas?
Lift Arm Ball Link: The inner ball link on the right hand lift arm is frozen. I'm hoping that soaking the ball in some solvent overnight might loosen it up to where I may be able to break it loose. Was planning to then buff it with a wheel as much as I could and lube it up good. Any thoughts on what I should soak it in? Other ideas to break it loose?
Top Link: The tractor end of the Top Link is also rusted stuck. I am planning to remove the implement end of the top link and spraying some solvent down into the threaded tube, let it work its way down the stuck end. Then work on it with a pipe wrench to hopefully break it loose. Then lube the **** out of it.
Hood Crack: The front of the hood is cracked near the hood latch. Got worse on the trailer ride home down the gravel road. It is missing the fuel lid and the attachment points in the hood are broken and missing, so I will probably replace the hood, but I'm planning to rig something up to hold it together through the winter or until I have some extra cash.
That was a longer post than I had planned, not sure if anyone will read the whole thing, but if you do, please pass along any ideas, advice, or experience with any of these issues. Also, how do you think I did? Did I purchase a good tractor for my intended purposes? After give it a full service, I feel like this is a pretty solid tractor. For work I have used a smaller Kubota B2410 and a larger LS XR4155H, and I thought that I needed to be somewhere in between for my personal tractor. The 4310 seems to fit this bill.
Thanks in advance for any and all help.
New member, so I'm going to give a little introduction. I live on a 10.5 acre homestead in the Northern Rockies. I've been looking for a tractor for snow removal (average 60" of snowfall), hauling logs (burn 4-5 cords per winter, but usually have at least two winters worth), food plot establishment (gotta fill the freezer!), and minor earthworks (grading, gravel work, etc). After saving and watching for several years I have finally purchased my first tractor!
I picked up a 2004 John Deere 4310 with a 430 FEL, eHydro, Power Beyond, R4s and about 850 hours. After establishing a price (take some guesses), I took it to our local Deere dealer for an inspection to make sure there weren't any major problems I was missing. I was able to talk to the mechanic that did the inspection and got to ask all the questions I had. One of my main concerns was with the Power Beyond, which can be used with a backhoe. I have heard that a backhoe can be hard on these tractors if used by an inexperienced operator. After looking at the points on the tractor which would be used to connect the backhoe attachment plates, he determined that this machine had not had a backhoe. It has its functional issues: lighting issues, sticking brakes, steering tilt loose, frozen (rusted) ball link on one lift arm, frozen top link, and some cosmetic issues: cracked hood, missing fuel lid, broken flasher lens, but it seems like a really solid tractor. I decided to buy my first tractor.
After making the purchase, I took it home and did a full service: Engine Oil & Filter, Transmission/Hydraulic Oil, Filters, and Suction Screen, Fuel Filter, Air Filter, & Lubricated As Recommended.
I'm looking for any advice I can get on the issues I'm seeing.
Lighting Issue: All lights work properly except for the Flashers/Signals. The Signal Lever turns them on, but they are opposite of what the manual says they should be: Pushing away lights left, and pulling towards you lights right. The Flasher/Signal lights also do not turn on when the light knob is in the Flasher position.
Sticking Brakes: The mechanic said that it looks like it had been parked for a long time at some point with the parking brake on. Whenever the brake pedals are used, the brakes stick in place. I have to go under the tractor and pull down on the arm that is connected to the spring. For now, my plan is to just not use the brakes, but wondering if this is a matter of lubrication, calibration, or possible damage?
Steering Wheel Tilt: I've seen that this is a common problem on the 4310. Sad to see such poor design on such a nice tractor. Thinking I may possibly go the route of welding in a permanent position and forgo the plastic replacement parts. Any other ideas?
Lift Arm Ball Link: The inner ball link on the right hand lift arm is frozen. I'm hoping that soaking the ball in some solvent overnight might loosen it up to where I may be able to break it loose. Was planning to then buff it with a wheel as much as I could and lube it up good. Any thoughts on what I should soak it in? Other ideas to break it loose?
Top Link: The tractor end of the Top Link is also rusted stuck. I am planning to remove the implement end of the top link and spraying some solvent down into the threaded tube, let it work its way down the stuck end. Then work on it with a pipe wrench to hopefully break it loose. Then lube the **** out of it.
Hood Crack: The front of the hood is cracked near the hood latch. Got worse on the trailer ride home down the gravel road. It is missing the fuel lid and the attachment points in the hood are broken and missing, so I will probably replace the hood, but I'm planning to rig something up to hold it together through the winter or until I have some extra cash.
That was a longer post than I had planned, not sure if anyone will read the whole thing, but if you do, please pass along any ideas, advice, or experience with any of these issues. Also, how do you think I did? Did I purchase a good tractor for my intended purposes? After give it a full service, I feel like this is a pretty solid tractor. For work I have used a smaller Kubota B2410 and a larger LS XR4155H, and I thought that I needed to be somewhere in between for my personal tractor. The 4310 seems to fit this bill.
Thanks in advance for any and all help.
