Joystick lock levers on my Deere 4720 and 4066R

[AcreageGuy]

I've owned a 4720 with cab for 15 years that I still have. A couple of years ago, I decided that I needed a second tractor that size and bought a new 4066R with cab. One thing that bothers me is that the lock lever for the joystick on the 4066R protrudes out from the right console a couple of inches more than on the 4720, which means that my knee is bumping into it when I turn to the right to look behind me, and it's also easy to bump it into the locked position.

The first photo below show the 4720's lock lever below the joystick handle, which you can barely see sticking partially out of the right console. The second photo shows that the 4066R's lock lever sticks out about 2 inches. Both are in the normal operating position, and they don't move much between their 3 positions - maybe only 1/4 to 3/8 inch between positions.

I first thought is might be normal for the newer model, until I watched the following YouTube video showing a dealer of used tractors give a video tour of a 4066R cab tractor. At about 7:55 in the following video, I can see that the lock lever looks like the one on my 4720, rather than the much longer one on my 4066R.

I helped my son change oil in his 3046R yesterday, and his lock lever looks just like the one in my 4720.

My question for you on the forum with 30xxR or 40xxR tractors, is does anyone else have a tractor with the excessively long lock lever. So far, I've got no help on this out of my Deere dealer, so if I find out that no one else has a tractor with this long lever, I'm going to push them to figure out if the wrong joystick got installed in my tractor.

 

[TCowner]

I hate that joystick lock lever on my 4066R. It digs in to my knee whenever I am using a three point hitch attachment or anytime I have to be turned to the right looking out the rear window. Since the difference in length between extended and and retracted is so minimal it could be much shorter.

 

[Smokeydog]

The loader lock on my Kubota M59 was removed by the previous owner probably for the same leg/knee interference problem. Don’t road travel enough to need it.

 

[AcreageGuy]

I hate that joystick lock lever on my 4066R. It digs in to my knee whenever I am using a three point hitch attachment or anytime I have to be turned to the right looking out the rear window. Since the difference in length between extended and and retracted is so minimal it could be much shorter.

Being a person that's not afraid to dig into most anything mechanical, I decided to fix the problem myself. I removed the joystick assembly from my 4066R and modified the lock lever to make it identical to the one in my 4720.

Getting the joystick out was not too bad. I had to lift the top of the right hand console. I removed the knobs on the 3-point and the remote levers, but later realized that it would have been easier to remove the plastic "grille" that the levers protrude through, because it is slotted and will slide forward off of the levers after removing the screw that holds it to the top of the console.

I then had to hold open the plastic piece that covers the inside of the right console to get at the joystick, disconnect the joystick plungers from the control cables, remove the plastic grip assembly from the top of the joystick, pop the rubber boot loose, and remove the 2 bolts holding the joystick base to the frame of the tractor.

With the joystick assembly out, it took me a while to figure out how to pop the lever with the 2 plungers out of the plastic housing, but it pops out with a bit of forced persuasion.
Then, the 2 screws holding the lock lever to the plastic base of the joystick assembly can be removed, and the lock lever slid out.

I took careful measurements and decided that I needed to have the bend-down in the lever be 2 inches closer to the side console than original. I decided to make the lever have an inward bend, like the one in the 4720, so I removed less than 2 inches of material.

I cut the lever with a hacksaw, used a bend-brake to make a 30 degree and a 90 degree bend, rounded the end with a bench grinder, and put some black paint on to cover the bare end and the bend-brake marks. The first photo shows the modified lever, with the piece that I cut off, positioned as it would have been before cutting the lever into 2 pieces.

The second photo below shows the joystick base with the modified lock lever installed, and the joystick lever and plungers before re-assembly. Again, a little persuasion was needed. I had to tap the plungers down with a plastic-tipped hammer to get the ball that the lever rotates on back into its hole in the plastic housing.

I provide these instructions in case anyone else is frustrated enough to go to the effort that I did. If you do, just be careful not to break anything, or make a mess of the lock lever trying to bend it. The lock lever is not available by itself, so you've just got one chance to get it right, or else you'll have to buy a whole assembly that costs close to $400.

The third photo shows the part number tag on the joystick assembly. I thought that maybe Deere assembled the wrong part number into my tractor, but it shows the part number shown in their online parts book. In looking at numerous YouTube videos of dealers or owners giving a video tour of 4R tractors, I've found several with the short lever like my 4720, including some newer than my 2017 model, and only 1 or 2 with the longer lever that mine had. It makes me wonder if their suppler (shown as Arens on the part number tag, a division of Curtiss-Wright) supplied some incorrect joysticks. It seems unlikely that Deere would not have caught such a mistake, so maybe Deere knew of it an allowed a deviation, thinking that it was not a problem. If they concluded that it was not a problem, it was a bad decision for any operator who needs to turn to the right when operating the tractor.

 

[TCowner]

Great post AcreageGuy. I've been waiting for someome smarter than me to come up with this solution. I know I have a permanent "dent" in my right leg from this torture device.

Thanks again for the post.