unfixable tractors

currantvt · February 05, 2015, 09:04:46 AM

This article was in the wired magazine http://www.wired.com/2015/02/new-high-tech-farm-equipment-nightmare-farmers/, really interesting that farmers dont want second hand modern tractors as they are unfixable. My take on this is that it is leaving the door open for other manufacturers to step in to the market. I've always reckoned that JD's were great to have as new but overpriced secondhand , not helped by them closing the local dealership.

sawguy21 · February 05, 2015, 09:59:04 AM

I am a small engine guy, same thing here. Thanks to the esteemed Mr Nader and his friends at the EPA thou shalt not mess with thy engine. Frustrating but no one can step up and do things the old way.

beenthere · February 05, 2015, 10:32:35 AM

Still, there is a reason that second hand Deere hold their value. Come the day that they cannot be fixed, that value will correspondingly go down. But until then.......

red oaks lumber · February 05, 2015, 01:09:18 PM

everything i owned was deere and i own alot, but that has been changing. my opinion about deere is they have built this marketing fasade that green is worth more and to this day the masses have bought into it

if you look at things in detail other brands give you cheaper buying power for actually better products. most ag companies have merged but, deere remains solo. hum kinda of interesting that the computers can't be hacked, oh wait you have to spend money for a deere mechanic to service the equipment.as i keep upgrading equipment, its not being replaced with more green though

blackfoot griz · February 05, 2015, 04:24:37 PM

I have been fairly loyal to JD over the years. On my little 4600 utility tractor, I am just finishing up converting my FEL, bucket and fork lift attachment to the skid steer style attachment system and getting rid of the factory JD only style.

Most/all of the other utility tractors use the universal skid steer style attachment system except the green guys.

I will paint my conversion JD green when completed though. :D

Peter Drouin · February 05, 2015, 06:33:24 PM

Quote from: red oaks lumber on February 05, 2015, 01:09:18 PM
everything i owned was deere and i own alot, but that has been changing. my opinion about deere is they have built this marketing fasade that green is worth more and to this day the masses have bought into it if you look at things in detail other brands give you cheaper buying power for actually better products. most ag companies have merged but, deere remains solo. hum kinda of interesting that the computers can't be hacked, oh wait you have to spend money for a deere mechanic to service the equipment.as i keep upgrading equipment, its not being replaced with more green though

So you now have orange

PineNut · February 05, 2015, 08:16:15 PM

JD will not always fit JD. When I got forks for my FEL, they would not fit the loader. Seems that two pins for the forks were spaced just a little different than the holes on the FEL. Both sets of forks were the same size. The manager would not take my word for it and came out to see for himself. He did make it right.

red oaks lumber · February 05, 2015, 08:45:44 PM

peter
i got every color of the rainbow :D plus a few other colors, orange being one of them ;D

DDDfarmer · February 05, 2015, 10:11:13 PM

only have three deere johns here round baler, manure spreader and 1930 or 40's potato planter. most reliable is the tater planter. Tractors are mostly red plus some orange, blue, light green. The NH is the newest with the most wires, sensors, switches and relays and at times what a pain! I don't know if we can fix 1/4 of this tractor.

kiko · February 05, 2015, 11:39:09 PM

This article is interesting and I can see the problems that could arise for the farmer that wants to fine turn machine operation to suit his particular needs, terrain, ect. However, these machines are all repairable. Take emissions engines for example. Keep in mind under all the sensors, ecms the same old engine sits there. The systems simply monitor and control the same parameters that were nessesary for old mechanical engine to run at peak performance. With john deere, service literature is available that will lead to the problem or problem area. The most common and most commonly missed malfunctions in my experience are the wires them selves. The plastic braid wrap that is used for the wiring harness will smash the wires together eventually causing the wires to contact , but this does not nessesarily cause a smoking short as in the past. If the ECM detects the short it will shut down the current and code up. Same thing for an open circuit. The farmer with this repeat sensor failure probally needs a wiring harness. I don't deal much with farm equipment but rather logging equipment. That being said I have not needed any programming to repair any piece of john deere equipment that has come my way, reprogramming being the exception.

sprucebunny · February 06, 2015, 07:21:40 AM

I'm pretty angry about all the computers/sensors that have been added to tractors, trucks and cars.
The majority of the malfunctions on my Ford diesel are the sensors themselves.
I won't be buying anything newer than 1999. Ever.

Ford_man · February 06, 2015, 08:31:28 AM

I can fix mechanical problems ,I can fix hyd problems but I can't see electricity so I don't know where it is broke. >:( >:(

Jamie_C · February 06, 2015, 10:02:59 AM

Quote from: Ford_man on February 06, 2015, 08:31:28 AM
I can fix mechanical problems ,I can fix hyd problems but I can't see electricity so I don't know where it is broke. >:( >:(

I used to think the same way, a good multimeter can help you "see" where it is broke. I certainly wouldn't tackle wiring in a house but wiring in a machine doesn't bother me anymore. Think of the wires as tiny hoses that carry power instead of fluid, seems less intimidating that way.

DanG · February 06, 2015, 02:30:16 PM

I hate all of this computerized gadgetry we have these days. Things we used to fix in minutes and for pennies now cost days of down time and hundreds of dollars! >:(

sandhills · February 06, 2015, 04:54:03 PM

After a LOT of nagging from my wife and family I finally broke down last spring and for the first time in my life took out a loan to buy a "dependable" newer pickup. It's an '06 that had a brand new crate engine in it, within about 2 weeks of owning it I also now own a hand held analyzer to plug into the on board computer to keep it running :

. Not gonna name any brand to avoid the big brand war, but would like to have my old one back.
I'm in total agreement with sprucebunny. Tractors and machinery these days are a whole other nightmare, all mine are all still old though ;D.

gspren · February 07, 2015, 09:23:29 AM

I have 2 JD tractors, a 1988 2355 & a 1956 620, and on either one if you point at a part I probably know what it is. Under the hood of my 2013 diesel PU there are things that I have no idea of why they are there.

beenthere · February 07, 2015, 10:27:10 AM

Finding part numbers for all Deere products is available through jdparts.com with free registration. Also, service tech manuals are available for a reasonable price.
Don't know if other brands have such an extensive data bank easily accessible or not. But it is quite handy to anyone wanting to find a part (doesn't mean it is available but at least have a pic of the part and can search the number).
Just FYI...

DDDfarmer · February 08, 2015, 08:34:32 PM

http://partstore.agriculture.newholland.com/us/parts-search.html#epc::model_find for New Holland

http://www.deere.com/en_US/parts/parts.page? for deere johns

http://partstore.caseih.com/us/parts-search.html#epc::model_find for case IH parts

links that I use

Foxtrapper · February 14, 2015, 04:40:38 PM

Personally, I am going back to the early 70's machines, back before electronic ignination and computers. Points and condensers are easy enough to fix, and I don't have to spend hours removing stuff to get to what I need to replace or repair... :-\