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I own a 4400 and a 660 tiller. It says on the serial number tag that it is made in Germany. all the bolts are metric. It is a good tiller, I had a 550 (made in France) that I purchased with my 955. I traded it in on this one. I think I preferred the 550 in my situation because it was easier to manuever but it did not quite cover the wheel. The 660 is a fine piece of machinery. The only thing I don't like is the rear door is too short. In a lot of my work I need to use gauge wheels and the rear door allows too much stuff to fly out. I just today added some mudflaps to the back and this allows a much safer work area since it won't kick out rocks. hope this helps. mike

John Deere implements
John Deere Tractors
Replies 12 Post by turfman

The Retail is listed at this website http://www.jdlawns.com/4400.htm as 210.00. I know that I paid no where near what your dealer says for mine.

Installing 3rd SCV on 4400
John Deere Tractors
Replies 7 Post by turfman

Yes, I just got notified that my unit can go in on Wed. I have waited since Jan. of this year for the upgrade. Hope you don't have to wait as long. good luck.

The saga of Deere s axle problem continues
John Deere Tractors
Replies 8 Post by turfman

I am of the opposite mind on this. I use and really like the Gators. I started using them on my pushmowers only. I found that you could mow twice as much before the bag was full in grass only, they really shine when the leaves come off the trees. I would use a side chute to blow them in the middle the catch them, at least 4 times more in the bag. I could not get them for my 72 inch Deeres so I got the closest length (1/16" less than OEM) and drilled the center hole to match. I think that they do a better job of mulching the grass because I no longer have to disperse piles after the grass is long. Saves me time. Thats my 2 cents.

what kind of mower blade
Garden and Landscape
Replies 4 Post by turfman

I Have a 4400hst. I use my steering brakes often enough that I am glad I can. Usually it is when needing to make a tight turn while grading. Most often used in the confines of the shed where all the equipment make manuvering a little difficult. Never use it while mowing the yard. Sometimes when grading on steep banks to hold the unit in a straight line without the front wheels having to oversteer and cause ruts.

How do you brake steer with hydro trans
New Holland Tractors
Replies 13 Post by turfman

Wow, Murf, you and I had a disagreement a few months back and I never got a beer out of the deal! Hmmmmm, apologize......get beer........Hey man, I sure am sorry about that!!! Now if you had a wife this approach does not work, they brood for a while, then go shopping. Us guys just forgive and forget. Right? I'll have a strong micro-brewed stout, thank you very much.

My Cutter Ain t Level
Mowers Field and Finish
Replies 53 Post by turfman

Meant to say turn around in your seat and reach back. sorry

Which Box Blade
John Deere Tractors
Replies 8 Post by turfman

I have an 8N that had the same problem. I believe that ours is also a '49. There is a guy about 40 miles from here that specializes in rebuilding 8N's in all conditions. If you are desparate (and close to Nebraska?), I would be happy to provide the name and phone, he might tell you over the phone. email me for the number.

Ford 8N - rear axle wheel seals leaking
Parts and Repair
Replies 3 Post by turfman

I know for a fact that broken chains snap back. I would post the picture of a guy my friend worked on in Indianapolis with his head caved in and the mind of the stump he was trying to pull. This guy never even had the chance to turn his head a little. The dent left in the side of his head in the picture I saw was enough for me to always wear a helmet when pulling anything with a chain. I have had chains break, they fly. The same with cable. David is right, it's physics at work. my two cents

Pulling down trees
Tractor Projects
Replies 21 Post by turfman

I am from Iowa, a friend of mine works for Deere at the Waterloo Plant, his job is to soothe the really irritated customer in the agricultral market. He related a great customer service story to me. There was a large scale farmer that called to complain about his dealer not taking the greatest care when his units went in for service. This operator had 4 model 8400 series tractors and had just taken delivery of a new 5th unit. These are huge units, the guy farmed about 6000 acres. His major complaint was that his tractors came back from the shop with the paint all scratched off the bolts and these then rust. Why the hell didn't the dealer paint the things after servicing the machine. He also said something about a scratched hood on the new unit. When my friend contacted the owner of the dealership he said he was aware of the bolt problem and had taken steps to fix it, as far as the hood went.....he was very aware of that and had also fixed that. He then told my buddy about the hood. Seems cab headlight had been burned out at the time of delivery and nobody noticed it and the operator wanted it fixed. The owner of the dealership needed to make a run in the area of the farm so he would stop and fix the light. When he arrived, he hopped on the hood of the tractor and proceeded to replace the headlight. When he turned around the farmer was standing on the hood of his new Lincoln Navigator. He asked the farmer what he hell he thought he was doing and the farmer replied,"Which cost more, your Navigator or my tractor?" The dealer called the shop immediately and had a new hood at the farm and installed the next day. The shop now paints all bolts removed from any unit and also doesn't service headlights from the hood and this policy was posted in the mechanics lounge. That is how to teach a lesson.

Customers and Dealers
John Deere Tractors
Replies 3 Post by turfman

My dealer (actually the mechanic) contacted me about the new axle. He said that he learned about at a regional mechanics meeting. And that the fix would probably take a while to implement because the axles had to come off the new machine assembly line in GA. This has been the case, more than 2 months since he told me the good news. I really like my 4400, it is a great machine. Hope all the nay-sayers get some good service from their dealer which should be the case in the first place.

Old Style Axle Update
John Deere Tractors
Replies 10 Post by turfman

Just a note that my dealer was unaware of the problem and had not recieved anything from deere yet. He did say that such a letter generally indicates the fix is very simple and that if I had any problem to let him know and he would be happy to help. Now this is a dealer that contacted me that he had ordered and would replace my front axle (still on order), before I contacted him. I hope my faith in this notice as an easy fix is justified (come on Deere). All in all I like the tractor and would buy another one (with the new axle). my 2 cents.

JD recall on FEL
John Deere Tractors
Replies 9 Post by turfman

There is a product that is a tire sealant called Amerseal. It is a product that works pretty well for me in other applications. I doesn't require a lot for a typical truck tire, 20oz. I used it to seal tire that had a slow leak that we could not find and it worked. can't remember what i paid for it either. wasn't real expensive. I was impressed by the display at a trade show where you could pop holes in the tire and they sealed. anyway, it is worth a look if you are worried about flats and you don't lose the float of the tire inflation. Gemplers also has a similar product. check them out too. my 2 cents.

foam filled turf tires pros and cons
Parts and Repair
Replies 6 Post by turfman

There are some other alternatives to K-31 or just the old 3 way mix. There are some new types of dwarf and double dwarf tall fescues that are very hardy and not nearly as "clumpy" as the older types of Tall fescues. These are sometimes indistinguishable from a blue grass stand depending on the location. Ask a seed distributor in your area. these are generally not available at the local farm store. Just remember when you are seeding, seed is the cheapest thing you got. don't be afraid to use a more than the minimum amount recommended. just my 2 cents.

Best Type of Grass Seed
Garden and Landscape
Replies 9 Post by turfman

I have had a 755 and a 955. Both with belly mowers and loaders. I must say that is a lot easier mowing and not a lot harder to hook up a belly mower to the x55 series. Once I got used to it could do it in under 5 min easily. Last year i rained a lot in the spring and since I have +-9 acres of lawn to mow I ws constantly putting it on and taking it off. No big deal, sometimes twice a week. Needed to do some grading too. hope you like what you get, maybe your dealer will be as accomodating as the guys above. my 2 cents.

Belly Mower vs Rear Finishing Mower
Mowers Field and Finish
Replies 12 Post by turfman

As for what happens to the old axles, my dealer is just hauling them out back to a pile for the salvage yard. Seems like a real waste. The other comment that was made about the dealers warranty time allotment, 5 hrs. but it will probably take about 8 by what my mechanic says. Deere is usually not too generous for those retro-fits. The parts are supposedly coming from the assembly line for the new tractors so don't hold your breath til you get yours. I spoke with a golf course superintendent the other day that purchased a 4400hst for mowing his rough. He was very disappointed with the turning performance. He had used a 1070 for this prior and that is a heavy duty tractor meant for loader backhoe operations and mowing. He had never had so much damage, (makes me wonder how old the guy he sent out to mow was, you know just keep turning,they told me to mow the back 9). Anyway, Deere marketed this tractor at the Golf Course Superintendents show for the golf market. So I think they knew what they were doing, they just didn't care until we did. And now that the competition knows and is after it I think we can all sit down and relax and mow and turn on our new axles. thats my 2 cents

John Deere Scuffing
John Deere Tractors
Replies 54 Post by turfman

bud, the 3rd scv was sticking and had to be centered by the operator. the 3rd scv is the one for the rockshaft or mower lift. I have not had a problem with the bucket scv. hope it helps. and to ken, you are probably right. this is my 4th green machine and the dealer is pretty good to me. I really like doing business there and the mechanic is great too. He lets me in on things that other mechs just let you find out the hard way. hope your dealer comes around.

4x00 series front axel and vindication
John Deere Tractors
Replies 16 Post by turfman

I mow a 7 acre formal lawn, bush-hogged countless acres of hilly pastures and weeds as high as 9 feet, done a lot of loader work, and tons of other acreage type chores on my turf tires. Last week I went up a hill that was too steep to stand on and the machine climbed right up. I know that the R-4 will leave a indention in the lawn when you mow. I let my dealer talk me into some R-4's with the stipulation that if I didn't like them he'd get me turfs. I went back to turfs after the first time I mowed and left tire ridges all over the lawn. just my 2 cents.

Turf vs Ag Tires
Parts and Repair
Replies 16 Post by turfman

I am one of the most ardent proponents of this product. I chose it carefully after a few time and motion studies of my own. We timed an experienced (9+ years service, Jake) and an inexperienced (2 years, Jeff) at hooking up cat 1 implements on dirt. Jake took little more than 4 minutes to unhook a scarifier and rehook to a box scraper. Jeff took almost 8 minutes. With the Hitch it took Jake just less than 1 minute and Jeff just under 2 minutes (sorry Bob).
I took two seeding/grading projects that are typical to my operation and looked at the implements we used and how often we changed those. I bring to each job, aeravator, box scraper, scarifier, spreader, Brillion seeder. I stacked the implements on the trailer in the order that they normally come off, used them and parked them off the trailer in case we needed them again. At both jobs each comes off the trailer, that counts 4 changes. We then had instances where we needed to go back to each box scraper, aeravator, and scarifier twice, that is 6 more changes. I then have to reload the trailer, 4 more changes. That totals 14 changes at one jobsite. Since I don�t do seed/grade projects exclusively I need the tractor for other uses, and therefore I have to rededicate the tractor at the end of the project. When you add in that the trailer had to be loaded at the shop to go and unloaded when back you get 8 more changes. 22 changes for one job! That accounts for timesaving of 42 to 84 minutes at the site and 66 to 132 minutes total portal to portal. This time is not necessarily in one day, it may span 2 or 3. But even then it still makes sense. I generally charge out at $60/hr. on the tractor and do about 15 of these projects a year. And this does not include the other tractor work I do outside of the spring and fall seeding season. Now if I save 10, 20, or 30 hours per year I think that the math will justify the Freedom Hitch. Once again, I stress the safety inherent in this unit. Changing many times can be dangerous. With a Freedom Hitch there is no reason to get your fingers in the way and once the unit is on the tractor the PTO shaft or hydraulics are a snap. This is long and more than my usual 2 cents!

Quick hitch by Freedom Hitch
Operating and Attachments
Replies 24 Post by turfman

Chris,
I also have a 4400 with the pallet forks. There are some real limits when you use this setup. The most it will lift is 1250#s plus a pallet. at this weight the tractor is very unstable even when a lot of rear ballast is used. if you have to lift very high with much weight forget about it. 4 feet tops at 1250#s.
I have used this setup extensively and work very slowly and very delibratly even on level ground. just my 2 cents.

Using 4200 4300 as forklift
Tractor Projects
Replies 9 Post by turfman