Jd 440

[tuney443]

Just got my new ''baby'' home yesterday--an old JD 440 with a 831 loader.Has a 2-53 Detroit in her,runs fine,something's up with the reverser though,has 5 reverse speeds right now,only 1 forward gear--I think those clutches are problematic--probably need constant adjusting.Anybody own one?

[RonG]

Sounds like the engine is running backwards......LOL.Those old Detroits were positive ground.......I wonder if the starter would spin backwards if the polarity was wrong.Ron G

[telescooper]

When I was a kid we used to have one of them it was a 2 cyl gasser. I think it was a 50's model. The reverser didn't work and if I remember we took it out and connected the shaft where it used to be. The trans was 4 forward and reverse on the gassers.
Telescooper

[tuney443]

Iv'e already learned a lot from the good folks at JD Crawlers.com.Seems the 440's were only made from '58-'60,either gas or my 2-53 Detroit,and in dozer or loader mode.Looks like I have a '59 model with a need for the forward clutch adjustment procedure ASAP.Turns out,they tell me, that I'm only able to have 1 forward speed right now because I'm double reversing the tranny and reverser which = FORWARD! Go figure.Maybe Deere did this way back as the precursor to a ''limp mode'' if you will,as a way to limp back to your shop for a repair.It's a real hoot to run,I can see at the end of the day you will build arm muscles with that little beast.I guess it was an era when men were men and sheep were nervous.:D

[MikeCNY]

A guy by the name of Ed has a place called "Crawler Heaven" up in Palmyra, NY. He specializes in the smaller crawlers.

[Alan]

Tuney, I'm thinking that the ones that came with a reverser didn't have a reverse gear in the tranny. The space was there for a reverser though. Could it be possible that somebody added a reverser to a machine that originally didn't have one?

Somebody else mentioned 4 speed tranny, they made a bunch of the various 400 series Dubuque tractors with the 4 as standard equipment and the 5 as an option, or maybe it was the other way around. At any rate, the 4 spd went back as far as the Model M and was continued in the 40-420-430 ag lineup and carried over into the 440, which had no ag counterpart, it was designed as an industrial from the beginning. The 440 also pioneered the cast iron radiator surround which gave a certain appearance to Deere crawlers for years, up to at least the 450 of the early 80s they had that same snout.

[Catpower]

Dad had a JD-420 that we had to repair the final drive and adjust.That was in1969 It had the 4 spd trans the Charlyn hyd cylinders and Gear-o-matic winch. I thought I had it in 1st and was in 4th so ended up with a mouth full of hyd oil while tring to dig up a Arbutus tree was about 2 ft across. I finally won by digging down 3plus ft and twisting it out.

[tuney443]

Tuney, I'm thinking that the ones that came with a reverser didn't have a reverse gear in the tranny. The space was there for a reverser though. Could it be possible that somebody added a reverser to a machine that originally didn't have one?

Somebody else mentioned 4 speed tranny, they made a bunch of the various 400 series Dubuque tractors with the 4 as standard equipment and the 5 as an option, or maybe it was the other way around. At any rate, the 4 spd went back as far as the Model M and was continued in the 40-420-430 ag lineup and carried over into the 440, which had no ag counterpart, it was designed as an industrial from the beginning. The 440 also pioneered the cast iron radiator surround which gave a certain appearance to Deere crawlers for years, up to at least the 450 of the early 80s they had that same snout.

It seems from what I gathered from the gurus at the JDcrawler site,most machines had the reverser,but not all,that's why I have reverse in my tranny.Actually,I might need to lose the reverser and run the ''optional'' straight shaft because my problem is not an adjustment issue,but rather broken front clutch disk tabs that I found when I drained the reverser.The parts alone might cost a grand so if I can find that straight shaft with the coupler,I think I'll go that route. Anyone have any junkers or parts for this old girl? I tell you though,yesterday I did put it on my job and ran it some--really a hoot to run,for only 30HP and being '' stuck'' in some forward speed gear,it has some power.

[srs_mn]

It seems from what I gathered from the gurus at the JDcrawler site,most machines had the reverser,but not all,that's why I have reverse in my tranny.

I had an early JD350 that had a direction reverser plus a reverse gear in the main four speed transmission... the direction reverser was an option in the 350's, so they just used the same, 4 speed + reverse, transmission whether you had a direction reverser or not... I, sometimes, used to just leave the reverser in forward and use the reverse gear in the transmission because it was so much quieter - the direction reverser's high pitched whine/screech (in reverse) would almost drive me nuts after 8 or 10 hours while digging a basement.
When I traded the 350 in for a 350C one of the first things I noticed was that there was no longer a reverse gear in the main tranmission; the hydraulic reverser was, by then, standard equipment... though, now, the noise in reverse was standard, too.
srs_mn