Case 4690 Any good????????

[FarmerAlex]

HI there was looking at a Case 4690 Tractor... The bloke is asking 14500 for it, 3pl and all the other gear works except the PTO.
Tyres are 60%, looks in good condition

Was wondering if anyone else has had any experiences with this tractor

Cheers Alex

 

[stumpjumper83]

tractorhouse.com has 4 out of 14 at 10k or less listed over here in the us. I have heard that the scania (mack) motor in the 4890 is prefered over the 504 case. A very knowledgeable case mechanic doesn't like the 504 past 200hp...

That being said, if I was in the market for a lg. 4x4 tractor, I'd go green, lime green not deere green... aka STEIGER... Made from truck components, they should be alot easier to fix in aussie land than a branded tractor.

 

[quackattak]

We have a 2670 (series older) and a 4490 (size under 4690). Alot of the hard parts are no longer available, not a big problem if you know of a good salvage yard. The scania in the larger models is better for HP but very expensive to work on. Both 504 case's lasted about 10,000hrs before needing rebuilt, we get around 20,000hrs out of the 8.3 cummins in the magnum's. Just got rebuilding one planetary and the pto on the 4490, probably had 1500.00 in the pto. We gave 4000.00 for the 2670 and 5000.00 for the 4490, both were very close to needing engines (8000-9000hrs).

 

[FarmerAlex]

How is the quad steering system, i dont know what functions it has, but it seems that it is electronically controlled for the back wheels. It interests me as i could have a fiddle around with the electronics to alter how the wheels act.

It has nearly 9000 hours on it, with a dead pto in my eyes they are asking too much for it.

Cheers Alex

 

[quackattak]

If the engine has not been rebuilt it will need to be soon, the pto clutch is under the cab on back of trans, takes some work to remove and install. The electronic steering is problematic, with constant tinkering you can keep it working. I got tired of ours and plumbed the rear cylinder's into one of the hyd remotes. I like the tractor's we get alot of work out of them for what we have put into them.

 

[FarmerAlex]

Gday all, hope the weather is good in your part of the world, the rain has halted our haymaking and spud planting so its back to the shed for the this week. Now what i intend to do with this tractor is put on a front linkage and mount a dozer blade on it, On the rear linkage will mount a 1m deep ripper. Will the tractor be able to handle the heavier work? I'm a little tentative with loading a tractor like this, especially the powershift. Is there any weak points i should look for on this tractor???

Has anyone done hay work with a tractor like this?? Might a 4x4 big square baler for it too...

cheerio

Alex

 

[stumpjumper83]

farmer alex, did you end up getting the case?

 

[FarmerAlex]

I'm still umming and ahhing, given how much it is, i'm still looking at different models,

For the same price i can get:

:> Versatile 875, Tyres 80% Duels

:> Case 4496, modified for reverse travel, has been used in a silage pit. Good tyres and lights, Duels

:> Allis Chalmers 7580 : New engine 2007, 10L Cummins, Super singles good condition

:> John Deere 8630 : Looks a bit rough, Duels- needs work done

:> Versatile 835 Series ||| : New tyres, looks in very good condition

:> Steiger Bearcat : V8 cat motor, 3 remotes, Paint looks pretty rough


Its a pretty tough decision, my primary aim is to do earthmoving type jobs with the machine. If i can expand to do some other hay work well that would be great.

Has to be reliable, with engine parts easy to get hold of. The cab has to be mildly comfy, as i expect to be in there for say 18 hours a day, relatively good road speed, and not guzzle fuel.

I don't mind if it hasn't got powershift, but if it does and works well i can live with it.

Relatively good visibility, stable on steep slopes and has a good fuel tank range.

cheers
Alex

 

[FarmerAlex]

How good are articulated tractors in comparison to just a standard rigid tractor, i feel that they would be easier to work on the rear part of the tractor, as there is no cab there. Theres plenty of universal shafts, which are a ball to service so that makes life easier. Any suggestions please feel free

cheerio

Alex

 

[quackattak]

Versatile would be a good choice, most are fuller trans with 855 cummins, JD has the best cab but powershift can be costly to fix, AC will be challenging for parts, 4496 is a good tractor, 875 versatile with a cummins and fuller trans would be hard to pass up. Articulated is the way to go, turns better, no king pin and outer axle shaft leaking problems, just have to keep an eye on center pins.

 

[FarmerAlex]

Can anyone else give more specific details on the Versatiles, they seem like good machines, cabs look fairly comfy. A big plus is that they are running cummins engines, parts and servicing should be a lot easier!!! Just wondering what sort of transmissions they have? and what fuel flows people generally get out of their machine?

cheerio, Alex

 

[North Texan]

The 90 series Case tractors had some issues. The electronics were often problematic, and the transmissions had lots of issues.

Steiger made my favorite articulated tractor, but stay away from the V8 engines. The 3406 Cat and the 855 Cummins were and still are probably the best engines ever put in a tractor. The 611 Cummins (10L) is not far behind, and that is what is in my Case IH 9150 that I farm with currently.

Versatile made a good tractor, but they generally needed more ballasting to get the most out of them. I have driven both Steiger and Versatile tractors, and both were good tractors. Although the Steiger powershift and safari cab make it hard to get back in a Versatile.

John Deere's older 4WD tractors suffered many problems. They were severely underpowered, gulped fuel, and were terrible to try and work on. The -30, -40, and -50 series weren't worth having. The -60 series showed some improvement, and the -70 series had almost caught up to where Steiger was 20 years earlier.

The CIH 9150 I have has powershift and the 10L Cummins engine. I can pull an 27 shank chisel on wheat ground, covering about 18 acres an hour, and using about 9 to 9.5 gallons of diesel per hour. That tractor is really about its most efficient at 1700 rpm.

My uncle has a 946, and it has been a good tractor. It has the 855 Cummins, and is a little more powerful than mine. It pulls a 33 shank chisel about the same speed, will cover about 22 acres an hour, burning about 11 gallons of diesel per hour. Not a bad tractor, but my CIH (which is really just a Steiger painted red) is a little easier and more comfortable driving all day long, especially with the powershift. The muffler isn't stuck on the front of the tractor as an afterthought, so visibility is a little better.

 

[FarmerAlex]

Thankyou north texan :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy, most of my work is in hay, with a tad of bulldozing. I would prefer 3PL as i could put on a large deep ripper. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with 4 x 4 x 8 big square balers, how many horsepower do you need to run one?? These new balers with all the rotor cut system and such would chew up a fair amount of power i would imagine.

Cheers

Alex (Finally the rain has stopped, day 1 of baling!!!!!!)

 

[icestationzebra]

My dad had a AC 7580 and 8550. Not bad tractors in their day, but not worth it now. The parts can be hard to find, especially the 8550/4W305 which didn't share much with the 7000/8000 series tractors besides the cabs.

Personally I like the CIH/Stieger 9100/9200/9300 series tractors. Reliable Cummins engines. The transmission is a Twin Disc knock-off and works well. The only thing I don't like is that the 12sp power shift gear splits are a tad wider that I would like. The manual trans can be 12sp or 24sp. Some of the Raba axles had problems, but I think it was a quality control issue with the bearings.

There are hardly any Versatile or Case 4WD's around so I couldn't comment on those. Our neighbor was always working on his Deere (forget the model, late 80's) but he had green blood and wouldn't go RED!

ISZ

 

[FarmerAlex]

Well i know of a friends 3130 JD for the last three years it has had the powershift done, engine rebuilt, cab redone and now the powershift has packed up again. It was a good tractor in its day but.... I know of another bloke who has bought a Case 95JXU has had rubbish service from the dealer from beginning to end. The local massey ferguson dealer told me to get stuffed one Christmas eve, i needed a specific type of bolt, was in full swing in the hay season, and had a break down. Now i blatantly refuse to go to him anymore. Most dealers i have found do not provide good service at all.

Been to have a look at a Ford TW 30, going to look at a IH 1086

any thoughts on those?

cheers

alex

 

[EdB]

Pure, solid, unadulterated leaverright:

as in "Leave 'er right there". The 4690 and the earlier 2670, which was pretty much the same tractor without electronics for steering both used the 504 CID that was turbo-ed & inter-cooled with an induction hardened crank and oil cooled pistons. The 2470 & 4490 used the same motor that was tamed a bit and didn't make as much HP so longevity was better. The real weak point was the finals, as the 2670 would eat them regularly if loaded to the capacity of the motor; whereas the 2470 lasted much better because there wasn't as much stress put on them. The manual range shift had problems in both. It was known to jump out of gear under load. I had to tear into my 2670 with less than 1,000 hours, when it started jumping out of gear. When you were in the 3rd power shift and stepped on the clutch, the transmission immediately downshifted to 1st. Not a big problem in the field, with a draft load. If you were highballing down a paved road, with an empty tractor or a heavy rolling load and you stepped on the clutch, the downshift occurred and the rolling load was braked by the transmission. After a few such occurrences, there were six bolts in the innards of the transmission that would shear off and the tractor would no longer move. Big job to dig in there and put new bolts and replace anything else that the scraps may have tangled with. Motors were especially prone to cavitation erosion on the sleeves and bottom o-rings. Religious attention to coolant pH was required. They also had some issues with valves running too hot and sinking, which would result in the lash tightening up and requiring frequent adjustment. The tractor used eight u-joints (four for the drive-shafts from the drop-box and one in each wheel pivot). Not real pleasant to grease and if you didn't grease them regularly, you got to replace them. Drive-shaft joints weren't bad but the wheel joints could be a challenge. Also, the outboard planetaries were sealed with no elegant way to vent pressure build-up that occurred as they heated up. That resulted in the gear housing operating under a bit of pressure. If the seals weren't perfect (and they often weren't), the pressure would push the gear lube out and make a big mess on the inside of the wheel.
In addition, the tractor was short-coupled and the platform fairly high, so it was a beast for ride comfort.

 

[jimlake57]

Hi Ed,

Ran across your posts trying to troubleshoot Case 2470 clutch troubles. My dad has one that hasn't been used for a few years (he's 83). got the engine running fine but it wont move. sounds like you've had some experience with these. Are you still active on this site?

 

[kristi_ruiz]

Interesting!.

 

[christinecambel]

These tractors aren't bad but they will not be cheap, even for their age. This 4690 from 1980 is still worth over 14k as well. http://www.machinefinder.com/ww/en-US/machine/1982-case-4690-tractor-2530055

The new Case machines are better, but you will pay for the difference. What type of work do you need the tractor for?