Combines Ford 8970 vs John Deere 4960

I haven't run a 4960 but I have heard they are a powerful beast. I am a born and bred John Deere man down to the green underwear. But I had a lot of anhydrous to put down this year and the larger bar was a bit much for my 4630 so I rented a Ford_NH Genesis 8870. What a SWEET tractor. It was quiet, the controls were really laid out nice, and with a ton of weights on the front and supersteer w_Front wheel assist that thing pulled better than any 180hp tractor I have ever driven. Maintenance was really easy with how the hood works. Can't afford it right now but down the road I may have to consider something blue in the shed.

pbutler what state you live in enjoyed your pictures,nice beans what did they yeild

We have a JD 4760 and it has been a great tractor no problems, only thing we've ever replaced is front wheel seals. If that 4960 that you speak of has 8000 hrs, make sure that the transmission is in good working order, if it were me I would pay a little more and get the 5000 hr tractor, just my 2 cents. Good luck. Mike

JD, I would guess that the reason those guys said the MX_TG had more torque than the older genesis is because the MX_TG is electronically controlled(fuel) versus a mechanical governing on the older genesis. Electronic engine control helps a bunch like it or not, put electronic control on genesis engine and it surpasses cummins 8.3. Also, the old genesis at rated only went up to 210 pto on 8970 ( I realize many early ones were much stronger) and today TG's are at 255 pto (305 engine). As far as tier 3, I don't know what makes it so difficult to make the 7.5 compliant. I know it most likely has to do with air fuel mixture.

I had an old 216 for a while, too. Good table, but reel wrapped so bad in green beans it was pretty pitiful. If you have this problem, there is a cheap fix. Go find an old 16' massey 1859 table with an aluminum reel. This reel will flip over the top and it will never wrap. I jerked the old one off and found one of these. THe reel drive motor will have to be grafted to the other side of the head,and the bats are about four inches longer than the deere, but it was great. ran it three years till I got a 920. Grind the edge on the cross auger till it is square, really helps feeding in wide rows. gs

I worked at NH when the Genesis tractors were OECD tested (equivalent of NE tractor test). NH actually terminated the initial OECD test of these tractors due to poor fuel economy and engine performance. Each manufacturer has the option to terminate the test before it is completed and resubmit the tractors for testing at a later date. The Genesis tractors resubmitted for tested were not specially built for the testing (would violate the test parameters) but they were hand selected from the production line and extensively tested at NH before being tested at OECD. The moral of the story here... don't get too hung up on numbers related to engine performance for test data. In acutual field conditions these tractors will perform so closely together under equal loads that you will find vitually no difference between them. Anyone saying the Genesis will use 1_2 the fuel is not accurate. The advantage of the Genesis will be the nicer cab and programable features for the Funk transmission. The advantage of the Deere will be a more reliable engine. The sleeveless design of the Genesis requires complete out of frame overhaul and rebore when the engine is overhauled the first time or in the unfortunate event a valve is dropped or poor quality antifreeze is used and requires a new block. Use your own good judgement on the condition of either used tractor and you will be happy with either one.

Thanks, glad you enjoyed. We are in Central, Il. Two different fields in those pics. One did 55 and one did 49. The 49 is ok for that field-lighter soil. I was a little disappointed in the 55-but I think they got planted a little late.