Deere 4020 Gas Engine Replace With A 98 Hp Combine Diesel

Deere 4020 gas engine replace with a 98 hp combine diesel ENGINES Engines 13-4-9 "We feel like we have a new tractor since we replaced the 80 hp gas engine in our 1960s Deere 4020 with a 98 hp diesel engine from a 1972 Deere 6600 combine," says Dale Heitritter, Sanborn, Iowa. Heitritter bought the engine from Wall Lake Used Parts, Wall Lake, Iowa, and installed it himself using the company's adaptor kit "The 6-cylinder, 404 cu. in. diesel engine is more powerful, less noisy and uses less fuel than the tractor's original gas engine," says Heitritter, who made the conversion one year ago. "The tractor itself was in excellent shape but the engine's rocker arms and guides were bad and the head had to be rebuilt- Overhauling the engine would have cost $1,500 to $2,000. This conversion cost about the same at $2,050. However, our combine diesel engine, which Deere eventually installed in later-model 4020s, offers several benefits. This engine had only 2,500 hours on it whereas a tractor engine of the same age probably would have had at least 8,000 hours. It has more power so implements we used to pull in seventh gear we can now pull in eighth gear. The 4020 used to be cold blooded. When we'd lug it, it would sputter and die whereas once we get our diesel going, it never stops. And it uses less than half as much fuel. We get 5 gal. per hour now compared to two gal. per hour before. It's also a much quieter engine than the first diesels installed in the 4020's." During installation, the only change Heitritter made to the engine was to replace its two-pulley water pump with a one-pulley model and to install new injectors. "The company supplied a diesel fuel tank but we didn't want to take a chance on dirt so we kept our old fuel tank." The Wall Lake kit includes a heavyduty starter, flywheel, intake manifold, battery, wiring, throttle linkage, fuel tank, air cleaner, and muffler. "It lets you convert your tractor to diesel for about the same cost as overhauling a gas engine and it improves tractor resale," says company representative Dave Biret. "Most of the combine diesel engines we sell are removed from Deere 7700s but we also sell diesel engines from other combine makes and models to fit other tractor brands. The cost depends on the value of the trade-in. It typically costs $2,000 to $2,500 to replace the gas engine in a Deere 4020 with a diesel engine from a Deere 7700 combine." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dale Heitritter, RR 2, Sanbom, Iowa 51248 (ph 712 736-2479) or Wall Lake Used Parts, Wall Lake, Iowa 51466 (ph 712 664-2837).

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