John Deere 2640 Review

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Tractors are amazing to have if you are into basic farm work or simple landscaping. There are plenty of different types of tractors to choose from depending on what you need. Compact utility tractors or CUTs are the smaller variants of the regular tractor you often see. These are mainly used for smaller agricultural tasks that do not necessarily require the power of a larger tractor. This leads us to the John Deere 2640, which may be one of the older tractors on the market but is still nonetheless popular and very much worth looking into and reviewing.

The John Deere 2640 is a two-wheel-drive tractor that might be a bit old but is still adequate enough to cover what you need from a compact utility tractor. It is an old reliable tractor that does its job well and will not give you a lot of trouble especially if you are just using it for light farm work.

When you look at the tractor market, there are plenty of different names and brands that truly stand out. But some of you may begin to wonder why the John Deere 2640 is still one of the more popular compact utility tractors on the market and why it is still very much used in a lot of farms despite it being fairly old. That is why we are here to check out what makes the John Deere 2640 one of the simple all-time classics of the CUT world.

John Deere 2640 Review

John Deere 2640 Review

For those who are not as familiar with John Deere as some of the more experienced folks in the tractor and farming industry, this company is a global giant, not only as a tractor manufacturing company but also when it comes to financial services. It has been around for nearly 200 years already and is one of the most highly respected and well-known global companies as it was listed as high up as 87th in the Fortune 500 rankings in America.

That said, when it comes to the agricultural equipment that they manufacture and sell, utility tractors are some of the more popular ones in their line. Other than the world-famous John Deere logo, you can single out a John Deere tractor based on the stock color of the tractor alone because they will most likely bear that striking green paint job.

Among all of the compact utility tractors that John Deere has manufactured, the 2040 series is one of the more popular lines despite how fairly old they may be. The 2040 series was first introduced to the market back in 1976 and the first generation of these tractors was manufactured up to 1979. These first-gen machines were mainly manufactured in Iowa.

After John Deere began manufacturing the second generation from 1980 to 1982, the second-gen tractors were mainly made in Germany and have featured minor upgrades in their specs as well as the materials used to manufacture them. The John Deere 2640 tractor was a part of both generations and the latest machines released were back in 1983, which means that they really are a bit old.

Despite how old John Deere 2640 is, it still is quite the catch in most farms and is often one of the more popular compact utility tractors you see used in simple agricultural works that often do not require the size and power of much larger tractors. The 2640 is quite the all-around tractor because it can be used for a lot of different tasks such as simple landscaping and for when you may want to use it for baling when used together with a baler. You can even use it for different odd jobs in a simple yard so long as you think it has the power and capacity to take on such tasks.

As old of a machine it is, John Deere 2640 still has a bit of a few minor issues you might want to watch out for especially if you have a keen eye for details no matter how small they may be.

First off, you might have a problem with the shifter or parking brake because it can be a bit uncooperative and stiff at times given that it was manufactured way back when. When you have a pretty old John Deere 2640 that has seen its fair share of wear and tear, you are going to have a bit of a problem with it. But such incidents can be rare because most of the 2640s you see today have already been upgraded and maintained well over the past decades.

Another thing you have to look out for is the fuel tank. Due to where it is situated and because of the very nature of sheet metal, it can be prone to rusting as it is quite exposed. It is not too big of a problem if you know how to take care of a tractor in the basic sense. Simply cleaning it on a regular basis may be enough to prevent it from rusting.

Performance-wise, the John Deere 2640 will not give you tons of problems as long as you cover all of the bases when it comes to the maintenance needs and upgrades of older utility tractors. You might find it to be louder than most of the newer tractors and other models were given the fact that John Deere uses a front-mounted hydraulic pump. But that should not be too much of a problem that would turn you off.

Of course, like most 2WD utility tractors, the John Deere 2640 will be more effective on solid and dry lands. You may want to use a 4WD tractor if you live in a place where the soil can be soft and when regular raining can get it quite muddy. 

Simply stated, as an old reliable, the John Deere 2640 pretty much covers everything you need from a classic utility tractor that probably will not give you a ton of trouble. It has a pretty impressive power to weight ratio that allows it to do low-end simple tasks with more efficiency.

Expect the John Deere 2640 to be able to last for decades so long as it is maintained properly. You might be able to get somewhere close to 5,000 hours with most of its stock parts before you need to get them replaced. But as long as you are maintaining it properly while upgrading and replacing the older parts, you are going to get 20 to 30 years out of your John Deere 2640.

John Deere 2640 Characteristics

The John Deere 2640 carries an in-house engine that was made and manufactured by the same John Deere company itself. Like most of the older tractors, the 2640’s engine is liquid-cooled. Its engine has an RPM that is tested to be about 2,500, which makes it a pretty powerful CUT for its time. In terms of horsepower, it clocks in at 57.88 but is rated to have a max of 70.

For those who are more discerning, John Deere 2640 has two different types of transmissions. The first uses a partial power shift gearbox that allows it to have 16 speeds moving forward while also allowing it to have up to eight speeds in reverse. Meanwhile, the second allows you to have half the speed moving forward and moving in reverse. It has a maximum speed of about 26.2 kph moving forward and 8.7 kph moving in reverse.

The John Deere 2640 is powered by its rear wheels when you are moving it forward or backward, and they measure at 16.9 x 28 in width and diameter. The front wheels, which are smaller and are measured at 6 x 16, are mechanically steered. You can also expect the 2640 to have a maximum safe weight of about 3,823 kg. However, if you want to make sure that you are not overloading the machine, it is best to keep the operating weight at somewhere close to 2,630 kg.

In terms of its hydraulic system, the John Deere 2640 comes with a closed center hydraulic type that has a maximum pressure of 2,250 psi. The valve flow is at 6 gpm.

How Much Oil Does a John Deere 2640 hold?

The John Deere 2640 is said to be quite fuel-efficient in comparison to all of the other CUTs and when compared to the lower-end 2440. Its operating time is measured to be at about 73.8 liters of diesel oil or somewhere close to 19.5 US gallons. This makes it much more efficient than the John Deere 2440, which uses almost the same amount of fuel but is less powerful than the John Deere 2640.