Owners of old John Deere tractors are quite fortunate indeed to have Deere publications readily available for guidance; more fortunate perhaps than owners of other brands. There are some sources, however, that give the impression that SM 2000 is a service manual for your tractor, and this simply is not so! This entire discussion is limited to Styled Models of A, B, D, G, & H tractors.
If one were to trace the cataloging of Deere Pubs over the years, we see lots of goof-ups on tractor service manuals. Yet, we can find, in those same catalogs, reference literature on the most obscure implements ever produced or even sold by Deere. In general, I believe it is safe to say that most of the Operators Manuals and Parts Catalogs are correctly associated with these tractors. As for Service Manuals as most would think of a service manual, only one was ever developed -- and this is SM 2004 for the Model B tractor, B-96000 and up. For all others in this group, the new owner is left to choose the JD-4 (I&T) Shop Service Manual by PRIMEDIA, Inc.
Why SM 2000 is directly associated with these tractors as listed in the Deere Pubs Catalog remains a mystery to many. This publication is a specialty manual as are many others dealing with specific subject areas & across many models in the tractor (or engine) line. SM 2000 has four sections or chapters dealing with shop tooling, engine valves, carburetion and electrical systems. At least one expert claims the publication's cost is justified for the electrical section alone! But other than these four areas of discussion, SM 2000 contains nothing dealing with any tractor in general such as parts of the engine other than valves, clutch, steering, governor, fan shaft, transmission, PTO or final drive. These areas of the tractor take up lots of the effort to get one back into operation!
I checked in with some of the major suppliers of service manuals for these tractors and found most of them to be in accord with this discussion. Jensales, the YT Tractor Store and Valu-Bilt were all on the level. A call to Deere Pubs indicates they are soft-pedaling SM 2000 as a service manual for any particular tractor. Of those I was able to check out, only JD Heritage continues to boldly list SM 2000 as THE service manual for the A, D, G & H tractors. This same seller also erroneously lists SM 2004 for all B tractors, styled or not! I tried to work with them to get a change, but to no avail. Be advised!
By the way, if you are bent on spending $30 on another tractor book, buy my 2nd Edition Restoration Guide. "--- because of its thoroughness and attention to detail, this book will be very helpful to those working on most all two cylinder JD tractors", says Dr. Lon R. Shell, Professor Emeritus in Agricultural Systems, Texas State University. ++++