Getting M2 ready for wheat/got questions

Got the new-to-me M2 out of the shed a few days ago and started working on her. Lot's of things the same, but a little bit of a learning curve over the E3.

Thresher wouldn't engage, fuse good, found the ground wire broken off on the right side near the clutch. The loop connector was broken. Crimped on a new one. Works fine. Cleaned other fuses and also have header clutch, reel lift/speed working, too. Tach shows engine rpm, but won't show cylinder or ground speed. Not sure any of the monitor functions work, either. Guess I'll check cyl speed w/a hand held tach for now.

It has the regular chaffer, but the sieve below it is for soybeans. Has round holes in it about the diameter of a pencil. Will this work, or do I have to change it? Also, how hard are the reel cylinders to rebuild? They leak off as soon as you raise the reel.

Slid the chopper forward & had to remove belt - no idler to put it on - looks like there never was one. When I slid it forward, what should I have done with the shield? I left it in place below and at the back of the walkers. Looks like it'll help keep the straw from piling up on the back of the chopper.

Oiled the chains, but got to grease it yet and check hyd fluid - this one uses ATF. Need to check engine oil, air filter, and antifreeze. A/C needs a charge, too. Really looking forward to power steering and A/C. Sorry for rambling. Kind of excited and would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.

I have spent many hours on an M, M2, and M3. You will be fine with that screen. Check your sensors for the cyl speed and ground speed. They may be out of alignment or the wires broke or a bad sensor. Easy to replace. You may also want to check fuses too.
As for the chopper belt, if you do not a free wheel pulley, then make sure you have it tied up some way. Also, make sure the rear curtain is out and the damper behind the cylinder are in the up position. Those are in place for corn.
If it has a flex head, make sure it is in the rigid position for wheat.
Those combines are good in wheat.

If you have engine rpm, you know that the sensor is good- sub it out for the non-functioning sensors so you know if they are bad. Sensors are all the same. If the good sensor does not work for the other functions, get the display box checked by a dealer. They have test equipment for that. re the cutting head- if it"s on an M2, it"s likely a floating cutter bar, not a flex head. Flex would be 3xx series. Still, you need to lock it up for straight cutting.

Hand held tach is good but not needed. Just run the cylinder as fast as it goes for wheat. You will be fine.

I think there is a sheet metal pan that covers those pencil sized holes for running wheat.

If it is a corn/bean special, there is a chaffer, a sieve and it will have a perforated clean grain pan that has a cover sheet that you install when you are not doing beans. My K also had a perforated screen that you installed on the return and then you dropped a panel on the elevator. All that so you could get any fines out of the beans.
All those options were great for beans, but you have to undo all that for other crops.
As far as the cyl speed, if the grain was real dry you will need to slow the cyl some from max. Then towards evening or early in the day, you run it up towards max to get all the grain out when the straw is tougher.
HTH
Keith

What flying belgian says is ok, but if you want to know approximate cyl speed, count crank turns from top speed to lowest, or vice versa. If top is 1300 rpm, bottom is 500, difference is 800 rpm. If 40 turns, each turn is 20 rpm change.

Twice the filter refused my msg cuz I used the first letter of each name, lower case, of flying belgian....what"s with that?

Actually, it's a rice & soybean special. Got to run it about 100 yards before a cloudburst opened up and dumped enough rain to dampen things too much. Really clean sample in the hopper. Ran cyl. wide open and doesn't seem to have cracked any. Can always slow down a couple of cranks if needed. Discovered a horrendous leak in the hard line that goes to the rt hand head cylinder. Went ahead and took it off this evening. Looks like I'll have at least one wet day to fix a few more things.