JD combines hard to work on ??????

JD Seller

Well-known Member
I find it funny that so many fellows think a JD combine is hard to work on. If you know what your doing then they are not that bad. Plus they are pretty durable machine compared to the others. JD must have been doing some thing right as they have had over 50% of the total market share for the last 20-30 years here in North America.

The hardest combine to work on would be a MF combine. They just had many things that made them tough to work on. Like having to remove the final drives to drop the transmission out. Then the big cast steel drive pulley on the main drive. That sticking taper really did not have to stick that HARD!!! LOL

Yes a Gleaner is easy to work on. They had to be because you have so many bearings and light shafts that they need worked on often. In small grains they where not bad but in heavy corn they just did not hold up that well. Then the time and PARTS needed to go from one crop to another. That was a REAL PAIN!!!

A White conventional was not fun either to work on. With the engine buried behind the cab.

I never have worked on many Ih machines other than a 715 and they where not great to work on either.

The long and short of it is none of them are "FUN" to work on.
 
I'm really not very familiar with any but some of the JohnDeeres.However after helping my friend/neighbor rebuild his 4400,I'll take a 95 any day! The 4400 had something like 24(or 44) belts.And 3 times the moveing parts.The 95 has just 12.And they are easy to get to.
 
"I never have worked on many Ih machines"

That is why IH is so popular......don't break down as often.

I Started with MF.....and you are right, their engineers should be shot.

Helped a neighbor change the big belt under the seat of a 6600....reminded me of the MF's

I Went to CIH and have never been happier
 
Great comments. I have not run or worked on any of these so I am not an expert. My only experience was with a MH pull type with it's own engine when I was growing up on the farm. I am not sure of model, would a 70 make sense? I did inspect a 6600/6620, don't recall which. I just know it was quite the maze, so much so I recorded that in my head as "I don't want to go there". But I will say Deere generally does a good job of engineering and testing so the reliability comments make sense.
Maybe I am looking at the wrong thing.

I think my leaning right now is IH 14xx or 16xx. My neighbor runs a 1460, other than crappy to no brakes it runs good for him. Did the 16xx have better brakes?

Someone told me once that after the JD 66xx they got simpler at some model, don't recall which. Does anyone know if this is true and which model?

I am partial to Deere, I have a whole shed full of Deere green.

Thanks, again some insightfull comments here.

Paul
 
I'm not going to bash one brand or another because they were all a pain to work on, But some were easer than others. I have friends and family that owned everything so I got to help work on a lot of different combines. Got to lay in the November mud to change a transmission in a 525 Oliver, Got inside a Massey 510 when the shaker bed broke in two. Been inside a JD 105 when the riddle chain broke and wrapped on the drive shaft and tore up the grain pan. Went inside (from the top) a 403 IH to cut the beater out after it lost a straw walker. Got to change a head on a Ford 642 (I think) engine in a wheat field July 5 in 100* heat. It seamed 90% of the time you were always in the field away from the shop to do the repairs so you never had what you really needed to work on it with.

There all a pain to work on and some a lot worse! I guess that's why we are still running a JD 95 and a Gleaner K. There easy enough to work on and get parts for. Dad bought a 4400 to replace a 55 JD and used it for 3 years, we don't own a 4400 anymore for a reason! Bandit
 
" Plus they are pretty durable machine compared to the others". Not compared to a Claas they are not! In the UK John Deere is not far behind Massey for the reputation for being flimsy.One year a neighbour of ours was undecided whether to buy a new Deere or a Claas, anyway much to his regret he chose dark green. Within a week a straw walker crank shaft snapped in half. The only person with a smile on his face at the time was my mate who had tried to sell him The Claas. "Schadenfreude"
 
I kinda agree with you, we had a Gleaner F that was a grenade on wheels, dad thought it should have come with a cutting torch attached to it. We went to a 6600 sidehill, good tough machine, but working on the countershaft under the seat was a real pain, I remember a cluster of belts and pulleys on the right side of the combine, below the engine could be time consuming to work on, it always seemed that the problem was the farthest thing to get to. The sidehill apparatus could get in the way of several repairs,as I remember. We went to IH rotarys, I don't know if they are easier to work on but there is defenitly less stuff to have to work on. Mike
 
They're all hard to work on because when you're working on a combine you should be harvesting instead. Ha. John Deere 4400 was a beast to work on compared to a 7700. I always said a 4400 was a shrunk 7700 and a 7700 was hard to work on. I swear everything I worked on required me to remove the seat and contort my body in positions it wasn't meant to be in to work on it. Learned a few short cuts along the way though. 750 MF has it's issues to. Try removing/replacing a radiator by yourself. I was a lot younger then. Worked on some IH and Gleaners over the years to. One thing is certain. They are all great to run when they WORK!
 
6600 has exactly twice as many belts as an F2...I counted. And 2-3 pulleys stacked on the shaft that lost the bearing. Of course, they"re steel stamped pulleys, not cast, so they are often ruined when pulled off. Four used Gleaners in 40 years, and I wouldn"t say bearings are a problem. Many of their designs were very innovative. Who hasn"t copied the rotary screen? And no one has the rock protection of a Gleaner.
 
I'm not gonna dispute anything you say about JD combines, because although most of my neighbors run them, I've never operated one and don't presume to know much about them. I do have a little trouble understanding your strongly negative analysis of Gleaners, though. The last Gleaner I had (R65) was 2 years old when I got it, and I ran 7 crops through it (approx. 1000 acres per year corn and soybeans). In that 7 years, I replaced one bearing. The Gleaner I currently have (R76)can be changed from corn to beans or vice-versa in 15-20 minutes and requires zero parts to do so.
Your statement about market share is undeniably correct. In this area Deere's market share is way over 50%. We have a lot of green Kool-Aid drinkers here!
Not trying to start an argument or a "color war"--just sticking up for the underdog a little bit. I enjoy reading your posts. With the exception of the green thing, you and I probably agree on far more things than we would disagree.
Best wishes & have a good 'un.
Tom
 
Easiest combine ever built to work on was a Case 600,660,960. Thresher belt head drive two ground drive belts cleaning fan, unloading auger and the engine fan belt. Grain head reel drive and the sickle belt. We are not talking the corn heads 402,303,ect they were a brute.
 
I had a Gleaner L2 for a short time and I was impressed by how easy it was to work on. But I came away with the opinion they were easy to work on for a reason. Compared to our 7700, the L2 seemed to be kind of a light weight flimsy design. Gleaner conventionals have a hit/miss reputation around here. Some guys got a long great with them and others couldn't string together more then 3 days without breaking down.

Our Masseys seemed to be the worst of both worlds. Hard to work on like a JD and a flimsy design like a Gleaner. In my experience the JD 00/20 series are hard to work on but they rarely break down and are some of the most reliable combines made if maintenance is performed. But there is a reason why most people recommend and prefer the IH axial flows when looking at 30 year old combines. Combines that old will be wore out and will break more often and so the ease of maintenance and ease of working on them make AFs a favorite.
 
"If you know what your doing then they are not that bad" You can say that about ANY machine that was ever built!

After selling parts for 15+ years I have learned that there are lemons and there are lemon operators as well. One customer comes to mind that had a L3 Gleaner. He cussed and cussed that combine every time he came for parts or when he had us work on it. We were all happy the day we heard he bought a John Deere 9400 and he sold the L3 to a neighbor that was a good customer of ours. Now the current L3 owner harvests MORE acres and comes in for HALF the parts the previous owner had and his only complaint is the occasional price of a part, I think he is more experience in grease gun operation as well. The previous owner comes in here yet and talks about how the Gleaner was easier to set and he looses so much more in the field with the 9400. But he likes the cab a lot more on the 9400 so he is happy and so are we. Sometimes you are money ahead with a loss of a customer's business.
 
I think it depends a lot on what model you are talking about. The 105s etc were very east to work on, but 00 and 20 series seem much more complicated than they need to be.

Our current combine, 9500, seems much simpler than the 00 and 20 series... and my local JD mechanics seem to share that opinion as well.
 
I only have experience with two SP combines, a mf300 and a JD 4400. Thank goodness the 300 is long gone but I still have the 4400.

Couple things no one has mentioned about those !%*%%%% masseys.

1. Odd size bearings 1 1/16 that are hard to find and cost muuuccchhh more than a 1 inch or 1 1/8 inch.

2. welded assemblies. JD puts things together with BOLTS so you can unbolt something and replace it with new. With a massey, its torch and fab time.

3. That rethrasher assembly JUNK.

4. Straw chopper jackshaft assembly vibrated so much that extra braces were needed and it still cracked the sheet metal.

I could go on but I'm tired of typing and you're tired of reading. Ya think I hate massey combines.
 
Well i tell you back in the day my Dad & Uncle had a old Massey Harris sack tie combine bought it new. Can t remember the model & don t want too! When you re back there on that platform in good grain trying to tie them sacks and it s 90 something degrees not to mention all that dust you will appreciate these old hard to work on combines i know i do. 2 JD 4400 s one early model & one later model.
 
I agree with many of the statements made here. Every machine has its own issues. But one thing I do know----when (if) I get to heaven, I'm gonna have a long chat with the engineers who designed farm equipment!!


Ben
 
Tom I was talking about the Gleaner conventional combines. The rotary Gleaners where not ever that popular around here. I have never worked on one and do not personally know anyone that uses one.
 
these are the combines I have owned ranked in order of how hard I found them to work on * marks the ones owned by my uncle and grandpa first is easiest to work on
860 MF straight six gear drive
7720 JD*
N5 gleaner easy to work on but really busy on the right side
850 MF*
7700 ties with the 850 two fairly difficult to work on machines you have little room in the 850 and you have little access on the 7700.
6600 JD like a 7700 but shrunk
82 MF engine under feeder house pretty much sais it all.
I liked all of these combines and bare non any ill will more than any other.
JD seller said Deere has been doing something right. I would say the biggest thing they have done right is advertising. In college for my ag history term paper I did a lot of research in farm magazines from the 50s through the 70s in every single issue of every single magazine was a john deere ad. not kidding other companies would put an ad in once or twice a year. but deere carpet bombed farm media with advertisements that made you feel good about buying a deere. My favorite was "The John Deere B the only tractor you'll need to farm 40 acres!" that is why I think they have such a large market share now because truthfully they have had there fair share of steaming piles just like everyone else. I did get a kick out of seeing a rethresher on the new deere rotary at the 3I show last year
 
I will second that lol ,,,I agree with most everything stated ,,but I do believe i will never see a combine in heaven ,and it mite be because most of thecuss'n they got for one reason or another in my life time .. the combine mite get to heaven ,, but ...???
 
(quoted from post at 05:21:06 02/04/15) I agree with many of the statements made here. Every machine has its own issues. But one thing I do know----when (if) I get to heaven, I'm gonna have a long chat with the engineers who designed farm equipment!!


Ben

I don't think there will be any design engineers in heaven. They must receive a just punishment for the hell they gave out in this life!
 
Is any combine fun to work on when its a 100 degrees and the chaff and sweat is sticking to every inch of your body and you got grain to cut and the last thing you wanted to do was get out of the cab even if its a non ac that fan sure feels better than the sun . Most of the negative comments are from the anti deere crowd if its green its junk no matter what and there are guys that think the same about red stuff to .
 
and most of the anti Gleaner and other brand comments are from the green crowd that think if its not green its junk.....whats your point?

Yeah Deere is #1, that is partly due to the product and largely due to its dealer network.

Walmart is the #1 retailed in the country does that mean they sell the best product? Far from it.
 

My neighbor has been a Gleaner guy for quite a few years and I've helped him work on them off and on. You are right about the bearings and shafts, especially the shafts. The L2 he had was a lightweight all the way. He had an R50 break a shaft and the whole side of the combine caved in. He had to gut it and push it back out with a Port-a Power. He is lucky in the fact he has two dealers 30 miles away each way. I worked around R62's on the harvest and they seem to be built better. When you get one on a truck and pull it down the road it pulls HARD from the wind resistance. The R62 and the CIH 2388 are comparable in capacity and they weight the same so I can't call the R62 a lightweight. That slanted unloading auger on the Gleaners is so simple and trouble free compared to the other brand's turret augers. The slanted Gleaner auger is easier to damage from hitting the side of the truck or grain cart. The optional Gleaner turret auger on the 62 looks like some terrible mutation but I don't know how good it is.

I've had the opportunity to work on and around The big Lexions for the past six or seven years. Intimidating for sure but not that hard to work on once you learn the ropes. Yes, they have those pulleys with the tapered keys that are supposed to come off easy if you tap in on them first. Yeah! They used to have more capacity by far than anyone out there till Deere caught up with them. Three disadvantages to the Lexions. One, they are so BIG. They do have a ladder that can be used almost anywhere on the machine and that helps a lot.

Two, local parts availability is worse than Gleaner. The one plus to the parts situation is if you have a parts book and you know what you are after you can call them and have parts drop shipped to wherever Cat has parts dropped overnight. For us it's 35 miles away. No need to go to the dealer to pick up the parts. Cat is good at getting parts out to the boonies quick. But again, you have to understand the European designed parts book and know what you are looking at.

Third disadvantage is parts are very high priced compared to any of the other brands. $1200.00 for a Bosch alternator? $1200.00 for a Bosch starter. We found a Delco truck starter for $650.00 to replace the Bosch.

One big advantage to a Lexion is the ones with a Cat engine are very fuel efficient. They blow the competition away in that aspect. If you do need to call the dealer mechanic out he comes in a big truck that's fully equipped including a crane lift and the mechanic is well trained. If I was buying a combine today would I buy a Lexion? Maybe for wheat but not for our Iowa crops. They are too aggressive. I'd buy red or green first because the dealers and parts are plentiful in this area.
 
My neighbor finely traded his JD 6620 for a Gleaner like mine.Both of us got tired of working on it,worse parts, was bearing under seat and a few belts that were a pain to replace. I do not know why he did not trade sooner,when your crop is ready your combine needs to run.
 
Well Walmart owns agco so what's your points? I don't care what it is if you don't take care of it it will brake and I suppose you think a gleanr never needs worked on?
 
If your not smart enough to keep it maintained it'll break down no matter what brand it is . I guess unless its a gleaner they never even need greased
 
A gleaner broke down?? No way call them I've heard
there so great a company lifetime warranty on the
machine they should send you a new one free I
think .
 
Where exactly did I say a Gleaner, New Holland, Case IH, or Claas would never break down??????

Us other brand guys are supposed to back down to Mother Deere because they are #1?

There is not a single perfect machine. Some work better for others. Im just hoping that it stays that way.
 
(quoted from post at 03:30:49 02/06/15)
My neighbor has been a Gleaner guy for quite a few years and I've helped him work on them off and on. You are right about the bearings and shafts, especially the shafts. The L2 he had was a lightweight all the way. He had an R50 break a shaft and the whole side of the combine caved in. He had to gut it and push it back out with a Port-a Power. He is lucky in the fact he has two dealers 30 miles away each way. I worked around R62's on the harvest and they seem to be built better. When you get one on a truck and pull it down the road it pulls HARD from the wind resistance. The R62 and the CIH 2388 are comparable in capacity and they weight the same so I can't call the R62 a lightweight. That slanted unloading auger on the Gleaners is so simple and trouble free compared to the other brand's turret augers. The slanted Gleaner auger is easier to damage from hitting the side of the truck or grain cart. The optional Gleaner turret auger on the 62 looks like some terrible mutation but I don't know how good it is.

I've had the opportunity to work on and around The big Lexions for the past six or seven years. Intimidating for sure but not that hard to work on once you learn the ropes. Yes, they have those pulleys with the tapered keys that are supposed to come off easy if you tap in on them first. Yeah! They used to have more capacity by far than anyone out there till Deere caught up with them. Three disadvantages to the Lexions. One, they are so BIG. They do have a ladder that can be used almost anywhere on the machine and that helps a lot.

Two, local parts availability is worse than Gleaner. The one plus to the parts situation is if you have a parts book and you know what you are after you can call them and have parts drop shipped to wherever Cat has parts dropped overnight. For us it's 35 miles away. No need to go to the dealer to pick up the parts. Cat is good at getting parts out to the boonies quick. But again, you have to understand the European designed parts book and know what you are looking at.

Third disadvantage is parts are very high priced compared to any of the other brands. $1200.00 for a Bosch alternator? $1200.00 for a Bosch starter. We found a Delco truck starter for $650.00 to replace the Bosch.

One big advantage to a Lexion is the ones with a Cat engine are very fuel efficient. They blow the competition away in that aspect. If you do need to call the dealer mechanic out he comes in a big truck that's fully equipped including a crane lift and the mechanic is well trained. If I was buying a combine today would I buy a Lexion? Maybe for wheat but not for our Iowa crops. They are too aggressive. I'd buy red or green first because the dealers and parts are plentiful in this area.

Nice writeup. Yes, the longer shafts (particularly the main separator shaft) through the middle of the Ls were a weak point if you weren't careful or paying attention. Ms were much better in that regard because they had the same D shafts, but shorter span.

BUT come on! Wind resistance during shipment???!!! Find it hard to believe they would be significantly worse, or better, than anyone else. These are combines we're talking about here, not F1 cars! LOL.
 
I would be the advocate of the evil, but the MF 700 and 800 are easier to service than their copies, the deere 00 and 20:
Muich less belts, no countershaft.

The Deere 00 and 20 were an exact copy of the Massey 510, which had the countershaft and were very difficult to work on, because they were very small. Their countershaft with the clutch was not a great idea, and on top of that, the panels on the combines are too small. If the engine doors were all width of the combine, it would have been 10x easier to service the engine or the countershaft clutch; but they are not.

The MF700 and 800 had traction belts that you never adjusted, no main countershafts, the drives of the tresher are very simple, If they had put the hydrostat pump on a bevel set inside of the engine compartment like the IH, they would have been even easier to work on. The only complex drive is the chopper drive, because it is so long and requires few idlers, but they are cast iron idlers, for a few bucks, it is possible to put good quality bearings everywhere as soon as one fail (every 20 years or 2000hours I would say).

One reason that JD people would always say that those MF are junk is because at the time, the MF were the machines of the custom cutter that really wanted to get the job done quick, and the JD were the machine of the Die Hard JD guys... Back then, a bi-color farm with a 4630 and a MF760 seemed to be the normal thing.

As far as the Gleaner being difficult to work on and breaking down all the time, that is probably not true for the R72 and later model. Those are beast and simple machines.

I would definitively agree that the IH were the easiest and simplest. Claas are strong machines, but quite complex, expensive to repair if they broke down. Even back then in the 60's, they used a funny looking variable speed for the tresher that used 2 belts. It was just more parts to wear out and make belts changing more difficult, but didn't provide any advantage as those slipped easily.
 
So when a gleaner brakes it's a bad operator when a john deere brakes its the machine . One of those guys so bright your mother called you son .
 
Massey made up for the fewer belts and no countershaft with the use of those cheap $5 bearings and stupid feederhouse with all those paddles and double roller chain. You might as well bought stock in diamondchain or Dayton when you bought a Massey. Every farm that ever ran a Massey around here still has a pile of new chain in the back corner of their parts bin. We were one of those bi-colored farms with a JD 4640 and a Massey 760. But after three years we traded our 760 off for a 8820 and got more done simply because we weren't working on it as much. Plus the 8820 showed less wear then the 760 even though both had the same amount of hrs. Only redeeming feature of the 760 was the high inertia cylinder.
 

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