Hesston 1090 Sickle Guard Questions

big a · Jun 21, 2012

Finishing up the new to me 1090, and noticed the guard closest to the sickle driver was loose. On closer inspection, I find that if I tighten this guard up, it puts upward pressure on the sickle head. According to the Agco parts book all guards are same, unless stub guards are installed, which I do not have.
Swapped around a few random guards, no change. Kinda perplexed here. Guards seem to be correct for this machine.

Any suggestions or ideas here? About to take a grinder and make the needed clearance to one of the more used up guards.

Also, I see someone recommended the stub guards in an earlier post. Never seen them on anything around here. Are they for specialized conditions or crops?

IaGary · Jun 22, 2012

If it puts upward pressure doesn"t the guard have
to go down?

I not sure why it would be off line with the other
guards but you could shim it down by putting shims
between the bottom of the platform and the guard.

I have had to shim guards before when a platform
got tweeked a little.

If you have rocks do not use the stub guards or
you will be knocking out sections all the time.

Gary

TJ in KY · Jun 22, 2012

I have never used one but I have seen pictures of a bar with a ring welded on it near end, slip it over the guard and pry up or down to improve alignment.

I switched a PT10 to stub guards, really helps if you have problems plugging in heavy hay and when finishing out irregular fields. I did not have problem BUT I did not have rocks in fields either.

rrlund · Jun 22, 2012

I just changed all the guards on my 1120. Had the same kind of trouble. I took a 24 inch cresent wrench and bent the bar a little,then put a washer under each side between the guard and bar. Still had to take it back off and grind the slot out a little where the sycle bar slides.
Guess that's what happens when you put new parts in old stuff.

Larrydw · Jun 22, 2012

I have the same problem with a Hesston 1014. I think the attachment bar hit too many things and got bent out of alignment some. I couldn"t bent my bar back and washers didn"t work in some cases. I used a grinder to change the slope on the bar and the sickle guard just enough to get it lined up so things didn"t rub and get hot.

Dick2 · Jun 22, 2012

Most guards are made of "maleable iron" that they can be bent to adjust so they fit correctly.

GordoSD · Jun 22, 2012

If that guard is too high you need to shim it to lower it.
Cut a 1/2 inch flat washer in half for two shims.

Gene-WI · Jun 22, 2012

If you sight down the guards you should see that guard will be higher than the rest, needs to be bent down or shimmed. I have a 10 ft pipe with a loop welded to the end that I use to bend them so they all line up, out in the field I have used pennies to shim them, just loosen the bolts and place shim in back or in front of the bolt depending on which way it needs to go. Should have about .010 clearance between the section and the top of the guard

GordoSD · Jun 22, 2012

Nope. Clearance from the top is not critical. It's the clearance from the bottom that should be .010. If the top gets to be major , then the guard is worn out and should be replaced. It can be as much as .125

GordoSD · Jun 22, 2012

I weigh 175 lbs soaking wet. I can barely bend them. My neighbor checks in at 300+ and he promptly broke a guard bending it for me.

big a · Jun 22, 2012

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Maybe I wasn't clear...the sickle is running true in the other guards, and the guard that is causing trouble is aligned with all the other guards...checked with straightedge, and string line. There are a few out of line...but all toward the far end of the sickle. The guard itself is hitting the sickle head....it is not clearing the sickle head, putting upward pressure on the sickle, causing it to bind, when the guard is tightened into place.
Bending the guard or attaching bar would, in my opinion, only make things worse! I honestly don't see any way around this, other than grinding the guard to clear. I noticed that this end guard had locknuts on it, and was the only one this way, so I this was apparently an issue for the previous owner also.
Not sure what to do, but I'd just as soon modify the easily replaceable, already somewhat worn part, to work. I am wondering if these are some aftermarket guards, that may not fit quite right. Hard to know what is correct when you are starting off with an unknown machine.

Gene-WI · Jun 23, 2012

If clearance from the top isn't critical, than why is he having a problem? Better recheck your manual. If you got clearance on the bottom it won't do a good job of cutting.

Leroy · Jun 23, 2012

I do not know anything about your particular machine, that said on bar mowers the guards that you buy at TSC or anyplace like that for both ends of the bar and even for the rod that holds the bar in transport position will have to have at least a part of a side cut off to clear the inner and outer shoe. Also around the hold up bar as they will cover the hole in the bar the rod goes thru. The companus had in their parts books when the mowers were new a cut of guard for those spots. Doing 2 bar mowers now and having to cut them. Hacksaw cuts them easy.

big a · Jun 23, 2012

Well, fired up the angle grinder and made the necessary "adjustment" to the end guard. Had to grind down the portion that locates the sickle fore and aft.

Not sure if the sickle head is not right or what...it is wider than the sickle bar at the end, and this was dragging. Got it all back together and adjusted hold downs as best as I can (guards are more worn than I first thought) and fired things up...noisy, but not as bad as expected.

Now to fabricate a missing skid plate, and go to the field when it dries up, got 1.20" this morning. Need to see if this thing will fly to pieces or not, before I spend any more $ on it!

Hesston 1090 Sickle Guard Questions

big a

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IaGary

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TJ in KY

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rrlund

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Larrydw

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Dick2

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GordoSD

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Gene-WI

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GordoSD

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GordoSD

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big a

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Gene-WI

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Leroy

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big a

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