JD 535 Baler Info Needed

Hello, I am going to look at a JD 535 baler in a few weeks. Good belts and lacing. What else should I look at before buying it. Is there common problems or areas on the baler I should look for? The owner has bales there that it baled this past summer to look at. Also it has a monitor. Just as important as looking it over, what questions should I ask him? Thanks for any advice and help.

Look for excessive wear on sprockets. Also if possible look inside bale chamber for holes worn in side sheets. Be sure belt drive rollers still have rubber coverings.

Just did this last May with a NH 688.

How many total bales? Check the belts for checking, missing rubber etc. Check the pick up especially if it was used in rocky country. Make sure all the pickup teeth are there and strippers (guards) are there and not damaged and bent. Look for slack in the chains and worn sprockets. Hydraulic leaks in the cylinders and hoses? Examine the rolls for excessive wear. Check the twine arms for excessive wear and looseness.
If it can be hooked up to a tractor and operated, buy an HF infrared thermometer and check the bearings after operating if for an hour or so (Our dealer did it for 2 hrs). Bearing temperatures should not exceed 130F. Make sure hydraulic pressure is in the correct range for that model. Look for signs of poor maintenance(10 Years worth of old grease and chaff, etc). Some of these old balers can be a fire trap with large amounts of old grease and chaff.

I couldn"t get the one I bought hooked up but I sent it to the local dealer and they checked it out. open and close the and check for function. Then shut down with backend wide open and look for leak down.

A plus would be an attached fire extinguisher.

Thanks for the information. Good points to look at. The temp of the bearings was something I never thought of and could do that on other machinery. I'll just have to inspect and ask a lot of questions. Thanks again for taking the time to answer.

I think brg temp will be difficult to determine without actually baling hay with the machine.

I hope you get a good one. Many of the farmers around here seem to have gravitated to the JD 535. They just seem to work, period. My neighbor had a CASE IH (actually a Hesston) that I swear never spent a full hour in the field. It was always coming back to the shop to get fixed. He now has a JD535 and it just seems to work, what a joy. Good luck. Paul

Jim,
I agree that that would be the best way to do it- under load. pretty hard to do before you buy a machine. But if you have a bad bearing and you run it unloaded for an hour, it will heat up.

I did buy the baler. I felt a lot better with all of the information you guys made me aware of. I We pulled it home with the truck and will have time
this winter to get familiar with it. I have no doubt it will hit the field this summer and continue to bale as it did for the previous owner. It may
need this or that but I want to bale (approx. 40 )with it first and judge the overall condition. Thanks again for the help.
P/S. I estimate it to weigh about 3500 lbs. Am I close?