The New Holland 156 tedder I picked up last year was in good shape and bad shape too. Kind of like when I go to a flea marker, I'm there to save money, but spend money.....
Most tedders I've looked at used have had gear problems. This one is mechanically good from a driveline standpoint.
Three problems aggravated this tedders performance and just about got it sent down the road.
1. There are 6 tine bars coming off the rotor on each basket. Somewhere in the life of this tedder, someone hit something hard enough to shear the bolt that holds the end of it to the cast drive hub. Over time rust set in and the sheared off bolt was seized. 5 vs 6 rotors equaled hopelessly out of balance. To compensate, we centered the 5th tine bar between the 4th and 1st. This worked, but still somewhat out of balance - not a good solution.
2. This is a two basket tedder. For what ever reason, one basket rides about an inch or so higher than the other one. To get a full width of tedding, one side of tines is in the dirt, else you're only tedding with one basket if you raise the lowest basket to clear the dirt. There is no basket to basket adjustment. I'm thinking this tedder saw one to many ground hog holes and one of the axles is bent slightly enough to allow one side to be lower than the other. Very difficult to measure or visualize, but none the less a very visible problem in hay.
3. Last problem was more of a convenience/hassle than anything else. The handle that attaches to the acme threaded rod which sets the tine pitch was long gone when I bought the tedder. The seller threw in a pair of vice grips....
The fixes:
1. Welded a nut to the sheared off bolt. Got enough weld and heat that it screwed out - YIPPIE!!!!!! 6th tine bar is now in place. The tedder is perfectly timed, balanced and spins smoothly, even at 540 PTO rpms.
2. In as much as there is no adjustment for baskets of unequal height, we parked the tedder on a level concrete pad. With cutoff wheel in hand, we simply shorted each set of times equal to the mating one on the other basket. 6 dual spring loaded tines, 12 cuts and the tedder now is level across its width. The pic shows the end result on a light strip of grass cut earlier. Tedder now teds great - no more digging in the dirt or missing any hay.
3. I had a crank handle from a scraped/parted out Simplicity mower deck - never throw anything away, even a crank to adjust a mower deck height. We welded it to the end of the acme threaded rod. Looks factory, has a padded grip and works like a champ!
I think we can now live with this tedder.
BTW - got to give credit where credit is due. My brother is the welder in the family and a darn good one too. Couldn't have done the repairs without his help, welder and steady hand. BTW - he doesn't throw away anything either....
Bill
Most tedders I've looked at used have had gear problems. This one is mechanically good from a driveline standpoint.
Three problems aggravated this tedders performance and just about got it sent down the road.
1. There are 6 tine bars coming off the rotor on each basket. Somewhere in the life of this tedder, someone hit something hard enough to shear the bolt that holds the end of it to the cast drive hub. Over time rust set in and the sheared off bolt was seized. 5 vs 6 rotors equaled hopelessly out of balance. To compensate, we centered the 5th tine bar between the 4th and 1st. This worked, but still somewhat out of balance - not a good solution.
2. This is a two basket tedder. For what ever reason, one basket rides about an inch or so higher than the other one. To get a full width of tedding, one side of tines is in the dirt, else you're only tedding with one basket if you raise the lowest basket to clear the dirt. There is no basket to basket adjustment. I'm thinking this tedder saw one to many ground hog holes and one of the axles is bent slightly enough to allow one side to be lower than the other. Very difficult to measure or visualize, but none the less a very visible problem in hay.
3. Last problem was more of a convenience/hassle than anything else. The handle that attaches to the acme threaded rod which sets the tine pitch was long gone when I bought the tedder. The seller threw in a pair of vice grips....
The fixes:
1. Welded a nut to the sheared off bolt. Got enough weld and heat that it screwed out - YIPPIE!!!!!! 6th tine bar is now in place. The tedder is perfectly timed, balanced and spins smoothly, even at 540 PTO rpms.
2. In as much as there is no adjustment for baskets of unequal height, we parked the tedder on a level concrete pad. With cutoff wheel in hand, we simply shorted each set of times equal to the mating one on the other basket. 6 dual spring loaded tines, 12 cuts and the tedder now is level across its width. The pic shows the end result on a light strip of grass cut earlier. Tedder now teds great - no more digging in the dirt or missing any hay.
3. I had a crank handle from a scraped/parted out Simplicity mower deck - never throw anything away, even a crank to adjust a mower deck height. We welded it to the end of the acme threaded rod. Looks factory, has a padded grip and works like a champ!
I think we can now live with this tedder.
BTW - got to give credit where credit is due. My brother is the welder in the family and a darn good one too. Couldn't have done the repairs without his help, welder and steady hand. BTW - he doesn't throw away anything either....
Bill