JD 346 plunger bearing failure

Neighbor was pushing to beat some rain last night and said the baler was "hammer in' pretty good " when he finished. The plunger bearing failed and chewed up the drive arm and bearing adapter. My question is, how bad is the drive arm damaged? I've not been around enough JD balers to know what it looks like unblemished. The groove is worn deep enough to be roughly the same diameter as the bearing journal. Will it run or does he need to hunt down a new arm?
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Well, all he can do is get a new bearing and see how bad it fits... I've done the same thing. A coil of shim stock and bottle of loctite 620 can take up a lot of slack. Mine has been running that way now for 3-4 years. While he's at it, make sure he looks at the wrist pin on the plunger head. That may be worn sloppy too and that's why the bearing is hammering...

Rod
 
I put a micrometer on the journal and it is no more than .001" out of round so I think that's ok. I'm concerned about the groove cut into that cast iron arm. Salvage yard wants 250.00 for one which doesn't seem bad. Getting the old one off seems like the real tough part of the job.
 
Jim, you've been around a lot of these. Would you replace the crank arm or just go with a new bearing? This machine sees 3000-5000
bales/year. Thanks
 

If one can't get new brg to fit arm snugly then my vote would be to replace crank arm. Breaking down with hay ready to bale isn't what I care to experience.
 
If the journal is only .001" out then I would not worry about the crank in the least. When you look at what an ordeal it is to remove you'll probably come to that conclusion as well. What I would strongly recommend is investigating that plunger head, it's bushing and the general tolerances VERY CLOSELY.... and also keep a spare crank bearing on hand.
Again, I'd just fit the new bearing up with Loctite 620, give it a full day to set... and move on.

Rod
 

Pillow block is only offered with brg included. I arbitrarily chose part numbers but for correct PN's one needs to know if baler uses twine or wire & possibly need SN.
AE32081 PITMAN CAP WITH BEARING ADD 107.28 USD

JD9421 Ball Bearing - ADD 52.66 USD
 
That is a lot of wear for this early in the season. The off-season if a better time to make repairs than in the middle of harvest. Was the baler inspected at the end of last season or just parked in the shed?
 
I should have a crank arm and pillow block on the shelf. The pillow block would need a new bearing. $125 for both with shipping if they have not ended up in the scrap bin a couple of years ago.
 
As best I know it was put away at the end of the season. It's one thing I don't like about sealed bearings is there is no real way to tell if they are on their way out.
 
Thanks Rod, I will install the new bearing for him with Loctite; never used 620 but we used 660 Quik-Metal alot in the shop. All the hay is baled now so we are waiting for the next weather window to knock down more.
 
I'd suggest he keep a spare bearing on hand from here on out too...
They only take 10 minutes to change if you have one, and until you know conclusively why it failed... you might expect the problem to reoccur.

Rod
 
I checked for slop at the plunger end like you said and I think it feels pretty tight, better than other balers I have been around. According to the parts book it uses needle bearings in the plunger end. My Massey baler just has bushings.
 

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