John Deere 260 Disc Mower. SCORE.

Picked up a JD 260 (Kuhn) disc mower at an auction the other day. It appears to be in pretty good shape, other than a little rust, and a broken hay knife. Pto shaft is stuck, and I have yet to be able to slide it, but other than that, everything turns and works!?

I was thinking about using it behind my Super M, but when I hooked it up to the M (one with 3 point) I felt like it was heavy and awquard, even on that big of a machine?

How much power / weight does it take to run one, and what is it worth? Would I be out of like to say I should be able to get $3000 out of it? Maybe less? Thoughts?! Thanks!!

Also SCORED this JD plow for $75! Flawless other than a broken share, but I have a few spares for a 55 (which I think is what this one is). 2 x 16 plow. Very nice condition.

Pictures

Another thing I was going to ask, but forgot. This mower clearly doesn't have a "crimper" or conditioner of any kind, such as my IH 990 Swather does. Is one not needed? Explain that to me!

the super m is a little light to run that.

As best I can recall, the GMD 66 calls for something like 45 hp to drive it. As far as handling... you probably want a 7k pound tractor or better, moreso if you're on steep ground. I seldom run one on less than a Ford 5000, and generally not that small. IN terms of value... I suppose it's worth what you suggest if it works. The killer with these things is you don't know how long someone ran it without oil before you got it. Get it on the air, vertical... and find the drain plug on the bottom of the bar and the bevel gearbox. Drain them both and see what kind of crap comes out. If it's not full of metal you probably got a good one. Refill to the respective level plugs with 80W90 (the bevel gearbox must be filled with the bar horizontal, level with the same plug you drained it from. Also observe the bar for leaks once you get ti running. After you shut it down, raise it up and look for tracers... they can sometimes leak from the gear pinions... or the outer bar seal ring... or wear a hole in the bar pan. Beyond that the GMD is a nearly indestructible bar. Put a new set of knives in it. Keep the belts TIGHT (about 3/4" deflection in the center of the span) and keep lots of grease on the shaft joints. Eventually the jackshaft bearings will fail. Replace them and install a grease nipple in the center of the bearing housing (leave the inner seals off the bearings)... and you'll get a good long while from them after that.

Rod

You can get by without it. Just takes longer to dry...

Rod

(quoted from post at 22:54:01 07/25/17) the super m is a little light to run that.

Click to expand...

Super M at 47 belt HP should handle the 8' disc cutter. I've pulled a 9' disc cutter just fine with a JD 2040(40 pto HP) & Kubota M4900(45 pto HP).

I do not think a Super M would be a good choice to use with a disc mower. You need an outlet to raise the bar plus the one you use with the lift arms. Most 3 point kits have the end of the lift arms farther behind the axel which would make the tractor light on the front. Also the engine horsepower is marginal

It's worth 3 times as much as you paid for it just because it has JD decals on it :lol:. If it had the Kuhn decals you would be lucky to get what you paid for it. On another note if you had a disk mower caddy for it so you don't have all of its weight hanging off the back of the super M it would probably be ok.

I've got a Kuhn disc mower that is close to the same thing. They are a good machine. I have a tedder that lets me bale at least a day earlier. I have mine on a 4630 Ford and it's a little light, I wouldn't want to use it in tall hills. My 856IH handles it better but I keep it on the baler. The 1st thing you want to do is change the oil in the cutter bar and gearbox and check for wear. The discs should be tight. If it's been sitting a while you may want to polish the pulleys, the belts will grab if there is much rust and will twist. When I got mine it was nearly new but had been sitting for a couple of years. I put a banded belt on instead of the 4 belts. It helped a lot.
In my area $3000 would be on the high side because there are a lot of disc mowers around for sale. I would say $2-2500 in this neck of the woods.

is it just the way the pic is ...or is lift cylinder bent....that mower has had a lot of hay through it

Looks like a model 52, or maybe a 44 JD plow but I think the shares are all the same.

I can't tell on your plow, but we have a model 44, and I found that some have slow speed bottoms, and some have high speed. Turns out ours has the slow speed bottoms, and the points don't stand up well to our bony soil - and they aren't available any longer
Pete

I am not totally sure on the plow now? Mine has those flat arms, with the non adjustable coulters, just depth can be changed. Not the normal 1 1/2 round shaft like most plows had. This one has 1 piece moldboards, and on piece shares as well.

Its a mower not a hay conditioner

Conditioner not needed, at least if using a tedder. Done dry hay in less than 24 hours with straight mower and tedder.