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HeyPigFarmer
02-01-2008 05:53:12
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Re: Need feedback on combine in reply to Spike in WI, 01-31-2008 17:30:38
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Building on what the others have said, parts availability, dealer support, familiarity with the machine, making sure the heads match up with your equipment there are a few other pointers. A hydrostat combine is a whole world nicer than a gear machine, even though they have that variable speed the hydro is so much nicer to use it’s amazing. Overall make sure the bottom of the machine and grain tank aren’t rusted through, make sure the elevators don’t have holes worn in them. As always all belts and chains, axle pivots, spindle bearings and wheel bearings. Check to see if the machine has been welded on anywhere and why it’s been welded on. Check elevator chains especially, those get spendy in a hurry and make sure it has all it’s paddles on it. Feederhouse chains are also quite expensive. Look at the belly of the machine overall and look for places that chains have been attached to pull them out, it is possible to stretch a machine making it basically junk. Look at basic maintenance items, how much grease is spewing out of bearings, have the filters been changed recently that sort of thing. Look at the electrical, you can spend days fixing someone else’s mistakes. Look at tires, the JD and the NH use the same rim but no matter what 24.5 or 28L 26’s are expensive. But sometimes you can buy used ones on rim fairly cheap compared to new. Especially since all newer combines are going to 32’s 38’s and now 42’s.
Everyone else has good pointers now onto specific machine traits. We have had two of the machines listed, the others I have no comment.
The 6600 is not one of my favorite machines but if you need a side hill than I’d say go for it. When you look at it other than the above things if it has a straw chopper on it look at the rear section of the combine, the sheet metal tends to crack around there if the copper is out of balance and I have seen one fall off. Look at the sieves or chaffers, whatever you want to call them, on that era Deere machines they like to crack along the front and rear making it hard to adjust and just about useless because that leaves a direct track to dump grain and tailings directly below. Replacement frames start around $800. In front of the sieves, at the end of the auger bed make sure the fingers are all still there, if they aren’t grain dumps directly to the re-clean auger. Check the bearings on the walkers. Look through from the trap door on the top inside to see if the fish-backs have come loose beat the stuffing out of the inside of the machine. Look on top of the walkers toward the front of the machine, there should be a flap hanging down, if it’s not there it needs one otherwise the cylinder throws stuff straight out the back. There is a door above and below where the feederhouse meets the machine, look at the cylinder and the concaves make sure they aren’t broke. If your worried about rasp bars now’s the time to look too. Make sure the hydraulics work smooth. The hydraulic pumps are known to go out ona regular basis, which isn’t bad but the pump is mounted on the end of the direct shaft to the engine and is threaded on there. After years of rust they get stuck on, you use a torch to get them off, that ruins your core so a new pump will run ya over $1000 to change out. The other big thing to look at on a Deere from that era is the axles going to the outer drives. Look at the splines on them. These machines had a light frame, and if it had a large grain tank extension on it or if it was pulled out of the mud incorrectly the frames sprung, causing other bad things to happen and wear out but a tell tale sign is if the axle splines are worn. As far as motors go, the gas will really suck the fuel, the diesel needs more power but is reliable if it has the 404 they start hard the 359 German starts better.
Now onto the TR70. First off there were three choices of engines on the TR70. The 3208 Cat - which is the best choice, the 363 diesel Ford turbo industrial – which was underpowered to use the capacity of the machine but held up decent if not over worked, and the Ford 361 V8 Gas – stay the heck away from the gassers that thing would suck fuel like it was it’s job. Once again, each side of the machine there is a door you can take off to look at the cylinder part of the rotor, check the rasp bars, look at the concaves, see which concave it has in it (large wire, universal which has large wires with pipe covers over them, or small wire) Small wire ones shouldn’t be used in large grain, the large wire ones have spots to put small wires in to do small grains as do the universal ones. See if it comes with these extra wires. Look above and below the rotors, if it has been plugged hard the machine will bulge in these areas. Look at the front of the rotors to make sure rocks haven’t busted off the feeding ears. There is another inspection door below the rotor doors, take those off to look at the shaker table and make sure it isn’t rusted through. From there move toward the back look at the sieves, make sure they can be adjusted still. Crawl up on the sieves if you can and look up at the rotors for damage or damage to the rotor cages. Look at the discharge beater in the back, that usually is a give away of how many rocks it has eaten. Look under the discharge beater to see if it has the filler plates, if you don’t then when you do wheat it will poop straw on top of the sieves. If it has a straw chopper on it in order to dump the straw to bale it you don’t remove the straw chopper there is a door above it that swings, look at where this door attaches to the body, sometimes you get stress cracks around there. Look at the center axle pivot, that tends to wear out. Pull the inspection doors off the elbow on the unloading auger and check the gear boxes for slop, this can be done by hand. If you are feeling agile craw inside the grain tank, pull off the engine access door, from here pull off the rotor inspection/removal covers and check the slop in the gear boxes. Make sure the machine engages solidly, unlike a Deere the NH uses a clutch instead of a belt adjuster to engage the separator. While the separator is engaged the machine should be perfectly smooth, if not your rotors are out of balance, which is kind of a pain if you care, hard on bearings and coupler chains if you don’t. Look at the brake drums, if it’s a hydro you will hardly ever use the brakes but they tend to shear off at the shaft on these. One last thing to look at is fuel filler placement. If it sticks out toward the ladder over top of the tool box then it’s a late model, if it sticks out over the side into no mans land, it’s an early model.
Sorry for the long rambling message but that’s the base of it. When I look at a machine it takes me about 3 hours. Pisses off dealers but who cares about them, just hoping others can learn from my mistakes.
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