New Holland Rake... The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

I spent the afternoon working on the rake and the only thing good was the weather. I gave the rake a good going over and learned it has a broken rake rail which the owner found for me, another rake rail(??) Has been broken and welded back. I found a hairline crack on the frame that needs welding.

But the worst may be the left rear axle. It is wobbly and badly worn, with about a 2 inch gap. I think it has bushings, whatever it is needs replacing badly. My dad would say the grease worms ate it up.

I got the rod connecting the tires removed, and the shaft going to the gear box unhooked. I took off the tire and I'm going to need a smaller tire or some spacers.

Here's the latest pics... tell me what you think.

mvphoto27937.jpg
 
I think you should walk away. Or run. A working Model 56 can be bought for $500. You’ll have more than that just trying to get that one to roll.
 

The rake wasn't that bad to run. We had to mod our with a little hay twine. We bought it with a cracked gearbox and the gearbox died when we did a repair to it.
 
(quoted from post at 20:47:15 12/12/18)
The rake wasn't that bad to run. We had to mod our with a little hay twine. We bought it with a cracked gearbox and the gearbox died when we did a repair to it.[/quo

So as long as i don't try to fix anything I'll be fine? My kind of equipment... lol
 
The hay twine was just a band aid that lasted longer than the gearbox sadly. Gearbox housing can be $$$. Either than that, the rake would work. There are a lot of salvage yards that have the parts your looking for expect a gearbox housing.
 
MJMJ gave you some good advice for what I see 56 and 256 rakes sell for at auctions you'd be way ahead to keep looking or get this one for parts cheap although about anything that breaks
on those rakes is broken on the one you have there.I bought a parts 256 off CL for $100 that would need a lot less to get working than the one you have there.At the very least make up a list of parts you'll need and price them before doing anything.
 
Thats probably the worst condition I have seen for a NH 56, or whatever model it is. Looks like a lot more time, & money than I would spend on it. Other things will probably follow... Like the gearbox! Not cheap.
 
if you decide to fix it, you can save $$$ with Joe's Machinery in Pa.
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/joe-s-machinery-llc-parts-catalog/pdf_445fe51c-e7c2-11e5-9484-1b797b300e94.html
I have rebuilt the gearbox on a 256 and gotten many parts for a NH 900 chopper from them. good service.
 
(quoted from post at 03:23:11 12/13/18) if you decide to fix it, you can save $$$ with Joe's Machinery in Pa.
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/joe-s-machinery-llc-parts-catalog/pdf_445fe51c-e7c2-11e5-9484-1b797b300e94.html
I have rebuilt the gearbox on a 256 and gotten many parts for a NH 900 chopper from them. good service.

Thanks Bill, like or not she's all mine. I got it super cheap, so maybe i can make it roll with some salvage parts.
 
If it were me, I would buy another and keep that one for parts. Cost you a lot of money and work to repair that one. Some of those bars get where they won't hold a new bearing, and the bearings are expensive also.
 
After reading..I agree.Keep it for parts. Tear it apart now. Put the good parts on a shelf in the shed. Haul the rest to scrap or throw it on your iron pile for future use.I am corrently doing the same thing to a JD 95 combine.Keeping the good parts and hauling the carcase to the scrapper.The parts are now readily available and I got rid of an eyesore.
 
(quoted from post at 21:51:01 12/12/18)
mvphoto27941.jpg

I'll agree with other that it's a good parts rake but it will take time and $$ to get it back to raking condition.

That bar in the 3rd photo has been torched, replacing the bar bearings is a good sized job and it looks like someone torched and welded the bars rather than doing it the correct way.
The wheel assembly has tapered bearing instead of bushings, the big castle nut adjust the preload, more than likely that one has a bad bearing, is the drive shaft between the wheels is missing, don't see a parting line in the rust on the stub near the castle nut.
The dog latch is inside the hubs and is automatic, no way to disconnect without disassembling the hub units.
A cable runs from a lever on the gear box to a flip lever near the from of the frame rail, moving the lever on the gear box forward disconnects the gear box from the reel, the lever is spring loaded to automatically engage the reel when the cable is released, if the lever isn't latched to prevent it from moving the gear box could engage during transport causing damage to the gear box and drive line.

The 56 rake was made from 59-67 and was replaced by the 256 which is still made today.
They are very similar and share many of the same parts. The bars, star wheels, gear box, wheel assemblies and axle assemblies are the same, the main frame, basket frame, basket support and reel support stub are different.
If the price is right I'd pick that one up for parts, new reel bars are over $350 each.

Personally I'd keep looking for a 256, the basket support adjustment is a slide that you tighten a clamp nut against to hold it in the position you want, the one on a 256 has notches for a square shouldered bolt which prevents the support from sliding down has I seen happen on 56 models.
When the front basket support is at the bottom of the slot it angles the basket to induce roping the hay in the windrow, this is one of the biggest complaints I've heard about the NH bar rakes, when the support is raised fully up it makes loose fluffy windrows, I have my 256 rakes set in the middle.

Our local dealer burnt some years ago and at a later auction I bought a new 256 rake that had been setting near the building in the crate, the crate and tires burnt and the heat from the tires burning warped the bars making them unusable. I bought a 56 with bent frame for the reel bars and star wheels to complete the 256, got my money back for the 56 when I sold the gear box.
 

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