New holland 489 vs New idea 514 vs OMC 235

I m looking at some haybine, we ve got a few acres of grass and the livestock can t keep up so I would like to hay it. This isn t enough grass to pay for a NH 499 or similar quality machine. The ones that I ve found in my budget within a couple hours are an NH 489 needing hitch welding for $800, a New Idea 514 that is "functional" as per the ad for $2500 and an OMC 235 that is also "functional" for $1400. Which unit will give the best bang for my buck? I know they re all old, stored outside machines so I don t expect anything fantastic but any info good, bad or otherwise would be appreciated!

Having been one of the first owners of a NH 489. My father would not have wanted any other brand, or model. Still remember when it hit the farm in 1978 I think it was; maybe 77. Only time it ever clogged was when we forgot to change the runner depth. 1st cutting it needed set higher, after that lowered to help reduce insects. Never had a problem with the hitch; but it was never ran rough. After 40 +/- years it wouldnt surprise me with these higher HP tractors that welds could brake. We never used anything bigger than A I-H "666" gas.

Owatonna is a good machine sections and guards
are available aftermarket bearings and belts are
available from a bearing house anything else you?ll
have to build or have built they have been obsolete
for many years gehl bought them I was told by an
old owatonna dealer gehl has now been swallowed
up by the Agco. I have an owatonna swather I
would like to eventually rebuild .

I started with a NH 467 and upgraded to a 474 which is a little brother to the 489. I was totally unimpressed with the machine. Could not cut as well or as fast as the 467.
Only nice thing about it was that it was easier to change the belt for the wobble drive.
The PTO runs through the hitch on those style and needing welding would be a no go for me.

The 489 NH is a good machine, but the 488 NH is a
better machine when they get a little older. I say this
because the 489 conditioning rolls are driven by two
gear boxes and power shafts. We?re as the 488 rolls
are driven by chain and sprocket system, which is
very easy and inexpensive to repair compared to
the 489 set up. Both units share many common
parts, and all are available still through NH and
many after market suppliers. Personally I would give
a wide birth to Owantona/Gehl, they worked good
when new, and I knew guys that had them, parts
were like buying gold !! Local dealers would only
order in things like guards and sections for you if
you took the entire order. Example, if guards came
in orders of ten, you had to take all ten guards,
because they wouldn?t stock anything. And they
were crazy expensive $30.00 per guard.

That is interesting as when I went from a 467 to a 474 I thought is was a big step up. My 474 had all new guards and knife and cut great. The last year I had the 467 we had some grass that was so thick I could not cut it. Hired a discbine to do the job. Tom

Go with the 489. NH sold lots of them and parts are available and sooner or latter you need parts. The biggest problem with the 489 is the rubber on the rolls was not good on the earlier ones and tended to come off. This was worse on machines that sat outside. Tom

Go with the 489 but inspect any unit for wear. See if the gear boxes are to the proper level with gear oil if possible. Major components are expensive to replace. They still
bring around 3,000 dollars if in good to nice condition. So maybe with another 489 that has a good hitch but other problems you can build one good machine from two so-so
units and come out ahead.

Bruce generic guards are 14$ each for the owatonna and you can buy one or 100. Sections come in a box of ten

(quoted from post at 05:35:45 06/03/19) Go with the 489 but inspect any unit for wear. See if the gear boxes are to the proper level with gear oil if possible. Major components are expensive to replace. They still
bring around 3,000 dollars if in good to nice condition. So maybe with another 489 that has a good hitch but other problems you can build one good machine from two so-so
units and come out ahead.

Click to expand...

My brother has run a NH489 for about 35 years now on the home farm. He just, last year, had to buy another one and swap parts over, because he essentially broke the frame.
But, he does 30,000 to 40,000 small squares a year.
(I honestly don't know how he sits on the tractor seat that long...)

One thing that I would look at with a 489 is where the tongue connects to the frame of the mower. The first few years they were made, there was just a large bolt that made this connection (if I remember, there was maybe a bushing in the hole with it for pivoting). This was a weak system. The bolts would break. Sometimes the tongue would crack where the bolt went through. The box tongue also twisted and cracked on him once or twice.

After a couple of years' production, NH modified the tongue's pivot to use an even larger pin with just little bolt to hold the pin in place. These seemed more robust.

After some initial growing pains, my brother replaced the tongue on his, back in 1986. He also made a couple of strategic welded reinforcements on the new tongue... and, even with the older, weaker, version, it lasted right up until last summer.

The 489 is much easier on the header springs, since only the header "floats" and goes up and down. The conditioning rolls stay stationary.

The NH488 and most other brands of haybine had the header and conditioning rolls mounted as one large, heavy piece that floated up and down together. Much more stress on the springs. Didn't "float" nearly as well as a 489.

A 489 is very good at following ground contours for that reason.

I can?t even buy guards for my JD swather for that price, and after market sections for it a 2 bucks each

Yikes . The local farm stores stock guards for 12 to 14$ and sections are about .80$ each . Before the conglomeration of the ?local? Agco dealer they had guards for 9$ and sections .75$ A owatonna would have to be in excellent shape and you?d better be an expert parts man to own one . I?d buy one but probably not a good fit for a first time owner

Well a 500km round trip and the New Holland 489 is sitting in my Dad s yard. It s still on the trailer and I ll be fixing it right after I finish converting the PTO post pounder to gas power. Thank you everyone for your advice!