Haybine Header Flotation Springs.... follow on question

So, both of the header float springs were broken on my Hesston 1070. I actually ran it like that for quite a while this summer. But I got sick of the extra broken sections... broken guards... and the occasional plug from a wad of sod, like an ant hill.

Anyway, I finally got around to it yesterday. We removed the flotation springs from our old spare haybine (also a 1070), and went to install them.

Well... learned a couple of lessons.

One... READ THE MANUAL FIRST!, which is inexcusable. I have the manual, and I can read...so...

Anyway, the manual said to tension the springs with the header in the up position.... then lower it to see how heavy the header feels.

I tensioned the springs in the down position...

That lead to one on the drive side breaking in the middle during tensioning. Well... there goes that spring... it had a full 39 coils, and could have be re-used, if it broke at the end. But nope...right in the middle.

Also... when it did break... I needed a break to go change my underwear. The design is safe, the spring was contained in the housing... but it slammed against it like a gunshot and gave me a 12guage-style kick to my right shoulder... which is where the impact wrench hit me. Thank God for good designs. If the spring itself came out... God help me.

Anyway, my wife and I were able to rework the end of one of the original springs... a task that I had hoped to do on a rainy day... and re-install.

But, here is the mystery. Even after reading the manual and doing it right, the second time. I feel as though there is NO WAY to get the drive side of the header to lift with 75 pounds of force (as specified). The far side of the header could easily be tensioned right to zero...if I wanted. A baby could lift it, and the spring had very little stretch.

But the drive side? I tensioned that spring by looking at its coil separation, relative to the far side, and left it about where it matched. At that point, both springs were about equally tensioned, the far side lifted with the specified 75 pounds. The drive side could be lifted, but lifting it five times in a row would qualify you for The Crossfit Games (Cropfit Games?)

Anyway, I went out and cut with it. The header seemed to float just fine. Both ends. I could see both ends bouncing over the ground just fine. Side note, I also replaced all six of the sections at the drive end, which were starting to wear and clog... which is a pain... but man, when this haybine is tuned and operating as intended, you can really go... (for a haybine, anyway)

I think I'm going to leave that drive side spring alone; because I would rather not have another one break; while I'm turning the wrench at the end of it.

There was, I guess, a question in that story...

When the manual specifies 75 pounds... to they mean right in the center?

Because I feel as though adjusting this haybine to 75 pounds in the center would make the drive side heavier... and the far side SO light that it would take practically zero force.

That's why I went with adjusting the far side to 75 (as in 75 pounds when I lift the far side of the header)... and then I adjusted the drive side spring to just look like it's under the same tension...even though the drive side felt like about 200 lbs and the middle felt like over 100 lbs.

If the header isn't balanced it would be typical to need more spring tension on one side or the other. For example, if one side has a gearbox that the other side doesn't you'd need to
compensate the extra weight with more flotation force to provide the same pressure on the ground on both ends. To check the flotation force you lift each end of the header, not in the
center. Always adjust based on the feel of the header on the ground and not by trying to match the spring extension on the two sides.

The nice thing about doing the adjustment with the header raised is that the springs will be slackened when you're wrenching on them. It will probably take a number of adjust-lower-weigh-
raise cycles until you get it set just right. Fortunately if a spring breaks doing it this way you're in the tractor seat instead of being right beside it. When a spring breaks like that
it typically means that it had a damaged spot (such as a nick or divot) that created a stress concentration so inspect them carefully before installation.

If its bouncing along while you’re cutting and not trying to dig
like a cultivator I’d run it you could maybe tighten the drive
side a bit . You are supposed to check the flotation by lifting at
each end of the header.like you did

Did you have it in the open position while adjusting?

I have a IH 990, the manual specifies a coil separation measurement for both the inner and far side springs (for instance- 3/16ths) as well as a lift weight to aim for. I'm a little surprised your manual doesn't.

Yes, it was in the "open" position, with respect to the tongue... not the "road travel" position.

Good question, I did look for binding points that would make one side harder to lift than the other.

No coil separation specification. Just a lift weight.

In the end, I followed SVCummins advice. I mowed for about four hours with it, the header floated well, I didn't break any sections or dig into any ant hills, or anything like that...

I'm just going to leave the spring tension where it is. Especially since, I looked at the springs in the "up" position. Right now, I have the drive side spring tightened to the point where it can just barely fully relax in the "up" position (when you lock the pin to park it).... if I tighten it any more, it will always be under tension, even when the machine is parked.