MF 12 Square baler knotter - need help

My massey ferguson 12 baler gave me troubles on the left side knotter. It baled fine one day this week for 100 bales, and the next it baled about 10 and then started breaking the twine on the left side. It seemed the knot was staying on the bill hook and not releasing. I tried to spray the knotters with wd40 and see if they were just stuck, but it kept having problems, sometimes looking like the knot was not tying all the way with both ends. That may have just been from trying to get it back right once it was stationary and just tying small bales for trial sake. I"ve had this baler several years and its done well baling several hundred bales a year.

The twine cutters are sharp, bill hooks shiney and not worn or grooved, and the rollers on the hook both turn freely, no flat spots. The tension plate which the book roller rides on do have a penny deep or less groove worn in them. Could that cause a problem? Both left and right side tension plates are both worn the same, so I am thinking that is not the issue, but it could be contributing if the roller was full of dust and buildup keeping it from turning.

Please point me in the right direction to fixing this. Is it possible just the dust and grease could have fouled up the left side? I will try again this week on a busted bales to find out.

Also, if anyone has an old 3, 6, 9, 10 or 12 MF baler as parts, are a few parts I"d like to have spares of if you have them.

Round 1 of photos

Trying again to add pics.

I borrowed a NH baler, older model. I asked what he would charge me to use it,
Only 2-300 bales. He said one side wouldn't tie all the time. You fix it, you can use it.
I fussed with it for a couple hours, still wouldn't tie. Everything seemed to be in adjustment,
but still wouldn't work.
Finally I unbolted both knotters, pivoted them both up, side by side.
The bad knotter had a bent knife/wiper arm. Looked OK by it self, but when they were
side by side, the bent one was obvious.
Replaced the bad arm and it went to work.
So you might try that and see if there is obvious differences.

My 124 would bale along and not miss a beat. Sent my son out to do four acres and it wouldn’t tie either side. Breaking twine like the knot was stuck on the bill hook. Found the twine tension plate on the side of the box twisted so there was little pressure on the twine, likely from the knot between twine rolls catching on it.. Put it back in place and it was back to perfect working order. Tension on the twine coming out of the box needs to be 10-15 lbs, a lot more than you’d think.

When posting photos you have to wait until It says photo uploaded depending on the mood the picture gods are in at the moment it could have several minutes or more

What are the twice strippers like? If the spring is broken they won't work right, they can all wear a groove on the back side and that causes the timing to be delayed when the knotter cycles. The stripper is what pulls the knots off.

Since your MF has no twine stripper you don't need to worry about that. Your manual gives you a value and procedure for bill hook tension.

Your twine knife may look sharp,,but they need to be very sharp, if the twine is not cut as soon as the knife touches it the knot will cinch tight on the bill hook and not want to release,,twine tension coming from the twine box can be an issue also,,some times the twine will wear a groove in one of the guide insulators,,and cause excessive twine drag,,,just a few things to think about,,it's tuff to fix a knotter over a key board ...

(quoted from post at 05:36:42 06/07/20)

Since your MF has no twine stripper you don't need to worry about that. Your manual gives you a value and procedure for bill hook tension.

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I used the wrong word, twine finger is the MF manual word for what I am talking about. I've run a #9 for decades. That finger, if not working right messes up the twine placement and the poorly made knots will stay stuck in the knotter.

Many thanks for posting these two suggestions. I sharpen both Cutter knives and they definitely weren’t razor sharp before so hopefully that will help. Also I rotated the guides since they did have a groove worn.