haying

For the mowers, that old dead stuff from last year will make it real tough to cut, you just have to keep unplugging and go on. Sharp sickle sections, rock guards adjusted if needed so they are in close tolerance to the sickle sections moving back and forth, check wear plates and hold downs so the sickle bar is moving back and forth nice and tight against the rock guards, not slopping up and away from the guards where it can get grass in between and plug. If in doubt, buy some sickle sections, hold downs, wear plates, and sickle section bolts and redo all of it. You can redo all of it for under 100 dollars pretty easily, you might also consider picking up a spare sickle bar to have to swap in if the sections get dulled up midday while cutting.

On the rake, have someone drive the tractor while you walk behind and watch it work, if it has a chain the bearings under the chain sprockets may be shot allowing the sprocket to wobble and bind the chain, we had that problem.

Fresh chain and a new bearing has ours working great.

If it is a drive shaft coming from the rake axle, check the drive shaft itself ( ujoints ) for binding and slop. It may have enough slop to throw itself into a bind.

I ended up getting manuals for our sickle and rake and baler, but I also had to get them working somewhat before I had them so I understand your position there.

One of this board message boards faults is the first and sometimes only response if someone has a problem tends to be "do you have the manual?". Manuals are great to have, but some are very hard to obtain and the equipment needs to get working in the meantime.

Oh...the other response to a problem with a sickle mower is invariably the hay dr sticking in a plug for one of his disc mowers.

=)

Couple hints, and I won't even mention the manuals (ops just did):^)

The mower will not like the dead wirey grass. They will go thru it better if nice tight and sharp. Given the description I would be guessin it was alot like my old NI. Losse and fairly wore. I had straight knives (not cerated(sp)) and was able to sharpen them. Couple wacks with a hammer on the hold down and I was able to muddle thru it. Best thing you could do at this point is get the field cleaned up. Once you get the hay off, go over it with a grass mower and remove as much as you can. The next time you will be ahead of the trash part and the mower will be a little more forgiving.

Rake wise, "keep hitting something and binding up" Not sure but think it would be the ground. I suspect that if you had something on the rake hitting itself you would notice that. Try to adjust the rake so the teeth ride just off the gound. I had a lot of this trouble with three point rakes. Don't know if the 401 is or is not but three point will be a little rougher to set than a wheeled rake. 3pt drift, & gound conditions, make a hug difference in where the rake is. Trail wheels go a long ways helpin that.

BTW if you cut very high the rake may not do a very good job. Tall stubble holding on to it while try to move it over.