john deere 336 square baler

[wildwoodford]

Neighbor has a 336 baler hes thinking of getting rid of. Took a look at it, but its an older machine. Just wondering what parts availability, and overall reliability are like? Also wondering if tere is any known problem areas i should closer inspect?

[SandalwoodRanch]

Would not recommend it. I've seen many problems with them; auger feeder, tucker fingers, clutch clipping, tying problems, etc...

[flusher]

Your best bet is to buy a 336 that's been used recently (i.e. within the past month or so). I bought a Massey Ferguson 124 baler that's similar to the 336 right out of the field (paid $2000 about 4 years ago). The seller used it to bale about 30 acres the day before. He was selling the 124 because he bought a 336 (said it was a better baler than the 124 in his opinion).

Don't know about parts availability--just a general impression that JD is pretty good at stocking parts for old equipment like the 336. Check the JD website to get more info.

Good luck.

[ctlguy]

Parts availability is still pretty good for the twine units. But I would aproach this purchase just like any other 30-40 year old square baler.

[Mickey_Fx]

Many yrs ago I had a new one. First season had a knoter frame break. Replacement part was universal design and had to modify to work on the 336. Needle timing is pretty sensitive and instruction in owners manual was incorrect. Until a JD mechanic clued me in, lost 4-5 needles the first season. I did work the baler hard and as a result would loose the big-end crank bearing a couple times a season. Had to start carrying replacements with me while out on a job. To top that off, the bearing was a custom for JD. My dealer didn't carry just the bearing, had to buy bearing and carrier together. And on the early ones, the tongue jack was a real widow maker. Someone up above must have been watching over me as the jack handle just barely missed hitting me in the head when it went flying off the jack. That design was replaced after a couple seasons.

As you might guess, I wasn't a real fan of this baler. IMO the knoter on a MF 124 was way better design.