Combine repair (pics)

[cropdusting]

Here are a few pictures of some repairs/upgrades that my folks (mom and dad) are doing to the combine.

First new bigger wider tires for more flotation. The old rims were starting to crack and the tires were worn.

New tires being mounted on the new/used wider rims. Tire and wheel combo aprox. $6000 including mounting

Loading the new tire/wheel combo to take home to mount on the machine.

preping for paint. spend $12,000 on wheels and tires better make them look nice.

Ready to install

Wheel and tire combo weighs over 800lbs

Torque to 600 ft/lbs

What was required to remove the lug bots. 6 foot cheater on an 1 inch drive breaker bar

 

[cropdusting]

cylinder bar replacement (the threshing mechanisim) that is just behind the feeder house.

Feeder house removed, used some camper jacks modified to hold the feeder house and just back the combine up to remove.

Old and new for comparison

 

[Egon]

Many thanks for the interesting pictures.:thumbsup:

Those wrenches remind me of times long gone!

 

[Western]

Man, nice Tonka toy,:laughing: And I don't like changing a tire on my car hauler, now that's a job right there.

 

[GGB]

Looks all too familiar! We went throught the same process on ours two years ago. Our old rims had corroded from calcium chloride, and the tires had simply worn out. New cylinder bars as well. Glad those repairs are out of the way.

Our nephew is getting ours ready this week-putting the wheat head on, general checkup to make sure we (me!) didn't miss anything repairs that should have been done after finishing beans last fall. I tell my city friends who aren't familiar with farming that when it comes to combines and harvest, it's too often not IF you break down, but WHEN and HOW MUCH to fix! I'm betting you're way too familiar with that thought. I can remember when you could buy a new machine for what some repairs cost today. Guess I'm admitting to getting older......

We should be ready to start cutting by the middle to end of next week if we don't lose it to the next round of storms coming in tonight. This weather has been especially frustrating this year, but seems I'm saying that almost every year. But compared to folks who are getting flooded out along the Missouri River, I should be thankful that I've got my problems.....

Good luck with your harvest.

GGB

 

[cropdusting]

Yeah I know it all too well. Hardly a harvest goes by that you don't have something break (no matter how minor) at least one flat tire on the trucks are almost a given. We have had this combine for close to 20 years and have probably replaced nearly every bearing in the thing. We try to do some of the bigger jobs in advance as a preventitve measure so we don't have a catastophic failure, just small "normal" ones such as throwing a belt or breaking a chain. FYI I personally have been inside this machine when we changed the cylinder bearings and that has been 10 years ago.

 

[Bird]

Thanks for the pictures. I imagine many of our members, including myself of course, have no experience at all with combines other than seeing them.

 

[hawkeye08]

I remember in the 70s making notes of things that needed repair in the off season. Pa always changed certain bearings because he knew they had a tendency to fail part way through harvest if he didn't.. We did not have a lot of acreage and used small equipment, but it was well maintained and supported our family (and some hired hands some years)..

Thanks for sharing!

 

[GGB]

Cropdusting, I should have noted that we're also fortunate to have a wheat crop, unlike sure the folks in West Texas, Western OK and SW Kansas who would gladly trade worrying about possible hail this year. Sounds and looks like quite few farms might not have much to harvest because of the drought conditions. A couple of friends of ours-one who farms in SW Kansas and another who farms near Dalhart, TX told us how dry it's been. One told me they had not had a rain over 1" since last October. I went throught that area of SW Kansas and OK Panhandle last month, and a lot of farms were already tearing out the wheat, and a lot of the rest looked very poor.

I'll try to remember to count our blessings!

GGB

 

[Taylortractornut]

You wouldnt want to trade jobs, I had to pull the tire and wheel and drivers side fender off one of the 762 JD scrapers at work. We had a valve spool get some trash in it. It was actually easier to do that in stead of from the top. While I was in there Im pulling all the lines I can get to easily before it goes back to the working faceOmbine salvage yard I was working near went to the scrapper. I saw several new rims and combine tires especially flotation tires that loked new get shredded and the ywouldnt sell a one of them .

On a combine I know its always the inside or last belt or pulley that goes bad at work. Ive got a friend that runs and old MF and IHC and JD and I do a ton of feild work for him at harvest time. Last year he had a straw chopper bearing go bad on the the MF and it dropped melted bearind in the chaff. He got to the end of the row and turned around to see the fire. He got off and cut the belt on the slinger and combined around the fire. Luckily the truck with the nurse tank showed up with a tank of water.

I like old combines for parts, I got a 300 MF several years ago and made several things from it. Now theres a few crumbs left. I traded my neighbor out of a 205 MF and thats a tiny thing. Im now looking at an old AC Allcrop 90 to use on my hobby farm. I like headaches lol Thanks for sharing the pics of Binders