fahr kh40 tedder

[farmerjim]

helping a friend w/ an issue on their fahr kh40 tedder. they're having trouble w/ the pto u-joints and can't seem to find replacements. i said why don't you just go buy a new pto shaft for the whole tedder,he thinks a new one won't fit? it should be similar to any pto shaft from implement to tractor as long as the splines are correct. my friend is a good guy but he's a bit cheap when it comes to things like this and he just got this tedder out of the scrap pile of a farm, he thinks its gold cause it was only $50. my idea is to give it a complete overhaul new pto shaft,teeth,new gear box grease or oil and new zerks all around, and maybe a coat of paint. anyone know if these are good tedders and can you still get parts for them? its a 4 basket fahr and its red in color. i always thought that fahr were green in paint? or am i thinking of a duetz model instead, either way i thought they were all made by the same company?

 

[RickB]

A KH-40 is an old tedder. PTO shaft parts are metric in dimension and generic in nature. If he can't find a pair of u-joints, he isn't looking very hard, or can't find a decent dealer for farm equipment in CT. A dealer for A&I can get a new complete PTO shaft for less than most. Other KH-40 parts are available from one of the short line equipment wholesalers in the Northeast, either Cummings & Bricker or J.S. Woodhouse. He will have to find a dealer for either, as they don't do direct retail.

Agricultural Equipment Distributor: Cummings & Bricker

JS Woodhouse - Distributors of Agricultural Implements & Forestry Equipment

A&I Products: A leading manufacturer and distributor of agricultural and industrial products

 

[MFRED]

Yup, those u-joints are pretty readily available. Has a dealer been tried or just a farm supply store? Most dealers around here have them in stock & are usually cheaper than a chain store. Smarter as well.
New cross & bearing kits would be cheaper than a whole shaft by a ton if there's nothing else wrong with the shaft. I would try that before I sunk too much into an old tedder like that. I guess either way you would end up with a good PTO shaft.

 

[slowzuki]

Its an old tedder. I've got a broken one. Before sinking money into it I'd look it over really well chances are it was in the scrap pile for a different reason.

The "ears" that drive the two outer baskets are a big problem. The casting and single shear mounted spherical bearing that the arm swings and pivots on gets loose and lets the ears ride too far out. The first effect is the ears will shear the roll pins first if you're lucky. Next the baskets jam and the main gear box goes to pieces.

I've also had problems with the teeth on the baskets getting out of time, the castings for the axle and arm stripping out when hitting field obstructions, the tires are an expensive odd size, the roller cross pins in the outer arm drives tend to break and jam in the casting breaking other parts the list goes on.

I've tried welding up the casting to fix that but it doesn't last. Next stop is welding up a bracket to put the pivot in double shear and building up the sloppy casting with epoxy.

 

[farmerjim]

i had some time to play w/ the tedder and got it into some what working order. we got some new ujoints and spun it by hand seemed ok so we fired it up on the tractor just to see , it immediatly sheared the shear pin, put a new one in and spun it by hand to see what was the problem, baskets were jamming because the "ears" are super sloppy and bearings are shot that spin them. long story short this thing is headed for the scrap yard its probably worth more there than fixing it any further. the ujoints were cheap and we kept the pto shaft off it for a spare. w/ the cash from it and a few $$ out of pocket i think my buddy will find a better machine.

 

[RickB]

i had some time to play w/ the tedder and got it into some what working order. we got some new ujoints and spun it by hand seemed ok so we fired it up on the tractor just to see , it immediatly sheared the shear pin, put a new one in and spun it by hand to see what was the problem, baskets were jamming because the "ears" are super sloppy and bearings are shot that spin them. long story short this thing is headed for the scrap yard its probably worth more there than fixing it any further. the ujoints were cheap and we kept the pto shaft off it for a spare. w/ the cash from it and a few $$ out of pocket i think my buddy will find a better machine.

Excellent choices.

 

[slowzuki]

I concur.

 

[laitec]

I have a kh 40 tedder and it has been working good for me except that every time I get a flat tire I have to change the wheel bearing. There is a disc on one side of the wheel that prevents taking off the 4 bolts holding the hub assembly together. I burned them off to take the hub apart and get the tire off and ruined the tube. Then I tried to put a gear puller on the bearing but there is nothing solid to grab onto. Now I think I'm going to have to burn off the bearing, which is still good, to get the other half of the hub off. This is the second time this has happened and it is getting expensive. Is there a better way to change the tires? Is the guard on the inside of the hub necessary?

 

[slowzuki]

The standard tire/wheel for them is a one piece wheel held on to the axle by a single nut. The rim holds two bearings and a spacer.

The guard just stays on the side the spindle comes down on so hay doesn't wrap.

The rim should slide right off, with some convincing.