Gleaner M2

[Gregorytractorguy]

Hey. looking to buy a gleaner M2 combine. With six row corn head. 4500$ 1500 engine hours on tac
Serial Number is MKS 18738 It’s been inside since I can remember farmer down the road owned and used in until 2023. All the belts are decent without dry rot. And the drives belts still have deep groves and aren’t worn smooth. Any advice on what to look for. if they are good or bad machine. Thank you all for any advice.
I have about 20 acres of corn to do. Will have about 30 next year.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Hey. looking to buy a gleaner M2 combine. With six row corn head. 4500$ 1500 engine hours on tac
Serial Number is MKS 18738 It’s been inside since I can remember farmer down the road owned and used in until 2023. All the belts are decent without dry rot. And the drives belts still have deep groves and aren’t worn smooth. Any advice on what to look for. if they are good or bad machine. Thank you all for any advice.
I have about 20 acres of corn to do. Will have about 30 next year.

If there was still a Gleaner dealer nearby I'd still have one. In todays' corn an M2 with a six row head will be a slow go with a lot of dumping. But that's a big machine for your acreage. My six row combine holds 250 bushels and it still can be a challenge getting around some fields to open them up.

 

[paul]

That’s low hours if accurate.

Unload auger can get weak coming out of the bin wear thin, as well as the ball bearings in the swivel.

But doesn’t sound like you are at those hours shouldn’t be an issue.

I’m getting one with more hours but all 3 heads for same price about.

Paul

 

[centash]

Can't go wrong with that one. I had an M3 for about 15 years, rolled almost 2000 hours on it with minimal downtime. Mine was a hydro with the 426 engine, the 301 might be a bit underpowered with a hydro trans and a 6 row in soft field conditions. Get the manuals and keep it serviced...an easy combine to set and operate. Good Luck and have fun with it.

Ben

 

[Mark EC.IN]

An M2 is a good combine. That said, all machines break down and require high-dollar maintenance.
If there was anyone in your area who does timely custom harvesting, I'd look into going that route for 30 acres.

 

[big orange]

Is it gear drive or hydro? Floating tank fill auger with attached extensions or mesh tank extensions? 130 or 145 hp? The shoe was lengthened in later models, can't remember what year. Hill side blower? Tanks on the early ones were rated at 165 bu, later were 180bu. Had an early M-2 gear drive and a M-3 hydro.

 

[Gregorytractorguy]

Is it gear drive or hydro? Floating tank fill auger with attached extensions or mesh tank extensions? 130 or 145 hp? The shoe was lengthened in later models, can't remember what year. Hill side blower? Tanks on the early ones were rated at 165 bu, later were 180bu. Had an early M-2 gear drive and a M-3 hydro.

It’s gear drive. floating tank filler with attached extension. I believe 130hp has side hill blower

 

[Gregorytractorguy]

I bought the combine with 6 row corn head drove it home clean and greased and lubricated chains and shorten some. Only problem I have is when heeding up hill on the road in high gear the engine stays reved up but the combine slows to a crawl. Seems like something is slipping.

 

[big orange]

When you change speed with the variable speed , is it quick and abrupt or slow and easy? Been a long time since I had one, but I think there is a torque sensor on the transmission , think there was a grease zerk, sensor could be stuck. On the speed change there is a check valve back in the valve stacks.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

I bought the combine with 6 row corn head drove it home clean and greased and lubricated chains and shorten some. Only problem I have is when heeding up hill on the road in high gear the engine stays reved up but the combine slows to a crawl. Seems like something is slipping.

Variable speed drive belt is tightened with an adjustable idler. There is a procedure. With the variable speed all the way slow, the bottom sheaves should not touch. In other words, something like a knife blade should slide in between the sheave halves. And as big orange indicates, there is a torque sensing mechanism, I believe in the lower, spring loaded drive pulley, which could be malfunctioning. A worn belt won't tighten like it should.

 

[big orange]

Not to disagree, cause I may be wrong, but aren't you talking about the header drive belt? I can't recall a idler on the gear drive traction belt. As I recall there was a pivot adjuster on the rear pulley. I remember tapping the rear pulley for a zerk so it would slide in and out easier. Been 41 years since I had one so could be wrong.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Not to disagree, cause I may be wrong, but aren't you talking about the header drive belt? I can't recall a idler on the gear drive traction belt. As I recall there was a pivot adjuster on the rear pulley. I remember tapping the rear pulley for a zerk so it would slide in and out easier. Been 41 years since I had one so could be wrong.

Early Gleaners did not have a traction drive belt idler. You had to slide the main shaft back. I don't remember when the idler was added, but certainly by the time of the M2, it had an adjustable idler on the traction drive belt. (Not spring loaded) My K2 and F2 both had the adjustable idler. If I am remembering correctly, the hydros had a spring loaded idler on the multi band traction drive belt.
The hydraulically moved sheaves are on the main shaft, and the spring loaded sheaves are on the transmission input shaft.

 

[big orange]

I checked on Agco parts on line, that I can see the M series gear drive have no extra idler. That was from early M-2's to 22xxx serials.