JD 216 grain head

[Paul swpa]

I have been having problems with the wobble box or more appropriately the bolts that hold the gear box on. You really can't see them til you get the base and gear box removed from the head. Was combining oats two weeks ago when things went south, these four bolts came out (one broke) and tore things up about right. Got everything else fixed up, had to wait for JD to get these special bolts in (a week after they said would be in). Lock tighted them in and everything(they're 5/8" fine thread flange bolts). Started back combining today and after about two acres they were coming out again! Maybe my locktight is old but never heard of it going bad. Used the red high strength stuff. Going to try some new locktight tomorrow and see if I can find the cleaner stuff too. Any idea of what to look for as to why they started doing this? Other ideas of getting them to stay tight? Combine is an older 4420 if it makes a difference.

 

[Jeff Leavitt]

How snug do the bolts fit in the tapped holes? If the holes are egged out you might not be able to keep the bolts tight. Repair the holes if that is the case.

 

[LonM]

I had that happen on our 215 flex head. The bar where the knife guards and wobble box bolts to was broken. The large skid plate under the left end of the header was broken as well. The bolt holes for the wobble box were egged out. I welded the bar back together, put on a new skid plate, and then bolted the box back on. I then welded the bolt heads to the bar- this was about 7 years and at least 500 acres ago, and it seems to be holding together okay.

Lon

 

[Paul swpa]

The tapped holes seem fine to me - no wobble to the bolts threading them in. The bottom edge of one of the plate mounting holes is a little bit flared but the center and top edge are good. The only thing that has been done in the wobble box area is that two years ago the bottom seal started to leak a little oil so before bean harvest took it off and installed new roller bearings and seal. Probably has done only 50 acres or so since.

Thanks, Paul

 

[Paul swpa]

Well I guess it could have been worse! I replaced the sickle head and needed some new bolts, end sections, and a new guard. I was thinking if new locktite wouldn't hold I would tack the bolt heads once they are tightened. Threaded holes look ok just a little snarffing around the mounting plate holes.

Thanks, Paul

 

[ss55]

The tapped holes are probably wallowed out oversize if it has been run very long with loose bolts. The old bolts are likely worn too. Heli-coils, Keenserts. re-tapping to the next larger size bolt, or replacing the whole wobble box could make a repair that holds up. Those repairs won't be quick or cheap.

It could be cheapest and quickest to just find another head to finish your oats harvest and keep this one for spare parts. This might be a good time to upgrade heads or combines if that was in your plans.

 

[flying belgian]

Just brainstorming here. Is there any room to make a big u-bolt to go around gear box and clamp it down? Put the bolts in to keep it in alignment.

 

[Paul swpa]

Those were the same thoughts I have had ss55.

An update on the situation. I got some new locktite and the primer to clean everything. Hand cleaned the bolts, blew out the threaded holes, sprayed the primer in the holes and blew junk out a couple times, sprayed the bolts and left them dry, gave the bolts a good coating of locktite. Put all together and torqued bolts evenly. Left it all set for about the prescribed 24 hours before starting up. Finished the little strip of oats here at home with no issues, though now that we are looking at it, we might have more vibration than we noticed before. Whether it is just because we had a problem and are keeping an eye on things? who knows. The real test will be when I go to the other fields on another farm a couple miles away. Hope the weather holds and I can get them done tomorrow. Paul

 

[JD Seller]

Paul Turn the wobble box drive pulley by hand. At the end of the sickle stroke there will be a neutral spot that the pulley turns easy for just a little bit. If the internal bearings are bad in the wobble box the dead/neutral spot will be longer than it should be. This causes an impacting force on the sickle and wobble box. You will break sickle heads and have trouble keeping the wobble box mounting bolts tight.

The solution is to either rebuild your current wobble box or replace it with a good one.

 

[4520BW]

Is the feeder house slowed down? It may be set faster if corn was ran last.

 

[Paul swpa]

Thanks for information JD Seller. I was wondering how to tell if the internals were going bad. We have been turning the pulley by hand several times to see if we could "feel" any thing unusual, always seemed fine to us. On a good note I took the rest of the oats off today without any problems. Checked everything fairly frequently and nothing loosed up. Maybe I have it solved with new locktite and primer. Was tough cutting too, the grass and foxtails were getting tall with the two week delay in getting it done. Threatened rain all day but didn't get a drop, now to get the straw up. Paul

 

[Paul swpa]

4520bw, that was my first thought as did corn last. Changed the hoses just to make sure I had the speed backed off, I usually do that before I take the corn head off but stranger things have happened and memory isn't what it used to be it seems. Thanks, Paul