JD 3300 Combine

[FarmerZeb]

I've been looking for a small combine for a while and a JD3300 has come up for sale near me for $1500. It is a one owner machine used up till last year.

Are there any common failure items on this model that I should specifically look at?

thanks,

paul

 

[rockyridgefarm]

I just went through an adventure with a 3300 I bought a month ago and used up 'til a week ago. It was a nice little unit, but it is now for sale as a parts machine. The countershaft broke (no idea how a countershaft can even break). You can look the posts up, they're on the first and second page.

The biggest problem you'll find with the 3300 is parts availability. Look through any current parts book (Sloan Express, Shoup, THE, whatever) and you'll notice there aren't many parts available. the only parts they have are the parts that also fit a 4400, 6600, or 7700. Worthington Ag Parts has no salvage units (at least that's what the Evansville, WI location told me). The second biggest problem you'll find is they don't like hills. I had my 3300's upper tire skipping once it had 15 bushel in the tank on my slopes. With the limited capacity they have, putting them on a hill makes the capacity that much less.

If you're relatively flat, you're not running 200 bushel (Or even 140 bushel) corn or 80 bushel wheat, and you don't have a lot of acres to cross, it may be a good little machine - but it is a LITTLE machine.

 

[FarmerZeb]

I have ready about every 3300 post on here...i am
always amazed at the vast amount a knowledge on
this board. sorry to hear about you counter shaft
debacle.

I only have about 25 acres that i work so i'm not concerned about size. I do have some rolling
ground but nothing like what was in your pictures.

thanks,

-paul

 

[Doug in IL]

I had a 3300 years ago. It was a good machine. Probably had less trouble with it than any combine I have owned. The countershaft problem can be caused from lack of lubrication. Those zerks are hard to get to. I permanently installed grease gun hoses on the zerks to make them easier to grease. Ran a 213 flex in 40 to 50 bushel beans and a 244 in 150 to 170 bu. corn. She ran right along in second gear with the variable speed lever half to 2/3 of the way forward. At that time I was running about 200 acres on a part time basis, nights and weekends. Traded it for a 6600 when the acres went up. I have some rolling ground, but no big hills. My 3300 was fairly new then and in good shape. I suspect if some one is having capacity problems with one, the machine probably has tons of wear on it. There were several 3300's around here back in the day. No one complained about them. I even know one guy who ran a 444 cornhead on one. I'm sure THAT was a slow ride. I never saw him run in the field, but I used to see him on the road with it. A 3300 is about the same as a 4400 except for a narrower cylinder and 3 straw walkers instead of 4. And a four cylinder engine vs. a 6 cylinder. A lot of the drive parts are the same. Boy, I got a bit long winded here!

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Hey Doug,

I agree that the 3300 is a nice little combine. Had mine been a Diesel, I'da been tempted to change out the countershaft. Concerning grease, I have the book and went picture-by-picture and greased every zerk at every service interval. I'm pretty good at finding hidden zerks, especially when going point-by-point through the book. The shaft broke at the threads on the right hand side The only thing the threads do is hold the cylinder belt drive halves on the shaft. The hole that the missing threads left had a lot of grease in it, so lube should not have been a problem. Of course, I only run it the last 20 hours of its life. It had 3700 hours of use before me (assuming the tach works and it's not a lot more than 3700 hours).

Paul,

$1500 doesn't get you much anymore. For what you described for work, I'd go for it (I guess I already did, eh?). If it's a diesel, I'd say it's close to a steal. Does it have the rotary screen for the radiator? It'll run hot w/o it. Mine didn't and I had to clean it a few times when it got hot. I'd just hit the high points when looking at it. Start it up, engage the separator, throttle up, and walk around it ten times, listening for anything that sounds or moves "wrong". Check to see if the chaffer and sieve are in good shape and adjust easily. Drive it around for a little in all gears and testing the variable drive. I'm sure you knew all this, but still.

 

[mike2366]

I ran a 1975 3300 from 1987 till 1996, started out as a gas till we had some major engine trouble then we put a diesel in it, what a difference that made.
Usually harvested 400 to 500 acres a year with it. Over the years we installed air conditioning out of a 4420, shaft monitor, and long unloading auger off of a 4400. My father in Law still owns this machine and I hope to get it back some day. The original owner was my Grandfather.

The second picture is my 3300 in the back ground and my landlords 1973 3300 gas. that was a sweet machine too.