New Idea 403 Rake

[Coopj65]

I have a 403 New Idea hay rake. Something came off the reel head and from the parts diagram I cannot make out what it actually is. Can anyone help? If you can see the Reel Hub Assembly, what appears to be the Bearing Cone, is threaded on the inside and now also exposed. While I can’t remember what it looked like, I do know it was enclosed by something and would appear to have had a bolt or something screwed into it. Your help is appreciated.

 

[DanielW]

Looks to me like it'd be just a heavy washer (part #42 - 1/2" I.D. by probably about 2" O. D.) secured with a 1/2" X 1" long bolt (shown on the parts list between items 41 and 42 - no item number) to keep the splined shaft from walking backwards

 

[caterpillar guy]

Since the spline is about worn out . I would start there and with it off IO would drill 3 holes in on the edge of the shaft and hub. Tap the holes and put 3 bolts in so the hub is tight to the shaft then worry about the shimming. With the hub flopping around on the shaft you will never be able to set a bearing or washer shim si it id not either to tight or to loose. With the bolts in the gap it will tighten the hub and still be removable if needed. I did that a baler hub and shaft where the spline is worn so bad the chain would run off the sprocket and has been on there for 3or 4 seasons now. With the spline loose it will also be breaking the bolt off and coming off the shaft. The other reason for doing what I did . I also used locktite on the bolts. Now the bolts work like a key and keep the hub and shaft aligned.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

Since the spline is about worn out . I would start there and with it off IO would drill 3 holes in on the edge of the shaft and hub. Tap the holes and put 3 bolts in so the hub is tight to the shaft then worry about the shimming. With the hub flopping around on the shaft you will never be able to set a bearing or washer shim si it id not either to tight or to loose. With the bolts in the gap it will tighten the hub and still be removable if needed. I did that a baler hub and shaft where the spline is worn so bad the chain would run off the sprocket and has been on there for 3or 4 seasons now. With the spline loose it will also be breaking the bolt off and coming off the shaft. The other reason for doing what I did . I also used locktite on the bolts. Now the bolts work like a key and keep the hub and shaft aligned.

That spline has probably been that way 40 years… with all that grease in there I doubt it will get much worse.

 

[DanielW]

I'm kind of with with Fritz: The preload on those bearings isn't adjusted with shims under that washer like you see on other equipment with similar arrangements: It's adjusted with the nut (#23) pulling the shaft and the snap ring (#45) against the back inner race of the outer bearing cone while the washer (#32) puts equal opposite pressure on the inner race of the inner bearing cone. So a little bit of slop in that spline won't affect setting the bearing. It might be a little loose, and if it were a fancier piece of equipment I'd certainly be concerned and go with CatGuy's suggestion. But chances are if you fill those splines with grease and use #263 loc-tite on the bolt it will still outlive you. The value of rolabar rakes is drastically dropping year by year now that everyone's realized the advantages of rotary rakes, so no point putting too much effort into one. A guy I pass on my way to work has a pristine NH 256 that would have easily brought $3000 a few years ago. He's had it for sale by the side of the road for the last two summers, asking $1500. I've stopped to look at it a few times and it's in mint condition: Bars roll superbly smooth, bearings all feel new, excellent matching high lug tires, paint is great, full set of teeth with no bends. But he'll ever get anywhere close to that price around here. Knowing that's the quality of rake you can get for $1500 (or likely less), you definitely don't want to break the budget on your repair.

 

[Coopj65]

I have a 403 New Idea hay rake. Something came off the reel head and from the parts diagram I cannot make out what it actually is. Can anyone help? If you can see the Reel Hub Assembly, what appears to be the Bearing Cone, is threaded on the inside and now also exposed. While I can’t remember what it looked like, I do know it was enclosed by something and would appear to have had a bolt or something screwed into it. Your help is appreciated.

 

[Coopj65]

Thank you everyone for your input and advice. When I posted I did not have any expectations but was pleasantly surprised to get the quick response that I did. Thank you all.