[veitchy]

We only have a fairly small operation and need to replace our 37 year old harvesters (2 of) with something a bit faster. We are currently looking at an old 8820 JD Titan 2 and my brother and I are wondering what the differences are between an early 20 series and the Titan 2, or is it just a flash sticker on the side?
The machine we are looking at is supposed to be a 1989 model but I have no idea how to verify that, also do 8820s have any major design failings or is there anything that gives trouble we should be looking for. We have had a look but it just appears to be in normal order for its age. This machine has 4000hrs up so its not new but appears to be in good order, no rust in frames or anything and paint in good order so its not been outside much. We can't see anything other than that its a bit old but we would probably only put about 120 hours a year on it.

What do you blokes think, is it worth mucking around with or are they too fragile at high hours.
Graham, from Western Australia.

 

[briandublanko]

I think the main difference between the titan 2 and 20 series is that the straw walkers are a bit longer ( 1 foot i think) and the shoe and walker was sped up a bit. Not sure but i think they also increased the fan speed a bit too.

We just got rid of our 2 8820's not titan2 models and had them for 28 years. As long as the previous owner did the maitinance the manual states to do, you should have very little trouble with it. Ours had 5500 hours on one and 4800 on the other one.

Other than the obvious concave, rub bars, feeder chain and elevator chains you could check the augers under the cylinder for bearing wear. We had some trouble at 4000 hour mark and had to replace a few that were really bad and needle greased the others. Check the walker blocks also.

 

[tractor8100]

Brian..ko is right about the fan speed. The TII fan speed is 370-1170 rpms, the original 20 fan speed is 272-965rpm.

The walker length did not change, but the sieve length and total cleaning area did. The TII sieve length is 63.6 inches with 7498 sq in of cleaning and the original 20 series sieve length is 46.1 inches with 6799 sq in of cleaning. The walker length increased 18 inches with the 9600s.

Horsepower increased from 200 to 225 in the Titan IIs. Same engine, 466 cid.

I checked the brochure specs. If you want a copy, PM me your email address and I will send them to you. These are tough old machines, reading some of the posts on here they will last 10,000 hours if taken care of, like most machines.

 

[txfarmer]

I noticed your post above was numero' uno, so a "welcome to the forum" is in order.
The 8820 is a good machine. The 8820 needs more fan capacity, but every machine has its' weak points. As far as verifying the year model, you should be able to give the serial number to a JD parts guy, and they will be able to tell you the year model of that particular machine.

Sorry, I don't know the differences between the 8820 models, but they have been spoken of (in part, at least) in the above post(s). I think you will like the 8820. A good point about these machines is that they are able to be rebuilt at a decent price. Take a look at the concave, cylinder bars, conveyor augers, elevator paddle chains, and things like that. If these items are in good shape, you will most likely be able purchase a used combine that will serve you well.

 

[mike52ar]

take a close look at the auger pan under the cylinder. they can wear out at higher hours, but a replacement is not too expensive although it is a lot of work to put in. not real hard, just a big job. i would also look at the frames that carry the chaffer and sieve. these are known for cracking on that series of machine. another thing to look at is the rubber bushings that carry the chaffer and sieve. none of these are deal breakers to be sure, just take them into account on the price. an 8820 II will have a great deal of capacity and i think you will be pleased with it. in capacity they are more that a 9500 and a bit less than a 9600 but for a lot less price. an 89 model is near the end of the run; these are the best of the series. they will give much less trouble and the early 9500-9600 series.

 

[veitchy]

Thanks Blokes, and thanks TxFarmer for the welcome. It "is" my first post and I joined to find out a bit about these machines. There are a lot of these old girls working further out in the bigger acerage areas out here but they were always too big and valuable for our mixed farming area so I never knew very much about them, and as the story goes if you want to know something about a machine,"ask the man who owns one". Thankyou all for the input, it sounds like they are a decent machine and this ones condition seems acceptable for its age so we will probibally take it on. It may come as a culture shock to me though because for 20 years I have been using an 18 foot Shearer XP 88, a local Australian made machine about the same capacity as a 4400 JD so driving a 30 foot 8820 may take a bit of getting used to. I will let you know how we get on, harvest is just around the corner here (we start in November) so if we do get it I will know soon enough how it performs.

It's a very good site you have here, I think I will be back quite often, and anyway I may need advice on setting up or repairing things that give trouble.

Thanks a lot blokes,
Graham

 

[veitchy]

Just a quick note to thank Tractor8100 for emailing me some spec sheets for the 8820 and to let you all know that we have now officialy bought one 20 year old Johnny 8820!

We have taken another look at the machine and this time took her for a spin to make shure all is reasonably OK, and it still looks good for a machine of its age. We havn't picked it up yet but it's only about 5 miles away so we will probibally go and get it next week some time. I recon thats when we will start finding things we missed before.
Anyway blokes, thanks for the help and advice we will find out what sort of buy it is between now and Christmas.
Graham

 

[markat425]

You might look back several pages in here and find some lengthy discussions with many pics about 8820's. I can't remember the poster's name or I would search for you.

Maybe some one else here will recall the thread.

 

[combiness]

Actually this change was not from 1985 or later. This happened in 1980, five years before the so-called "Titan II's."

 

[tractor8100]

The HP could have changed during 1980. I am referencing Jan 1979, Nov 1979 and Dec 1979 JD sales brochures which list 200 HP for both corn and grain machines. The next brochure I have is a Jan 1983 which shows the HP at 225. So it could have changed anytime inbetween as far as I know.

 

[combiness]

Yes, that is true, but in reference to what you said earlier, albeit the Hp was already changed, you said that was a "Titan II" attribute. No, it was still prior to the II's.

 

[txfarmer]

O K A Y...

Veitchy, now that you have your 8820, have you had a chance to look it over real well? Does it appear to be in good shape, or does it need some repair before your November harvest?
A 5 mile drive to get it home didn't sound too bad...let us know what it looks like !!

 

[combiness]

Methinks you just wanna see another pretty 8820, Tx.

 

[markat425]

veitchy,,,, I found it....

http://combineforums.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=JD&action=display&thread=7884

 

[veitchy]

Looks Good, doesn't look like it will need very much at all, no rust in frames, bearings and belts seem good, engine and hydrostatics seem good, tyres (well about 50% but still sound) can't find any cracking in frames or sheetmetal anywhere, chains all seem good, grain pan and augers look good,front is as strait as an arrow, knife sections are a bit worn, we will probibally resection the knife before harvest, comes with a comb trailer (don't know what you call them in the US but a transporting trailer for the front),even the bottom of the elevators looks good, it hasn't been repaired and looks like it will do a bit more before it will need attention. All in all at the moment we are real happy !
We are haymaking at the moment but when I go and pick it up I will take a few pics, and you can bet if it goes alright there is going to be some pictures of the Austalian harvest on here in about 6 weeks.
Thanks for the help and support blokes, this site is "EXCELLENT"
Graham

 

[veitchy]

Markat425, Thanks for the link, I have just spent 2 hours reading it from one end to the other.
It's amazing to see that some of you blokes are still using these older harvesters. Its a misconception out here in Australia that they were all retired in the US years ago. Its nice to know some of you have the same attitude to a good machine as what I have even if it does have a few seasons on the clock .
Looking forward to harvest even more now,
Graham

 

[stevo]

Graham, I am interestad to know where abouts in WA you are as I am from there too. Just guessing from what you have said I would say in the southwest somewhere. We are up in the northern wheatbelt. Hope all is well down there and harvest treats you well, good luck with the "new" machine.

steve

 

[veitchy]

G'Day Stevo,
Gee you can't hide on the net can you ! I think I have been found out by another sandgroper on every site I have ever registered on, great thing the net !

I am in Quairading just under 100 miles due east of Perth, Where abouts "up in the northern wheatbelt" are you ? Things are looking good around here, its been the wettest year we have had here since the 60s and the crops are looking real good. Out the other side of town its a bit dryer but still not too bad, all in all we would be happy if it weren't for the price, thats looking a bit sad.
Nice hearing from another Groper,
Graham

 

[stevo]

Glad to hear things are looking good in the Quairading area, I guess on the whole things are good here to. definately wouldnt call it a wet year but the rain has come at the right time so I reckon we would be looking at slightly above average yields. Having said that some guys around the place are looking at huge crops, I just realised I havent said where I am, we are between Mingenew and Mullewa. We have just gotta hope that these guys from the USA can get their economy going and bring the value of their dollar up a bit then all will be good.

steve

 

[8820titan2]

Thanks markat425 for going back and bringing my thread up for veitchy to read. I haven't been on for a while and really need to update the thread. We have done some more fixing on our machine and really need to show some of the work. She's still running strong and we are currently still shelling corn with it. Beans will follow soon after.

Veitchy, hope your "new" 8820 will be a good machine to you. Ours wasn't in that great of shape when we bought it, as you could see, but we have made it where it is a very reliable machine with a little bit of maintenance. Good luck to you on your purchase.


8820 Titan II serial number breakdown:

1985- HO8820X610XXX-611XXX

1986- HO8820X615XXX-616XXX

1987- HO8820X620XXX-621XXX

1988- HO8820X625XXX-626XXX


There were no 1989 models as this is the year when the 9000 series was introduced.