[BudRBall]

Hello,

I just bought my first combine and I have to say that I'm a little stressed out. The reason I bought the combine is that there are only 2 custom operators who cover about 30 square miles. They charge about $50 an acre and whenever I want my crop combined I have to wait, sometimes the waiting doesn't pay off especially on some heavier clay fields when they get wet in the fall.

I bought an F2 about 1980 with 3400 engine hours with an 16 foot flex head. The combine is an early hydro with a 4 cylinder AC. I spent about 5 hours with the fella who was selling it and I have to say there seems to be a lot to learn and a lot that could go wrong. (He bough a bigger Gleaner)

I think the combine is in decent shape but I've never owned a combine and I'm wondering what I've gotten myself into and if these machines do a good job. I will only be using it for beans and a little wheat. I only have about 125 acres of crop land. The combine had no leaks but the rad fluid was down a little and the gears shifters were a little hard to get into position but once in place in the hydro worked fine. The tires were good and there wasn't much rust. It was a little hard to start as it hadn't been cranked for several months. Once, the machine ran it was fairly quiet with no unusual noises, all the belts looked good. I paid about $5000 for it with the head. Feels lite it's going to take me a long time to learn.

I sure could use some advice, what to look for maintenance wise and what big problems to avoid. Can this machine give a clean bean sample if set up right?

I hope I can sleep tonight! Are the Hydro's reliable, I realize the machine is 34 years old. Thanks to anyone who responds I'm sure I'm not the only one who has felt this way? I hope!

 

[lanwickum]

At $50 per acre for custom you most likely did ok. It will take more of your time to get done with harvest. Will most likely have a couple breakdowns, but you only have 125 acres to knock down. You will get it done. Just try to have someone show you how to use it when you are ready to start. 5hrs with the previous owner... Sounds like you already had a good peruse walk through. Many guys buy brand new $400K setups and don't get that much time with dealerships showing them how to use the combine and headers.

 

[tbk]

Congratulations! You've just bought one of the most reliable machines Gleaner ever produced. As far as old, well there's a ton of those still running every year. The best thing you can do is get yourself an owners manual, and study it religiously. Most all of the questions and information you need will b found there. Get real familiar with AGCO Parts Books on line, lots of good parts schematics to help you figure out how things go together. Also make friends with your local Gleaner dealer. He typically has heard all the questions you've got regarding your new baby!

 

[tjim]

Congratulations. That's a good machine. Yeah, 5 hours with the previous owner is a fair amount of time. Playing with the machine another few hours in your driveway will help. Google "setting up a combine" or something like that will get you lots of info. That should be a good machine for your needs.

 

[gmguy]

Congratulations, a F2 4cyl. diesel hydro is one heck of a machine. being 4 cyl, it is automatically a long shoe, long walker machine.

find your serial number plate near the battery and post it up, we can tell you what year it is.

the F series machines are rather affordable to maintain, as the concave is made of chunks of channel iron, only one raddle chain, manual hydraulics (except for last year) etc.

that 4 cyl. is excellent on fuel, you will never find a combine that will beat fuel efficiency of that. They do run a rather low compression ratio, so they dont start the best, but not bad.

check ebay for a manual, or we can sell you one, as we have a few extras, in all model years, all genuine originals. A manual is key to help a beginner learn the ropes, lots of good info on basic settings, etc. A Gleaner is capable of a near perfect sample, especially an F series.

as far as the hydro, it is a very robust unit, provided you keep clean oil and filters. a manual will tell you what to use for fluid, all the filter locations, etc.




Good luck!

 

[BudRBall]

Congratulations, a F2 4cyl. diesel hydro is one heck of a machine. being 4 cyl, it is automatically a long shoe, long walker machine.

find your serial number plate near the battery and post it up, we can tell you what year it is.

the F series machines are rather affordable to maintain, as the concave is made of chunks of channel iron, only one raddle chain, manual hydraulics (except for last year) etc.

that 4 cyl. is excellent on fuel, you will never find a combine that will beat fuel efficiency of that. They do run a rather low compression ratio, so they dont start the best, but not bad.

check ebay for a manual, or we can sell you one, as we have a few extras, in all model years, all genuine originals. A manual is key to help a beginner learn the ropes, lots of good info on basic settings, etc. A Gleaner is capable of a near perfect sample, especially an F series.

as far as the hydro, it is a very robust unit, provided you keep clean oil and filters. a manual will tell you what to use for fluid, all the filter locations, etc.




Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. I'm feeling a little better about it.

I did get a manual with it and a I have been reading it religiously as recommended. I will need to change the main pulley reel (I think as it is set for beans and I will be doing wheat first. I know the air does not work and I'm wondering how simple this is to fix. The S# is F-K42695H. Is 3500 engine hours a lot ?

Thanks for the help and I'll be sure to post some more if I need help.

Take-care

 

[MikeG80]

I went through the same thing last year. I bought a 1983 Gleaner L3 and then thinking I would have problems with the L3 I bought an L2 for "parts" at action. Ended up running both combines with minimal break downs and easy fixes. Like everyone said, all the information you need to run one is in the operator's manual. They seem like a lot going on and you wonder what you got your self into, but once you get running it and learn a little about the combine it gets alot easier.

 

[gmguy]

Good to hear you have a manual. make sure it matches the machine, it will say the beginning serial number for the year it covers on the front. No big deal if it doesnt match the SN range, just a few slight differences from year to year.

It is a 1979 model. 1980 didnt come till 43,701.

The A/C is probably just low on, or out of, Freon. I would check the compressor oil first, (need to close the valves on the fittings if you have any pressure left) then pull a vaccum (if flat, if it still has pressure, dont vaccum) and put in some R12 substitute (Freeze 12, HC12a, etc.) and likely once you get enough refrigerant to trip the safety switch, it should start the compressor.

blow out the evaporator and condensor, make sure the 2 electric fan motors turn on in the box on the side of the bin, then lube up the fan motors, and the cab fan, and put it all back together.

We usually service our in cab equipment every year, and the outside components a few times per season. when all is working, it all works great.

keep us posted, we are happy to help. First time combine operation can be overwhelming, but the F2 is like a kid broke horse, it knows what its doing and will help teach you.

post up some pics!

 

[Mongoheadmonster]

$50/ac!!! Ya...you made the right choice in getting your own machine.......cheers!!

 

[BudRBall]

Good to hear you have a manual. make sure it matches the machine, it will say the beginning serial number for the year it covers on the front. No big deal if it doesnt match the SN range, just a few slight differences from year to year.

It is a 1979 model. 1980 didnt come till 43,701.

The A/C is probably just low on, or out of, Freon. I would check the compressor oil first, (need to close the valves on the fittings if you have any pressure left) then pull a vaccum (if flat, if it still has pressure, dont vaccum) and put in some R12 substitute (Freeze 12, HC12a, etc.) and likely once you get enough refrigerant to trip the safety switch, it should start the compressor.

blow out the evaporator and condensor, make sure the 2 electric fan motors turn on in the box on the side of the bin, then lube up the fan motors, and the cab fan, and put it all back together.

We usually service our in cab equipment every year, and the outside components a few times per season. when all is working, it all works great.

keep us posted, we are happy to help. First time combine operation can be overwhelming, but the F2 is like a kid broke horse, it knows what its doing and will help teach you.

post up some pics!

Thanks for all the info! The combine gets delivered tomorrow and then the fun and learning begins. Thanks for all the air conditioner tips. If I run into problems, I'm sure this community can help.

talk to you soon.

 

[tjim]

I went through the same thing last year. I bought a 1983 Gleaner L3 and then thinking I would have problems with the L3 I bought an L2 for "parts" at action. Ended up running both combines with minimal break downs and easy fixes.

Several years back we were running a 7700 and found an old one we bought for $1000 for parts. After we got it home we looked it over a bit better, put $700 into it and ran it right along the first machine. At the end of the year it had done more acres than the first...go figure

 

[farminflyboy]

$50/acre? Where are you located?

 

[stevemcil]

I bought a 78 F2 with 3000 + hrs on the non working hr meter.Runs perfect and uses almost no oil. Auger flighting and sprockets/chains get worn most with those hrs. Good sample and good capacity.Can cut 50 bu beans w/15 ft head @ 4 mph if you want to push it.

 

[okiefarmer]

I have a 77 F2 that we have ran for about 20 years. Very simple and dependable machine. Just remember that the cylinder bars are the most important part of this machine. Groves in gleaner bars are nearly an inch deep when new. Very important that they are in good condition. You can run from 3 to 5 concave channels in this machine. We've always ran 3. Have harvested alfalfa seed, wheat, and milo with it. Very good sample on all. Your 79 will do an even better job, as the shoe is longer in 78 and up. Can cut 10 hour day on 35 gallon of diesel.

 

[BudRBall]

Thanks for the information Okiefarmer. At what point are rasp bars wore out. If they are an inch long when new, then when do they need changing? 1/2 inch ?

Thanks

 

[okiefarmer]

1/2 inch is probably close, maybe a hair under. If ridges are rounded bad maybe sooner. They can be reversed if trailing edge is still good. Also check for wear being more severe in middle than on the edges of the bars. Crop tends to flow to center and wear there quicker.