International baler-445 problem.

[borderterribles]

Got my baler out today to go to bale a paddock nearby. I greased it round and lubricated the chains, ran it up and it ran fine. Went to field and started baling , within 20 yards there was a bang and the flywheel shearbolt broke. Upon emptying the chamber completely, the reason for the calamity would seem to be that the ram knife is trying to pass the knife that is stationery on the wrong side of it! So in effect the knives are crossing. The ram rollers were replaced maybe 5000 bales ago. Any helpful suggestions please?
Tia Bt.

 

[spin cycle]

buy a jd baler....i still get the nightmares about ih balers

 

[marshbarn]

Are there shims behind the stationary knife you can take out?

 

[multi power]

@FonterraFarmer

 

[borderterribles]

buy a jd baler....i still get the nightmares about ih balers

I've had it 20 years and it's the first time I haven't got going and finished after a breakdown!

 

[borderterribles]

Are there shims behind the stationary knife you can take out?

Not sure, it looks flush to the side of the chamber, but I"ll take the stationary knife out in the morning. Have you started combining yet?

 

[marshbarn]

Not sure, it looks flush to the side of the chamber, but I"ll take the stationary knife out in the morning. Have you started combining yet?

Starting next week

 

[DrWazzock]

Perhaps the Rams guide bearings/rollers need setting up. Would not have thought passing on wrong side would be possible if the bearings were set correctly.

Put ram near the knife and see if there is side slop in the ram to allow passing on wrong side. There must be if it's happened,

There should be a few thou clearance and knives pass. There are shims behind the knives.

 

[DrWazzock]

These are the pages out of the manual for the 435D and 445D balers. Don't know if its same as yours but gives a flavour.

 

[borderterribles]

Perhaps the Rams guide bearings/rollers need setting up. Would not have thought passing on wrong side would be possible if the bearings were set correctly.

Put ram near the knife and see if there is side slop in the ram to allow passing on wrong side. There must be if it's happened,

There should be a few thou clearance and knives pass. There are shims behind the knives.

There is some degree of slop in the ram , (but it is 50 ish years old), but I currently can't get the knives to pass as they should at all!

 

[DrWazzock]

There is some degree of slop in the ram , (but it is 50 ish years old), but I currently can't get the knives to pass as they should at all!

Wear in the guides and bearings AND something (like a haybob tine or stick) stuck between the side of the ram and the chamber, tilting it or pushing it over towards the stationary knife. Breakdown of a guide roller?
Trash wedged between the stationary knife or ram knife and its seating, after the knife has loosened?
Ram jumped out of its underside rails (if it has any, i am grasping at straws now).

I reckon this has happened to us a time or two as a fluke when it has ingested a turner tine or a stick.

Other thing to watch for on these balers is failure of the bearing that holds the bevel gear end of the packer drive shaft. The timing goes out and its goodbye needles.

 

[DrWazzock]

Ram connecting rod bearing broken up, twisting the ram over?
Other than that, I can't explain it.

 

[FonterraFarmer]

Perhaps the Rams guide bearings/rollers need setting up. Would not have thought passing on wrong side would be possible if the bearings were set correctly.

Put ram near the knife and see if there is side slop in the ram to allow passing on wrong side. There must be if it's happened,

There should be a few thou clearance and knives pass. There are shims behind the knives.

What the Doctor said, dumb as it might sound are both knifes actually tight?
For the knifes to cross, there has to be some misalignment with the knifes most likely on the plunger, not sure on the 445's but on 440's check the rollers under the plunger on the pick up side.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

no shims behind the knife on either of them, it will be more than likely rust in the roller guides, or a jammed roller with rust under it, they usually go the other way with wear

 

[FonterraFarmer]

Ram connecting rod bearing broken up, twisting the ram over?
Other than that, I can't explain it.

We actually had the small end of the plunger arm detatach from the rest of the arm on the 440!!!

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

your sure its not the ram stop thats catching, and you think its the knife

 

[Gapples]

The ram knife & stationary knife should not be able to get on the wrong side of each other.
At bottom of the guides where the 2 knives pass there should be a wear plate that prevents the knives interlocking.
Also the bottom inch ( approximately ) of each knife is ground in the opposite way to how they are sharpened, if get what I mean ? This also help prevent interlocking..
To set the ram you simply pull the guide across until the bottom of the ram knife is close to the stationary knife, then lift up the other side until the knives are parallel.

If indeed your knives are interlocking something has gone wrong with ram or guides.

 

[bravheart]

Think some of the guides are wooden, if it’s 50+ check for „woodrot“, will need a lot of wear though to allow the knives to pass each other.

It does sound like the ploughman may have it, has the ram stop not jumped up, linked by a rod to a plate on the needle sweep arm, if the arm has not parked properly or that rod/plate is bent rusted or disconnected the ram stop will be permanently up stopping the plunger passing the fixed knife.

 

[borderterribles]

Thanks for all contributions so far. The ram stop isn't up. With a good light shining up the chamber from the far end , and turning the baler over by hand, the knives clearly lock together. Both are tight, so the ram must be out of true, relative to where it was before. Only positive in all this is that it's too wet here now to bale hay anyway!

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

the ram knife is held in with 4 bolts, 3 are countersunk and 1 threaded in at bottom from inside the ram, this bolt also holds the bottom vertical chamber roller, take it out and feel if the horizontal roller is ok