JD 359 baler. A few questions

[Bonjour]

Baler virgin here. I've made my own hay for several years but have used a contractor to bale up for me. I've always intended "some day" to get a baler but never got round to it. Last week i got a tip off that one might be coming up for sale and I've just bought a 1990 JD 359 from a local farm, where it has sat, unused but under cover for three years. Prior to that it was lightly used from new by another semi-retired small farmer. There was still a bale of straw in it, plus a nearly finished bale behind that. The lid of the knotter section was open and the knotters themselves seem to have been popular as a chicken lavatory.

I've dragged the thing home and made a tentative start on cleaning it up. I'd like to have it working and tidied well before hay season but I don't want to bugger it up by rushing in without knowing what I'm doing. I've scraped and brushed as much debris off the knotters as I can, freed off the pickup lifting and adjusting mechanism, which was seized, and cleared out the remaining straw from the back end, revealing quite a rusty bale chamber.

On removing the last of the straw, the star wheel tripped. I have tried turning the baler over by hand on the flywheel. It was quite hard to turn and has come to a point where the needles are showing through the knotters and the flywheel will turn no further by hand and it doesn't seem keen on being turned backwards either. I'm guessing this is not normal and that it maybe indicates something wrong in the needles or knotters? I'm thinking it may be a good idea to soak the whole of the knotters in penetrating oil and leave it a few days and try again. If anyone has any thoughts on what the problem might be, please let me have them.

Would it be a really bad idea to remove and disassemble/clean/reassemble the knotters?

On the subject of oil, this baler has a multi-point oiler on it, which appears to be empty. Can anyone advise what type/grade of oil I should fill it with?

Any other advice on the 359 baler?

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Mark C]

Great little balers

If you can abound it I wouldn’t remove the knitter stack as it will save you from getting the timing set up perfectly. The last thing you want after stripping it down is to bale the needles !

Did you lift the knotters when you cleaned it ? If so then the bill hooks should have turned ok.
My first port of call would be to strip the knotter brake , it’s a disc brake on one side if the knotters. It’s most likely bound on and stopping you completing the cycle.

The oil for the multi lube you need is like a semi solid grease. You can get it from you JD dealer. A litre will last you many seasons

 

[Flat 10]

John Deere will surely sell you a manual

 

[davidroberts30]

If the flywheel wont turn is the knotter safety lock touching near the flywheel

 

[Bonjour]

Great little balers

If you can abound it I wouldn’t remove the knitter stack as it will save you from getting the timing set up perfectly. The last thing you want after stripping it down is to bale the needles !

Did you lift the knotters when you cleaned it ? If so then the bill hooks should have turned ok.
My first port of call would be to strip the knotter brake , it’s a disc brake on one side if the knotters. It’s most likely bound on and stopping you completing the cycle.

The oil for the multi lube you need is like a semi solid grease. You can get it from you JD dealer. A litre will last you many seasons

Thanks Mark C.

No, I didn't move the knotters in any way while attempting to clean. I just picked the chicken poop out of the crevices with a small screwdriver and brushed around with an old toothbrush. So I don't think I've affected the adjustment in any way. I'll take a look at the knotter brake next time I get chance to look at it. I assume that keeps the knotters from turning by themselves until the needles come up at the end of the bale? If I'm correct, that would be why I'm getting a refusal at the point the needles have brought the twine to the knotter.

Unfortunately, here on Alderney in the Channel Islands, I can't get to a John Deere dealer. I've looked online but been unable to identify which JD product is the correct one for the Multi-Luber.

John Deere will surely sell you a manual

As above, I don't have access to a JD dealer. I've got an operators manual but it is pretty vague on anything other than routine adjustment. I will be looking to order a "workshop" manual online but it would be nice to try and find a solution in the meantime.

If the flywheel wont turn is the knotter safety lock touching near the flywheel

I'll take a look and see if I can identify the knotter safety lock. What would it be touching?

 

[Mark C]

If you open the top cover above the flywheel gearbox there’s an arm connected to a rod that goes back to the knotters. It goes across the flywheel crank very quickly every knotting cycle. If the knotter shearbolt breaks mid cycle the safely arm stops the plunger smashing into the needles. If it’s timed correctly it should be able to turn the the Baler over by hand

I’m sure that a john Deere dealer would post you some grease for the knotter lube.

 

[JLLM]

I put EP90 gear oil in our oiler, seems to work ok. I bought an operators manual on ebay.

 

[Bonjour]

I've just come indoors for a cuppa and a warm up after having another fiddle with the baler. I've managed to turn the flywheel backwards to free it off. I've unseized the collection of levers, springs and stops which trip the needles or keep them out the way as appropriate. I've put the needles in the "home" position, out of the bale case.

If you open the top cover above the flywheel gearbox there’s an arm connected to a rod that goes back to the knotters. It goes across the flywheel crank very quickly every knotting cycle. If the knotter shearbolt breaks mid cycle the safely arm stops the plunger smashing into the needles. If it’s timed correctly it should be able to turn the the Baler over by hand

I’m sure that a john Deere dealer would post you some grease for the knotter lube.

I've found the plunger stop, which is working perfectly when the needles are in operation. The only brake I can find is alongside the needles. That is free but providing friction to the needles.

I had a quick look at the knotters. It looks like there is one nut to remove on each to allow them to pivot upwards on their shaft. I may have a look at them later and see what sort of state the bits I currently can't see are in.

For now, I'm concentrating on the plunger. I can now turn the flywheel through a full cycle but there is a point when the plunger knife is about 3 inches away from the fixed knife where I have to use all my strength and bump the flywheel back and forth to pass that point. It is also tight, but not quite so tight, on the back stroke of the plunger. I'm guessing this is the point at which the plunger sat for the last three years. I'm in two minds whether to put it on the tractor and very gently try it at idle to see if the sticky spot wears in, or remove the plunger and try and crawl in there with a wire wheel.

I put EP90 gear oil in our oiler, seems to work ok. I bought an operators manual on ebay.

Any lube is better than no lube. If I can't get my hands on the correct JD stuff, I may take your tip and try some thick gear oil as an interim measure.

 

[Bonjour]

I found time today to give the top guide rail on the knife side a quick rub down with some emery cloth. Dabbed a bit of oil on it and it's made an improvement. Still sticky at that point but much less so.

I also turned the star wheel and ran it manually through a couple of cycles. The knotters are all free and appear to be OK.

Next job is to grease and oil everything, then cautiously try it on the tractor. If all goes well I've got a few old bales I can break and put through it to see if it bales OK.