“It’s busy this fall,” said Jeff Wester, the service manager at Larson Farm & Lawn in Rogersville, Mo., “Business has been pretty good for this time of the year. The weather had a lot to do with it and producers got a lot of fieldwork done early.”
Most of the equipment that he has seen has been kept in good repair. “A lot of people are taking care of the older stuff instead of buying new,” Wester said.
Most of it just needs the maintenance that comes with age, including replacement of chains and bearings, checking for hydraulic leaks, and examining the condition of the belts on round balers. “We have inspection programs we do every year at this time that are pretty successful for us,” he said.
There’s a checklist Wester’s shop follows for routine maintenance of haying equipment at the end of the season. They examine the condition of the shields and universal joints, and repair the slip clutch when needed. Then, check the main gear case and the pump, if it’s a twine tie baler wrapping system, they make sure the pickups’ going through it.
Next, Wester said, comes “condition on the strippers, cam bearings on the pickup, wiring harness, the monitor, belt condition, the chains and the sprockets, tensioning springs, gate latches, condition of the rollers, bearings and then the wheel bearings.” Finally, the whole machine gets a good grease job. If the owner has not been diligent about bringing the machine in for regular maintenance, Wester said the biggest problems tend to be wear on the chains and sprockets. With the sprockets, he said, the ends of the teeth get sharp, and the chains will fit loosely on them.
But his shop usually sees more tractors, than hay equipment. Standard fall maintenance there, he said, would be changing the engine oil and filter, as well as the fuel, air and hydraulic filters and checking the batteries and belts.
If you’re getting ready to idle equipment for the winter, it’s recommended that you test the antifreeze to make sure the mixture is right and will prevent the engine block from freezing. Also, keep the battery fully charged, and check the cables. Wester added, “If you’re going to feed with the tractor, start using the winter fuel additives – make sure that your block heaters are all working and replace the fuel filters.”
