Avoiding Combine Breakdowns

With corn, bean, and sunflower harvest coming up, people are pulling their combines out of the shed and getting them ready for harvest. You may consider some of these tips to help minimize any unnecessary downtime.

Most machinery breakdowns can be avoided by inspecting, cleaning and replacement of essential components. A large percentage of equipment failures are due to lack of a thorough inspection or lack of maintenance. Most failures could be avoided with proper care.

In the mornings when you’re doing your routine maintenance walk around, check bearings and inspect chains and belts, giving them regular adjustments as necessary. Proper lubrication and monitoring normal service intervals is also important.

Here are a few easy steps recommended to help provide you an easy harvest:

Give your combine a good preseason inspection of chains, belts and bearings, or schedule a Priority Service Program with your local 21st Century Equipment dealership.
Check your operator’s manual for the appropriate settings for rotor or cylinder speed, concave clearance and fan speed. Also check adjustment and for lodged or stuck debris within the cleaning shoes.
Keep areas clean of dust and crop residue and check for leaks.
Use John Deere Fuel Protect to help prevent costly injector failures on any of your high pressure system diesel engines. Please check manufacturer’s recommendations.
Make sure skid plates under the grain platform are clean and check that they give you a full range of movement.
Clean under the corn snouts on the corn head and check and clean the gathering chains.
Clean any accumulated debris on the cooling fins on the radiator, the hydraulic oil cooler and the air conditioner condenser.

Don’t delay repairs. A simple repair can become costly very quickly if it isn’t taken care of right away. Remember, proper maintenance begins at the end of the season before you put your machine away.

Andy Grant
Service Manager- Sidney