NH 477 Mower Conditioner - Sitting 10+ years outside

[crowbar032]

I recently acquired a New Holland 477 Mower Conditioner that had been sitting uncovered in a field for at least 10 years. I traded some labor (tractor and me) for it. Before it was parked, it had new teeth, a new cutter bar, new belt, and the bearings replaced. After all of that, it was used to cut about 20 acres of hay and was then parked. Right now it appears to need a new cylinder due to pitting and the hydraulic hoses are down to the steel brades and should be replaced. The teeth are also very rusty and will need replaced before using. The finger guards are all present and appear to be in good shape. Surprisingly the tires don't look too bad and hold air, but the one on the right side is considerably narrower than the one on the left. I don't know if that is standard or not. The rolls also appear to be in pretty good shape, the sun doesn't appear to have damaged them. I have not hooked this up to the tractor yet. Any thoughts on what I should look at and lubricate before I turn it over and tear something up? Is there anything I should put on the rolls since they've been sitting in the sun (Armor All???)? I don't have a book for it yet, but I plan on getting one.

 

[bigbull338]

1st thing you need todo is grease all the zerks an oil the chain good.an go ahead an change all your hydro hoses because they will blow once you put pressure to them.

 

[zzvyb6]

Check the condition of the pan (shelf behind the cutter bar). If old hay lay there for a while, it might be rusted through in places. I leave my 479 outside uncovered all year, but I blow the frame and sheet metal off with a leaf blower after every use. For winter, I coat the rod with grease and cover the cutter bar and knives with old crankcase oil. One side is much heavier than the other which may explain the different tires, but they came with the same tires and used different pressures on each side. Also check the control arms and attachment links (parts that hold the header to the pipe frame). Spring failure is a common problem, too. Changing the reel tines is an all day job but worth having. Look for a spare knife stuck inside the frame cross tube. That's worth having, too. If you change out the knives, consider switching to nuts and bolts. If you pick up a stone, or the neighbor kid's bike, you can change out the broken knives in the field.

Strap a 30 cal ammo box on top of the driveline gearbox shield. Fill it with knife and guard wrenches, spare knives and bolts, hold down clips, a rag or two, a pair of leather gloves, a spare knife bolt and nut and some mosquito spray. You'll be all set to go farmin' after that.

Believe me, a two way tongue swing cylinder is well worth the cost....

 

[crowbar032]

change all your hydro hoses because they will blow once you put pressure to them.

I think I'm going to have to change the whole cylinder. It's pitted pretty bad in a few places and I'm afraid the rubbing will wear out the seal causing a leak. Hydraulic oil isn't cheap, and I'm pretty sure my goats won't eat hay seasoned with it.

 

[crowbar032]

Check the condition of the pan (shelf behind the cutter bar). If old hay lay there for a while, it might be rusted through in places. I leave my 479 outside uncovered all year, but I blow the frame and sheet metal off with a leaf blower after every use. For winter, I coat the rod with grease and cover the cutter bar and knives with old crankcase oil. One side is much heavier than the other which may explain the different tires, but they came with the same tires and used different pressures on each side. Also check the control arms and attachment links (parts that hold the header to the pipe frame). Spring failure is a common problem, too. Changing the reel tines is an all day job but worth having. Look for a spare knife stuck inside the frame cross tube. That's worth having, too. If you change out the knives, consider switching to nuts and bolts. If you pick up a stone, or the neighbor kid's bike, you can change out the broken knives in the field.

Strap a 30 cal ammo box on top of the driveline gearbox shield. Fill it with knife and guard wrenches, spare knives and bolts, hold down clips, a rag or two, a pair of leather gloves, a spare knife bolt and nut and some mosquito spray. You'll be all set to go farmin' after that.

Believe me, a two way tongue swing cylinder is well worth the cost....

I was planning on getting stub guards instead of the finger guards that are on it now as well as replace all of the teeth with bolt on ones. I would have never thought of a spare knife in that tube, I'll be sure to look for that. The reel tines are rusty, but they are all there and appear to be in good shape. I'll have to check the various areas for rust through, but I didn't notice any old hay. I have a tool box on the tractor for various field repairs, but I like your idea of keeping stuff on the mower. Thanks for the info.