$100.00 - IH 430 Baler

[Lily'sDad]

When I was a kid, I used to help the farmers bale in the summers. I always think of this one farmer who used a wire baler. He was known for baling damp hay and cinching those bales down tight. We guessed he was making 100lbs. bales. Could barely get your fingers under the wires!!!
Years later, I heard he had burned his barn down.

 

[chieffan]

He was known for baling damp hay and cinching those bales down tight. We guessed he was making 100lbs. bales. Could barely get your fingers under the wires!!!

That is why they made the bail hooks. Never did like handling the bales by the string or wire. So much easier and less broken bales when using a bale hook, or even one hook in each hand.

Should have a good owrking baler when you get finished. Lot of heavy parts on those old girls. Was a NH man myself.

 

[cjet69]

I pulled the baler down close to the shop to get access to all of the tools. Used the torch to heat a few stubborn bolts to get the remaining tin work out of the way. We were then able to remove the big broken gear on the hay packer shaft. We were able to save the bearing which is a bonus. I polished the shaft up with some emery paper along with the donor gear and trial fit it on the shaft. The next obstacle will be pulling the side gear off of the crankshaft. They use a tapered key that's driven in tight and then years of rust makes then really tough to get out. Might have to make a custom puller to get a good hold on the gear.

 

[cjet69]

I earned this one. It took 2 days, but I finally got the side gear off. I drilled out the gib key and used a combo of heat, a puller, wedges, and a BFH. Once it was off I could see why it was so tough to pull. Looks like the shaft is galled. The galling looks like its from the gear spinning on the shaft. I may be using the gearbox from the donor baler if the shaft is in better shape. I hope the side gear on the donor baler comes off easier.

 

[KennyP]

That would make it tough to get off!

 

[cjet69]

After a week of soaking the parts baler side gear and gib key with ATF/Acetone mixture I was able to remove the key with a cold chisel. The gear came loose by sticking a pry bar through the spokes and rocking the crank back and forth. It didn't take much and then I just spun it by hand and pulled it off. The shaft looks really good on this one. Now I just need to pull both gearbox assembly's.

 

[KennyP]

Glad it came loose for you!

 

[cjet69]

Pulled the flywheel, driveshaft, and hitch off of the 430 baler. Need to remove a locking collar & bearing and 4 bolts and the gearbox should come out. Then repeat for the parts baler and it will be time to clean things up and start putting some pieces back on.

 

[cjet69]

Removed the plunger this evening. All of the rollers are frozen up and one fell apart. Once the gear box is removed I plan on sandblasting the whole bale chamber.

 

[MH81]

Nice resurrection.

We had an old IH at one time, the frustrations from the knotters put dads blood pressure up every year.
Sold it and bought a nice MF9
Had MF balers from then on.

 

[cjet69]

Nice resurrection.

We had an old IH at one time, the frustrations from the knotters put dads blood pressure up every year.
Sold it and bought a nice MF9
Had MF balers from then on.

We started with an IH 45, then a 47, and now we are running a 440 which is about identical to this 430. We've heard people complain about the knotters on these IH balers, but we don't have much trouble with them. Just keep them adjusted correctly and they work fine.

 

[MH81]

I was young, but I remember him saying you couldn't adjust them the same.
One side had to be tighter or looser and it wasn't like the manual.
Probably worn or.bent before we got it, but the baler stuck in my memory because of it. LOL

 

[chieffan]

Never did think much of IH balers. Lot of them scrapped or sitting back in the trees in this neck of the woods. Most that run the small squares run the NH brand. I had a Super 66 and a wire tie 68. 66 did not like the plastic twine al all. Had a NH bailer guy down to try and figure it out. Finally said if I bought $1k worth of parts he could fix it. Sent him packing in short order. With sisal twine it would run several hundred bales and not miss a one, unless it was 95+0°, clear sky and no breeze, down it a hole some place !

 

[cjet69]

Pulled the gearbox's from both balers. Dad pressure washed the bale chamber so we can see what repairs need to be done. It will need some rust repair in a few places, but not as much as our other 440 baler.

 

[cjet69]

Never did think much of IH balers. Lot of them scrapped or sitting back in the trees in this neck of the woods. Most that run the small squares run the NH brand. I had a Super 66 and a wire tie 68. 66 did not like the plastic twine al all. Had a NH bailer guy down to try and figure it out. Finally said if I bought $1k worth of parts he could fix it. Sent him packing in short order. With sisal twine it would run several hundred bales and not miss a one, unless it was 95+0°, clear sky and no breeze, down it a hole some place !

Very seldom do we have a missed tie or a knot that pulls apart. Most of our misses tend to be sisal twine quality. We have had years where the local suppliers get batches of thick and thin twine that will break. The thick parts will cause knotter trouble usually not pulling off the bill hook. The Deere and NH balers around they want a premium for wore out junk or need thousands of $$$ to repair. This baler and the parts baler were $100 each and we won't need to many new parts to get it going. works out to pennies on the dollar for us. The 440 we are currently using we got in a trade. We fixed a clutch in the guys Ford 3000 which took $0.19 and around 6 hours to split the tractor. That was in 2006. Someday I hope to find a deere or NH baler for a bargain, but until then we can get by fine with the IH balers.

 

[chieffan]

First bailer I bought after I retired was a MF for $100. Buried in the alle way of a corn crib. Got it home and found the plunger was forze in the bale chamber. Got it going and run a bunch of bales through it. The the knotters started to really mess up. Finished wearing out. took it to a MF dealer and told them $300 max and call before going more. A weeks later I called and they had it done but didn't bother to let me know. bill was over $1300. I gave them the baler and bought the NH Super 66 at an auction. Talked a lot with the owner and bought it for $300. Spent a little on knotter parts and pieces but nothing major. Run it for 4 or 5 years with an 8 bale accumulator and run 3 - 4K bales a year, all horse hay. Sold out about 8 years ago and it was still working good when it left the place. If I ever bought haying equipment again it would be NH brand. Not a lot of small squares around any more. Everything is big round where the outside 6 -8 inches is waste.