Topper bearing damaged?

brownswiss

I have an old side mounted Major / Grasscare topper. There is play in the shaft coming from the gearbox to the blade . Is it likely to be a bearing and if so where is bearing positioned ? Thanks

jimmy G M

brownswiss wrote: »

I have an old side mounted Major / Grasscare topper. There is play in the shaft coming from the gearbox to the blade . Is it likely to be a bearing and if so where is bearing positioned ? Thanks

Bearing I would say and the sooner you take care of it the better otherwise it will chew the gears inside the gearbox.

Check the gearbox for oil, if none present or if oil on the ground when you top it up bearing / seals in the gearbox is the culprit.

I replaced a gearbox for a neighbour on one of those a few years ago but cant really remember the exact sequence of how to do it. Relative simple job though as far as I remember if you have the tools to do it.

Attie

brownswiss wrote: »

I have an old side mounted Major / Grasscare topper. There is play in the shaft coming from the gearbox to the blade . Is it likely to be a bearing and if so where is bearing positioned ? Thanks

I noticed you said old, some toppers roter is on spleens so might just need tightening.
Then again might need replacing.

Justjens

If the g'box is one of those Italian (now Chinese) jobs AFAIK the cross shaft comes out first and then you remove the down shaft out the top.

Easy enough to do once you've got a big hammer and a large circlip pliers. All the seals will also need to be replaced as you will have to butcher them out.

Keep all the shims and spacers in the right order as you take them out.

brownswiss

Where would I get the best value in a gearbox ?. I phoned Major for a price . Incl Vat the gear boxes will cost about €440 for the front and €380 for the rear .

Thanks

brownswiss

Just googled and found Fox's Tullamore. Price seems more reasonable but not sure how to find out what model/ year Major topper I have. Comer gear boxes is what they have online. I saw on another forum that someone was complaining about how many times he had to replace a comer gear box on his Major topper so that does not sound good. Other than rust I have no complaints and I have this topper for a long time ( possibly 20 years ) There is no hydraulic ram for swinging into position so that might help put an age / model on it

Muckit

Very hard for us to diagnose the problem here. Could be any number of things.

Best bring to a local mechanic/fitter and get him to look at it. You'll only do your nut thinking the worst. Could be a relatively small thing.

I hit a large stone beside a ditch. Thought I'd done for gearbox but twas just a keyway that went.

Your situation is different but point I'm making is things may not be as bad ss you think. Gearboxes are very serviceable so you may not need a complete new one. It may not even be a gearbox problem.

brownswiss

I sent a video to Major and they said that I need a new gear box

Attie

Brownswiss download video to YouTube and put the link up here so we can see.

brownswiss

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FT_YgI9Rv2UQ&h=ATMXZA9pvmp8JEEsqeo-fBfyuPz_RRVOWYUgg1XUUVcdhvCXYj_znt10qDmUnvhbYZDwII2Qxj0831JFUI2Ymt8WaOMvhYomtEuxeROXChAqYS5ny92vrRI

Attie

Brownswiss
Yes look's like your bearings are gone, as long as the casing is ok should be easy enough fix.
Pull the gearbox out of topper ( taking pictures as you go ) then you can work on a bench they are not hard to work on a few coge shimes, there should be numbers on the box which would allow you to order parts.
Fleming do parts for comer gearboxes, good luck.
I forgot to mention utube great source for information.

brownswiss

Thanks for all the help and advice

Muckit

Hardest bit will be taking off the blade after you remove cotter pin and castle nut. You might need a pullers of some sort or make something up

mycro2013

brownswiss wrote: »

Thanks for all the help and advice

I got a new gearbox for the same topper off dh farm machinery for 165+vat. As cheap as a fixing the existing gearbox.

brownswiss

Thanks . I will give them a call. Sounds a good price

brownswiss

I just got this email from the topper manufacturer ... "Thanks for the email. Gearbox’s are Comer and are priced as follows:

LF205 €381 (end gearbox)
LF205T €421 (middle gearbox)

If buying elsewhere please make sure the ratio is the same. "

brownswiss

How do I know if what I can buy at €200 is the same as what they have for €400 ?

Thanks

brownswiss

Back again about the gearboxes. Eventually my mechanic removed two of the gearboxes from the topper. They are Comer gearboxes but it seems Major have a different ratio in their gearboxes than Abbey have in their topper.

I can get two online that suit the Abbey for a total of €400 . Major want €802.

Any ideas?

Muckit

Whats wrong with the gearboxes that you have to replace them fully? Did he open them?

Blaas4life

brownswiss wrote: »

Back again about the gearboxes. Eventually my mechanic removed two of the gearboxes from the topper. They are Comer gearboxes but it seems Major have a different ratio in their gearboxes than Abbey have in their topper.

I can get two online that suit the Abbey for a total of €400 . Major want €802.

Any ideas?

Are the gears totally ****ed??
If damaged but not chipped/shattered,you could possibly floppy disk em,as a patch up job,they'll be noisy...but Jesus it's only a topper



You'd prob buy a flemming for not much with that prices new??

visatorro

Replaced both comer gearboxes on the Fleming Topper here. Just as handy replacing them as you'll fanny around with bearings for ages and might never get them exactly right. There's also the risk of self harm thru beating yokes and temper!

Justjens

Why not buy two new Abbeys for 400 notes and replace both boxes, then the ratios will be the same

Don't fanny about repairing the old ones as the price of the parts you will need to rebuild then will far exceed the cost of a new box, don't ask how I know :rolleyes: (There's one sprocket in there that is well over a hundred notes)

brownswiss

Justjens wrote: »

Why not buy two new Abbeys for 400 notes and replace both boxes, then the ratios will be the same

Don't fanny about repairing the old ones as the price of the parts you will need to rebuild then will far exceed the cost of a new box, don't ask how I know :rolleyes: (There's one sprocket in there that is well over a hundred notes)

,,,

Bought 2 new boxes today in Fox's Tullamore for half the price Major wanted

Timmaay

If there is no hydraulic push out and your still messing about with a rope on it, and the bed is rotten anyways you definitely are better of cutting your losses now.