Dealer quoted me a price...not what I had in mind! UPDATE

First-off, thanks to all of you who replied to my post a few weeks ago regarding the jd 336 square baler that I sent into the dealer to get looked at. It sure is great for a young guy blundering through these things for the first time to have a resource such as this forum.

So, about the baler... I got it back home last week and took a look at it over the weekend. Took the kicker off (it was a lot heavier than I thought)...then started going over the baler. I replaced the tucker finger adjustment bars on the knotter assembly and cleaned up the knotters and knotter mounts... went over the whole baler with grease and lube, lots of good advice from you guys and with that and the manual I was able to get to the point to where I was comfortable feathering the pto up enough to run it full speed. Had a neighbor stop-by to help me when my dad had to leave. Between the three of us and an afternoon we got it baling a little bit.

Here's a question for you baler guys. as you face the baler from behind, the left knotter works and doesn't miss a bale. The right knotter knots BUT it won't release the knot from the billhook every other time. The knives cut cleanly but the little grapple/mouth on the end of the billhook that opens when the sweep sweeps the knot off the knotter doesn't get the knot off. What happens is that the knot stays jammed in the mouth and either pulls out as the next bale is forced down the chamber or it snaps the knot under tension as shown in the picture. I'm not sure yet if there's rust on the bill hook but the sweeper seems to make good flush contact...I'm thinking it might not be traveling far enough to sweep the knot completely clear from the end of the billhook??? Any thoughts? I had to cut my work session short and put everything away before a rain came in. I'd like to work some more on it this week...So far this sure beats the price the dealer quoted me on..by a few thousand...literally

-Jameson

If I read what you said right try these things as per the 14T manual by the way. Oh if you do not have the manual GET IT since it has pages of trouble shooting in it like this one has. Any how.
Knot does not strip off bill hook
#1 excessive bill hook tension
#2Knife arm wiper is not contacting back face of bill hook
#3 Knife arm lift (or rise) is not sufficient

#4 Rough bill hook
#5Worn or bent bill hook
#6 bale density too low
That is word for word out of the manual by the way

Old pretty well covered why the knots don't always slip off. I usually flip the knotter up then feed a strip of emery cloth between the finger and billhook and give it a good polishing, both on the hook and finger.. It could also be that the billhook is worn badly. The stripper should contact the hook at about 11/16" from the tip, then maintain soft contact through it's cycle. I've seen them worn such that it will touch at 11/16" where it should but then the radius of the hook is worn away and the stripper loses contact... thus it doesn't wipe the knot.
Excessive tension is the other likely problem.

Really, you need to buy a manual. It sounds cliche, but it will help you a lot to read and understand the knotter. Looking at the various pictures will also help diagnose these problems. If you have a problem in the field you can't always run and ask questions here...

Rod

If you read his post he has a manual.some of the things in manuals just don't make sense to guys like me. that is why we ask questions on here.

I don't see much if any ? fresh grease on the fittings or the shafts ? Maybe it's just the picture ?

Check in your manual about adjusting the tension by way of those two rusty nuts. Each one varies part of the stripping function. Hit em today with some solvent (NOT WD-40) so you can get them moving later.

Gordo

I see a new nut on the wiper arm. Is it tighter then the old one on the left? If you look just above the two new nuts in the brackets you will see a tension adjustment(springs) on each side. The one on the right looks like it is not as tight as the one on the left. Compare each detail on the knotters and look for any differance on identical parts.

Neighbors got an old Ford baler does the same thing - switched to the plastic twine and it works good. I would work over the bilhook/sweep - but I prefer the bio-degradeable sisal.

I did not read your posts too much but really wish you could find an old man that worked on balers since the 50's like at a dealership that could help you. Thats how many of us learned, Maybe someday you will be the one everyone goes to to get a baler to tie. good luck

A few more know-it-all that can't read. OLD and RodInNS the man said in his post that he HAS a MANUAL!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess you all where born knowing it all and never needed to ask any questions!!!!!!!
NOW his problem.
1) Check the bill hook tension. You can do that by reaching in and pulling on the bill hook with a piece of twine threaded through the hook. To many people adjust the bill hook tension first as it is easy to get to. Your left knotter maybe too tight.
2) Remove the knotter hold down bolt and rock the knotter up. That will make the twine arm move across the bill hook. It should lightly drag across the bill hook. If it does not then you genteelly bend it so that it does.
3) The wiper arm maybe worn so that the wiping surface is not matching the bill hook, Also the leading edge needs to be square. If it is not then remove the arm from the knotter. Take a file and square it up. Plus make its shape match the bill hook. You need a bigger round file that is close to the bill hook shape.
If this does not get it going e-mail me. I would be glad to talk you through it over the phone.

Or he could just read the damn manual....

Granted, I did miss the part where he said he had one, but the questions asked suggest that not much reading was done.
Some of you wise types might actually find that if you read the book you'll learn a lot from it...

Rod

Check the bill hooks opening.The billhook has a bushing or roller bearing the runs in a groove.The bill hook opens to stretch the knot just before it gets wiped off,If the bill hook has the old style bronze roller it may have flat spots worn in it.This limits the opening of the bill hook.The wiper will slide over a tight knot and leave the knot in the bill hook.Knife arm then cuts the twine leaving it caught in the bill hook.Set the bale length at its shortest and work in the shade on tieing problems.

First thing I'd do is to trip the tie mechanism and turn the baler by hand until it gets to the point where the twine gets wiped and then closely compare the side that works well to the side that doesn't.Problem may be obvious then

Amen Rod.
I seem some stats recently and was shocked at the percentage of the population who are functionally illiterate. Many are limited to signing their name and reading a newspaper headline.
I wish the school systems could spend less time and money on trendy politically correct subjects and activities. And concentrate on math and english.

One of the better ideas I've seen here.