As fall harvest slowly comes into sight, here are some oft-overlooked wear points on combines with more than 4,000 engine hours:
1. Feederhouse floor. Everything that passes through a combine is drawn across that sheet metal surface. Tap with a hammer to find thin spots to avoid midseason repairs.
2. Shoe auger troughs. The flighting on shoe augers wears visibly thin; the troughs beneath them wear less visibly. Again — tap with a hammer to identify thin spots before they become holes that leave streams of clean grain across the field.
3. Top rotor covers. The solid housing that forms the top curve above the rotor concave wears one-half to one-third as fast as the concave itself, but it eventually develops thin spots that require repair or replacement.
4. Straw chopper housings/deflectors. There is usually a pan, hood or deflector in front of or above a straw chopper rotor that eventually gets enough wear to develop a hole that snags crop residue and impairs smooth flow. It might require a flashlight and a mirror-on-a-stick, but close examination of all surfaces in front of, above and even beside straw chopper rotors can identify worn areas of sheet metal.
5. Grain tank cross augers. The last foot of each cross auger, where grain tumbles before it is taken away by the vertical unloading auger, is susceptible to wear. Also check the auger troughs. Many combine manufacturers offer cross auger liner kits. Remove the cross augers before installing the liners to ensure the liners are welded tight to the curvature of their troughs, which prevents the augers from rubbing on them.
