# New Holland 68 plunger slide dimensions



## kentuckyguy (Apr 13, 2015)

I was doing some maintenance on the new holland 68 this fall and noticed I have a gap of almost 1/2" between the plunger knife and stationary knife. I am not having much luck getting the adjusters to move the plunger and I have a huge gap on top of the plunger.

My plunger knife needs sharpened anyway so I am gonna pull the plunger out of the baler. While I had it out I was going to go ahead and replace the wooden plunger slides. I am not willing to pay new holland's crazy price so I plan to make new slides.

Heres where the problem comes. My slide are badly worn and I am not sure what the factory dimensions of the slides are supposed to be? I have heard there are drawing floating around the internet but I have been unable to find them.

What material to make them out of ?

Do I need to soak them in used oil after they are made?

Any other tips when doing this job ?

Thanks for the help


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## steve IN (Jan 13, 2010)

The tolerances are pretty close to keep the plunger in line. You can do what you want but I would have the right parts put in either by the dealer or do it yourself. I have heard an old plu ger hit the stationary knife and it is not a pretty sound or sight. Next option is maybe find a newer baler. Just an old baler mans thoughts. Good Luck


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Thought a kit was available to replace the slides with bearings? Or am I way off base here?


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## kentuckyguy (Apr 13, 2015)

Hard to justify a new baler I only bale about 500 bales a year to feed our sheep. All the cattle hay is baled in rounds.
The old new holland only busted 2 bales last summer.


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## kentuckyguy (Apr 13, 2015)

I am unaware of a kit to replace the wooden slides.
I personally have no problem with the wooden slides. Dirt and dust don't have much affect on those wooden slides. I would assume the ones that are in are the ones installed in the 50's


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## thendrix (May 14, 2015)

Just spit balling but could you take the old slides out to use as a pattern but make them thick enough to split the gaps?


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

You can replace the wooden slides yourself. We redid our plunger on our NH68 last spring. We also removed the knife and sharpened it and replaced the pitman to plunger bushing. We replaced all the adjustment bolts and chased the threads with a tap.

The wood slides are 1-11/16 inches wide and 1-3/4 tall. You can order one from Best Baler Parts for around $55ish and use it as a pattern to make 4 to use on your baler - keeping the original for a future template. IMHO - maple is best, though many folks make the slides out of wood.

I documented our efforts with my NH68 on YT. Here are a few threads with pics:

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=implment&th=261363

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=implment&th=261849

Generally when speaking of the New Holland 68, I typically type it as NH68 as 4 characters are easier to search for than 3 with many forums. If you do a search on NH68 - you will find many of my posts.

I've posted this video here once before, but here is it again. The NH68 in action:






IMHO the NH68 is one a fine baler once refreshed and properly adjusted. Mine now spits out bricks!

Good luck,

Bill


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## kentuckyguy (Apr 13, 2015)

Thanks for the info I got it apart. I broke several of the plunger rail adjustment bolts. Looks like they are just plow bolts.
I'm gonna look around at farm supply stores and eBay before ordering from new holland.


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## Wethay (Jul 17, 2015)

Make sure you know what you are getting when you buy bolts. The local co-op has bulk grade 5 and grade 8. The local hardware store buys cheaper bolts and forgets to pass the saving on to the customer.


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## SwingOak (May 19, 2014)

kentuckyguy said:


> Thanks for the info I got it apart. I broke several of the plunger rail adjustment bolts. Looks like they are just plow bolts.
> I'm gonna look around at farm supply stores and eBay before ordering from new holland.


The rail adjustment screws are 5/16-18 UNC x 1-1/4in plow bolts. This is not a standard size and you are not likely to find them anywhere other than from NH. I replaced all of mine with 3/8-16 UNC x 1-1/2in plow bolts, I had to pull the upper and lower slide rails out, make the countersink deeper, and file the squares larger. Then I had to drill out the holes in the frame. It worked out OK.


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## Goat Hay (Jan 2, 2016)

I just put my new slides put on and the plunger back in the baler. I made some slides out of oak. A big thanks to all of the posts on the nh68.


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