# Hesston 530 internal jamming....Ideas?



## Motor7 (May 13, 2010)

This is my 3rd season with the Hesston. Bought it used, replaced a bunch of teeth, then last year the lower shaft that holds the tooth bars grenaded($600 in parts). Rolled 200ish bales after that without a hitch. I did a pre-season tune up, and found two belts(both on the outside) that needed re-lacing and did that. I know it does not like green hay, and we did push it a bit today with weather moving in tonight, but it was 85% dry which is usually not a big problem for it.

But today I could not roll two bales without having to clean out a birds nest of hay jam up on one of the outside belts/rollers. It jammed in the same spot every time and required a manual clean out between each bale. I also had to dump 6 or 7 incomplete bales that just stopped turning. 

So my thoughts are:
1. the hay was green enough to cause the problem?
2. cutting off and re-lacing changed something....belt now too short?
4. it's a new unrelated problem an I have no clue
3. it's time to ditch the relic and bite the bullet on a new/newer baler?

So,,,,any suggestions?


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## scrapiron (Mar 10, 2010)

*Motor 7 :*
*1.Yup, baler don't like hay over 17/19 % moisture*
*2.could be, is it under 262 inches ? more than one inch shorter than the others ?*
*3.Could be, windrow to light,to many pto rpm's for ground speed/ amount of hay going into baler.*
* Is the pickup pulling hay into baler or is the hay being pushed ever so slight by the pickup ? Is the winrow full width of the pickup, and is it holding the windguard all the way up to the frame ?*
*4. NOPE it is not a relic. That baler is still made today as a Massey Ferguson 1734. A hesston 5530, [ I have one ], your 530, case/Ih 8420 , plus others, all the same baler. Unless the side panels are worn through it is not worn out, probably the cheapest baler to repair/rebuild of any. *
* If you want to ditch your your relic I will be more than happy to give you double scrap price for it ! That would pay for your next Florida vacation.*

* scrapiron*


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## Motor7 (May 13, 2010)

Scrap, I am leaning more and more towards the wet hay.

I didn't measure the belt(s), but I know we didn't even cut off over an inch inch to re-lace.
Most of the time it was pulling the hay in, but yes sometimes it would plow it.
I'm using a 40 horse Kioti HST and run around 2200 rpm in medium range and it's the same tractor all 3 years, so I don't think speed or rpm is the problem.

Thanks for the info and advise on the baler. I have put a lot of work into it and I really don't want another more expensive baler. Up until this last cut it has been making perfect nice tight rolls. The only thing left to do is tighten a couple of the chains that are getting slack and have run out of adjustment.

After studying all the forensic evidence it keeps pointing to the "Partner" part. I can't replace "it" because "it" is a good friend/neighbor, but every year he wants to jump the weather gun and start haying too early. A window of two partially sunny days is not enough to get this hay dry in 75 degree weather even with teddering. Now that it is rolled it has sat in the field and been rained on for two solid days since I refuse to put green hay in the barn and have someone say, "I smell smoke".

Oh, and please anyplace but FLORIDA...how about Ireland instead?


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## NEHerdsman (Sep 23, 2009)

Same baler (Case version), same basic issue since as long as I can remember, although mine doesn't build up that fast on mine, it'll take 8-10 bales before it's got a real wad built up there. And it's never gotten so bad that it would stop the bale from turning - it's more annoying to look at then anything else. So every now and then when I'm off the baler for some other reason I end up just grabbing a couple handfuls out of between those belts and tossing it back in front of the pickup.


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## Motor7 (May 13, 2010)

NE, that's odd, up until this last cut mine never did that. I really want to know why it does ...kinda driving me nuts. Well, this week I am going to rule out wet hay & cut 2.5 ac neighbors pasture that adjoins my field. I am, going to let it dry a full 3 days teddered and roll it to see if the problem still exists.


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## NEHerdsman (Sep 23, 2009)

I'd be interested in anything you find out, Motor.

Mine seems to build up faster in 2nd cutting than 1st, the length of the hay being baled might also have something to do with it too...


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## Motor7 (May 13, 2010)

Threat of rain held us up(never happened), so we cut on Tue...I'll post up the results.


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## Motor7 (May 13, 2010)

Update:

Well with totally dry hay I can roll with very little of that internal birds nest jam. But, now I have a completely new problem. Once the bale is halfway built, it just stops turning. I mean everything else continues to spin: rollers, gears. belt, pick-up, but the bale stops







. This happens every 3-5th bale and then I have to dump it, un-roll it and try again.....very frustrating.

Any ideas? Could I have a roller bearing frozen? This thing is driving me nuts......


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## dubltrubl (Jul 19, 2010)

Motor7 said:


> Update:
> 
> Well with totally dry hay I can roll with very little of that internal birds nest jam. But, now I have a completely new problem. Once the bale is halfway built, it just stops turning. I mean everything else continues to spin: rollers, gears. belt, pick-up, but the bale stops
> 
> ...


It could be a bearing, but you should be able to hear it easily. I have a 540, and mine did almost the same thing last year. It would only build about a 24" bale, then no more. Everything was turning as it should, but wouldn't feed anymore into the baler. Turned out it was the relief valve. Figured it out by watching the tension rams as it was baling. They were jumping all over the place and not applying tension to the belt arms. The 24" bale just kept rolling around but wouldn't build a bale. I thought it might be a check valve, so order some of those too, but it was only the relief valve. You can check it by tapping into the port provided on the left hand side of the baler behind the door. There's a tee fitting with a cap installed. Get a 3000# guage and a fitting to adapt, and check the pressure as you apply hydraulic pressure from the tractor, such as opening the gate. When you stop applying pressure, the pressure should stay above 2000# if I recall correctly. If it bleeds off, there's your cause. Helps if you have a book on the machine. Hope this helps.
Steve


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## Motor7 (May 13, 2010)

Dub, the 530 doesn't have a Hyd tensioner....it's springs.

I dug out the Operators Manual. Main cause is the tailgate not latching....hmmm that could easily be it. It also can be a Idler roller jammed, so tomorrow I am going to go over all this.


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## dubltrubl (Jul 19, 2010)

Motor7 said:


> Dub, the 530 doesn't have a Hyd tensioner....it's springs.
> 
> I dug out the Operators Manual. Main cause is the tailgate not latching....hmmm that could easily be it. It also can be a Idler roller jammed, so tomorrow I am going to go over all this.


The gate issue makes sense. Sorry, I didn't realize the 530 had springs. While your at it, you may want to check out the pick-up bearings. I had a cam follower bearing fail one time on mine, and it wouldn't pick-up in a good sized windrow. Kept jamming and plugging. Just a thought. Best of luck!
Steve


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## Motor7 (May 13, 2010)

Well, it was not the gate. I took the scraper knife off the middle idler roller and sharpened it since that is where the hay was bird nesting. Checked all the idler rollers...all fine. Went out, rolled one bale, started a second and snapped a chain.........grrrr. I still think I have a bad bearing someplace which caused this strain on the chain(s).

So, with all the other irons I have in the fire(building my own cedar log home) I give in. We hired a local farmer/rancher to cut the hay the rest of the year. Next year when I have more time I am buying a new baler...life is just to short to screw around with a 20+ year old worn out one. A new one will be the last one I ever have to buy.


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## sbeckwith (Jul 6, 2011)

I had a simular problem develop in the last cutting last year - Mine is a 540 and I found several issues - Belts were aging, scraper bar needed replaced and found 3 rollers with bearings beginning to go bad. These things are prettty basic, so I made the call to replace all of the bearings on all of the rollers since just getting them out to service was the biggest part of the job. I figued - If the bearings, scraper, belts and cutter are all fresh, I basiclly have a new 540 for less than what a used one could be purchased for... It may be worth taking a look at replacing the bearings.


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## Motor7 (May 13, 2010)

Sbeck, yes but then the belts probably need to be replaced along with some marginal chains & sprockets. Every time I look at it I get those "money pit" thoughts. I do enjoy doing hay and a new baler would keep me smiling for a long time









On top of this my partner in the hay thing wants out. I think this baler and it's issues two years in a row has gotten to him(too). I don't blame him, so when I can I am going to buy him out(we went 50/50 on the equipment). So when I crank it up next year it will be all me, but instead of doing 40+ ac it will be around 20. My 20 ac will turn out about 150 4x4 rolls a season. I do have some good friends that roll about the same amount. I think we can work it out that we help each other...sure makes the day go quicker with two tractors working together at the same time.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

I just got done with 145 rolls on my 5530. I bought last year and did about 30 and threw the chain. After a new chain and wooden idlers I baled about 30 this year. There was a bar inside well worn. I also noticed 2 hot bearings. After bringing it back to fix bearings and new bar ($260 metal part) I did my next 25 or so bales. Only clogged once. Hay too wet. Broke a pickup tooth. Then did 120+ more with one jam (wet clump). Last year and before new parts it jammed a bunch. So after about 145 I need to replace a couple teeth. After working awhile and seeing how it works I really like it. Rolled 15-20 an hour in light hay. With Kubota L3400hst @ 28.5 pto hp. After this performance and getting twine wrap down i look forward to many more years hopefully. Tractor rake and haybine need updating long before this. The 25 bales i did after second shop trip were w my brothers tractor. M7040. Loved that! Now looking at one of them or m5640sud. Maybe beat tier iv.


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