# first maintenance on old disc cutter



## jamesntexas (Mar 7, 2012)

I bought an old disc cutter at auction. It is a new holland and i have no idea how old or series number etc. I paid 900 and i probably overpaid for it. I believed that when i bought it but i didnt want to go and chase down another one 100 miles away at some other auction a month from now.--So my question is what do i do now? Belts look good eneough. I am going to replace all the blades as they look in my uneducated opinion as being pretty bad shape. So besides checking gearbox oil what else do i check? Is there any other pre maintenance that yall would do? It is my first disc cutter and i no nothing about them.


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

Any where there is oil replace it. You never know how many hours or if there is emulsified water in it. That's hell on bearings. Try to use tractor house™ to ID what you have. Double check every moving part for grease zeros. Don't wanna miss any or it won't be around long


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## discbinedr (Mar 4, 2013)

Check your discs for vertical play. If there's to much you need to change bearings. Some of those old New Hollands are a pain to work on the bar........


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

Agree with the above posts. Also probably need to check the skid/wear plates on the bottom of the bar and repair/replace where needed.


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## bglz42 (Oct 5, 2009)

I just bought an old NH 463, and went through all this... 

The blades were beat up, so I bought a new set at Tractor Supply. Had a small leak on top of the cutter bar, and repaired it with JB Weld. Holding good... changed the oil numerous times just to get the gunk out, Changed the gearbox oil once. Belts look good. Had to rebuild hyd cylinder. RIght now I am at around 1400 dollars invested.

I ran it this weekend, cut around 30 acres. Ran like a champ! Now I will get a new cover, mine's almost gone! Peppered the side of the tractor pretty bad hitting fireant mounds...

Not bad, considering what they want for a new one!

Jim


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## jescoag (May 17, 2010)

Current NH models (617) have 2 locations to replace gear lube 75W90 in drive system, the lower module can be overlooked and always has water in it from vent hole. Plus each cutter module takes 7 oz of gear lube. So 9 places to change fluid on a 7 disk cutter.


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## jamesntexas (Mar 7, 2012)

well, its a 463. I am replacing blades, 3 nuts got stripped. They appear to be lock nuts and the only lock nuts on the bar.The metal used to make lock nuts have never seemed to be very good metal. Just an fyi..i could be wrong though but either way its gonna be a pita. Guess i will grind them off from the backside. Trying to raise the bar to do that and i realized there is a hole in the hyd. hose. It was ugly already but was hoping it would last untill i saw everything was good.

If anyone sees this that knows the 463 can you tell me how many different places to change oil. I only see one but havent looked that hard. Will be doing that today and i dont want to overlook anything.

Also how much play is acceptable in the "disc heads" (dunno correct names) All are tight (up and down) accept for 2 and they have ...??? 1/8 " play. I am planning on pulling them all off and repacking bearings but would be interested to know if this is acceptable and for how long? --thanks.

edit--also, i know this is a dumb question but i am new in the baling world if you yall cant tell ...On the bar, on each end is two "bells" covering the disc. What are those for?


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

Ya gotta love a "fix-'er-upr"!!

Not sure on how much play would be allowable, but I would think the more, the faster wear. If in doubt, and you are re-building any way, think I'd go ahead & replace those 2. I think the bearings are lubricated from the bar oil, not "re-packable" type.

As for the "bells", they are to pull the outside cut of grass in toward the center and over the bar, makes it easier to tell on the next pass where you've been.


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## bglz42 (Oct 5, 2009)

On NH 463, there is only one place to add oil. Run it vertical, let it sit for a while and remove both plugs. After it drains, replace bottom plug and fill the top until it runs out. Takes 4 3/4 pints of API GL5 80W90 EP gear oil. Same in the gearbox.


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