Combines 4wd

I see from the address you are from "down under".There are lots of what is called "Athje Track" retrofit units up in northern Alberta. There was a very wet fall 2_3 years back and everybody who still wanted to play farmer bought these units and put them on there combines. You still see the odd advertisment for guys wanting to sell them. They are similar to the track units that CaseIH_Stieger put on their new 4 wheel drive tractors. I would suggest contacting a company in Alberta called Gratton Coulee Agri-Parts ltd., fax 780-754-2333 or another place is Combine Salvage at 1-800-667-4515 in Saskatchewan.

What size machine do you have and are you running with bin extensionsIJ Going to the heavier axle is worth it if you are using bin extensions. You will also get two steering cylinders and will make steering the machine easier without a head. Will steer a little slower do to increased cylinder volume.

we have used 3rd gear with a 1666 in 4wd in the past and not had any problems with it. But it was only for short periods of time (15 to 20 min.). I don't know about long periods like all day. I wouldn't think that it would be a problem though.

Your 4wd should disengage when you shift to third gear. So, you could get a little more speed by staying in 2nd gear and just shifting out of 4wd. We do that when we're cutting mud holes and want to hit them at max speed. That will be much easier on the machine than running in 3rd. We ended up putting large tires on the rear, which work as well in 2wd as the factory tires work in 4wd.

Mike, Have to agree with you on using just 2WD to get thru some mud holes at a faster ground speed. 4WD works in some areas....but backing up causes the rear wheels to spin mud up to the mirrors. by the way....made it thru the wet fall harevest here in MN last year...AlSO...thanks for the photos. JWK

You're welcome, glad you enjoyed them. We now have a 2188 with 2 speed and 4WD so that we can kick the ground speed up when we need to. We put Trelleborgs on it instead of the Michelins, and the rear are Goodyear 28l26's. Should be interesting to see which one goes best in the mud, or maybe we'll be lucky enough to never find outIJ

I just switched one of their RWA units from R70 to R62. Had no problem getting parts from them. Who nows!!!